Today marks the first year anniversary of this blog. Am I surprised it's lasted this long? Kinda. Most blogs last only a few months and to make it to a year with about a post a day is something of an accomplishment. Not a huge one mind you, but one nonetheless.
I've learned a lot in the past year. I'm a better writer then I used to be, that's for sure. Take a look at my first few posts and you will realize that I didn't have any clue what I was doing. Since then my post quality has increased dramatically, even though my volume has dropped quite a bit. I've also learned a lot about social media and how blogging works. I still have a long way to go.
As always, I'm looking to improve and I think there is always room for self-criticism. I almost fear that I have focused too much on the Middle East and the various wars and chaos in that region. I wish that I had focused more on the Politics and Cultural side of the blog, but lately my attention has been stuck on War. It's hard not to focus on the Middle East when the whole region is going down in flames, but I fear I am not seeing the trees because I am focusing on the forest.
I've also avoided promoting several posts on the cultural end of this blog in fear that the wrong people will see it. That's a flaw I need to work on. In my mind, some of my better posts on here have been about contentious cultural wedge issues. My post about the misconceptions Americans have on the number of gay people that exist in the country, which I think is probably my best researched and well written posts, got next to no promotion compared to all of my posts about Iraq, Syria and terrorism.
Why? Because I am more afraid of the cultural left in this country then I am of ISIS, even though I tried to be as neutral as I could be with that post. If this blog has any purpose at all though, it should be to call out misconceptions and distortion, and criticize those who say "you can't criticize me". It doesn't take all that much bravery to sit here and denounce something like ISIS, when in reality there is very little they could do to me and everyone else on earth is likely to agree with me. But I think it takes more bravery to disagree with people that actually have the power to hurt you. And I need to do that more.
My biggest regret? The name! I really hate the name of this blog and I wish I had been more creative. But at least you know what you are getting when you see it though, right?
As for the accomplishments of this blog, I've gotten more views then I expected, but less then I want. Both the facebook page and twitter account for this page are growing. At a glacial pace mind you, but growing nonetheless. And I have made a little bit of money, which is always nice. I would also like to think that I have expanded peoples knowledge and done my best to show the world as I see it.
What comes next? I'm hoping to add book reviews and more movie reviews to the blog. My movie reviews have always been successful and I can't see why a book review wouldn't as well. Expect something in the next week or two. I'm also looking into ways to promote this blog to a wider audience. I think I am finally am getting the hang of twitter and I think I will be able to use it to reach more people then I have been lately. I am also looking forward to more coverage of the 2016 presidential race.
Finally, I have some predictions for this blogs second year with a confidence rating afterwards.
-This blog will still be here a year from today. (I've got no plans to quit now, but you never know what could happen) 95%
-This blog will no longer be hosted on blogspot.com. (It could happen. Stumbleupon blocking blogspot domains hurt my views considerably and I would like to get those page views back. Buying my own domain or switching to Medium, could help, but I would have to figure out how to transfer stuff over) 25%
-I will, at the very least, double my viewcount. 90%
-I'll break 100,000 views. 50%
-I'll break 1,000,000 views. 5%
-I will focus more on political and cultural issues instead of just international conflicts. 65%
-A post about political or cultural issues will get me into some kind of trouble. 5%
-A post about anything else will get me into some kind of trouble. 1%
-I will have someone else do a guest post on this blog. 10%
-I will keep up the current post rate while continuing to improve the quality of posts. 75%
-I will still be talking about ISIS in a year. 99%
-I will still be talking about Ebola in a year. 5%
-I will be extensively covering the 2016 presidential elections. 95%
-This will be the thing that gets me into some kind of trouble. 1%
-Gun rights will once again become a major focus of this blog after trailing off considerably. (Mostly because there hasn't been all that much to discuss, the gun control push is largely over). 50%
-I will get a death threat, be doxxed or otherwise have my life attacked because of this blog.
-I will get a death threat, be doxxed or otherwise have my life attacked for reasons outside of this
blog. 1%
-There will be a candidate that I actually like left in the presidential race (There are a couple now, but who knows if they will last until next year). 33%
-This blog will officially endorse a candidate. 10%
I hope to go through these predictions in a year and see how well I did. Until then, keep reading and thank you all so much for the support you have given this blog. I really appreciate the views, comments and shares. Let's make this year even better then the one that preceded it!
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