So, it’s 2011. Time for a quick look back at the first whole year of my blog.
Surprises
Well, I’m shocked at how many people have read and commented on my blog. I thought I’d be writing mostly for friends and colleagues but the blog seems to have reached a little further. If anyone reads regularly or just wants to say hello, I’d really like to hear from you; please leave a comment to let me know who you are and if there’s anything you think I should be writing in 2011. (And thanks for reading!)
The other big surprise was being linked to and quoted in a Guardian article about the Institute of Physics. I only knew about it when I was reading the paper in a cafe and noticed my name in the paper!
I also wasn’t expecting the response to my “Hockey Stick” post, which I wrote mostly for my own benefit to have all the IPCC climate reconstructions in one place. I’ve been meaning to write a review of the Hockey Stick book (by the Bishop Hill guy) but haven’t quite found the time.
That leads nicely on to the next point…
Networks
I’ve not actually been reading climate blogs for that long, probably 2 years or so. I’d like to spend more time reading and commenting but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Anyway, here’s what I’ve noticed in that time and it’s probably not very shocking.
There seem to be two, shall we say, very passionate groups/sides of bloggers. I guess you’d group them as pro “established climate science” or against. I quite often see the same names commenting on the same “sides”. It’s all quite cliquey and often impolite (to say the least). Maybe I should look into this more and think of a way of analysing it but this isn’t really the time to do it.
The point I want to make now is about my blog. Some of the days when I’ve got lots of hits/comments are when I’ve been linked to from one of the bigger blogs and, by the nature of those comments, it’s not difficult to tell which “side” that link has come from!
I’m actually quite glad I’ve not been blogging long enough (or comment around enough) to have been drawn in to one of these well-defined cliques – I’m happy enough to just be writing about what’s interesting me rather than feeling an allegiance to a particular cause.
Top Posts
According to WordPress, these are my posts that got the most views in 2010.
Dear Institute of Physics… March 2010
62 comments
The “Hockey Stick” evolution June 2010
104 comments
Britain’s snow and climate change January 2010
1 comment
Antarctic climate change – the exception that proves the rule? March 2010
10 comments
Skepticism or denial? February 2010
20 comments
(I’m surprised that the snow post is in there. I think it must have googled a lot recently!)
Anyway, thanks again for reading and hope to see you here in 2011.