What I’ve learned from “Blue Streak” readers

• People have a strong response to anything written about downtown.
  
• People like really personal stories about others in the community.
  
• Damn spammers will try to attach their links to anything!

These are just some of the interesting tidbits I’ve picked up since starting this blog a few months ago.

Every week we get a so-called “analytics” report that provides all kinds of information on how many folks are reading each entry and where they are coming from: Twitter, Facebook, another blog or a direct search, for instance.

Some of the information is quite interesting. For instance:

• Whenever the headline says anything about downtown, we get the most “hits” and the most comments. And those posts continue to draw readers even weeks after they are posted.
• Folks don’t comment much on the Bill Haslam posts, but the report shows they get pretty heavy continual readership week after week. My guess is that other campaigns and political junkies are searching the Web for things related to the governor’s race.
• Personal stories like the one about Marion’s husband, Richard and Dawn’s marriage, and Dennis McCarthy’s move attract a lot of readers and comments. (Scroll down to see them.)
• Stories about speeches don’t do very well. I guess they are too much like newspaper stories rather than blog posts.
• If Bruce Pearl or Pat Summitt are mentioned, the item gets out-of-town interest and some links from sports publications, which makes the number of readers spike. This was particularly noticeable when we posted about Coach Pearl giving the commencement address to South College.
• Spammers will try to attach links to every single post. Pornographic spammers will try to attach to anything with the word “love” in the headline.
• I am wasting my time to post an item on the weekend. Most hits come during the day Monday through Friday. Even hits to items posted on the weekend come on Monday when folks get back to work.
• People seem more comfortable putting their comments on Facebook than on the actual blog itself. I guess that is a testament to how much Facebook is becoming an integral part of all our lives.

As I say, I read these reports every week and find interesting new “take-aways” each time. This blog continues to provide new real life information about what people here are interested in. If you have any thoughts, I’d love to hear them – any time of the day or week. And thanks for being part of my on-line venture.

P.S. I’ve been asked several times why I call this blog “The Blue Streak.” Three reasons: 1. Blue is my favorite color; 2. I like the phrase “talking a blue streak;” and 3. There used to be a certain edition of the defunct Nashville Banner called “The Blue Streak” and I just like the newspaper reference. Now you know.