My how time flies. SHS has been one of the First Things blogs for a year now, and so I thought I’d analyze how it’s going.
I accepted the offer to switch to FT because I thought it would improve my numbers—then growing nicely—and my breadth of penetration into the blogosphere. The latter hope has been more than fulfilled. I have noticed since the switch a greater diversity of readers to the blog, and the resulting interesting interactions in the comments. Being with FT has also resulted in Google and other search engines placing my posts prominently, bringing new readers and new perspectives.
As to numbers, in the first FT year, SHS enjoyed about 425,000 visits. Not bad, but I admit that I thought it would be higher. At the time of the switch, SHS on Blogger had grown from very little to about 45,000-50,000 visits a month. After the change, that number dropped, a surprise given the automatic forwarding to the new site from the old address. Part of that decline was the summer doldrums that hit every year. But not all of it. I am not sure why people would read SHS as an independent blog but wouldn’t as an FT blog, for that seems to be what happened. The good news is that since last summer, the numbers have rebounded to the point that they are now restored to about what they were a year ago, and seem to be growing steadily. So, onward and upward.
I am thrilled to be part of the First Things family. I think Joseph Bottum is doing a magnificent job bringing the magazine and the site forward after the death of founder Fr. Richard John Neuhaus. I think First Things is a core of intellectual rigor and integrity. Joe Carter has been wonderful in supporting the blog technically and being a benevolent presence in the event of problems.
Most of all, I thank SHSers for reading the blog, engaging the issues, and introducing yourselves when I am out and about giving speeches and otherwise engaging in general rabble rousing. Tell your friends to drop on by. In many ways, human exceptionalism is the key question of the century. Let’s keep talking.
You have a decision to make: double or nothing.
For this week only, a generous supporter has offered to fully match all new and increased donations to First Things up to $60,000.
In other words, your gift of $50 unlocks $100 for First Things, your gift of $100 unlocks $200, and so on, up to a total of $120,000. But if you don’t give, nothing.
So what will it be, dear reader: double, or nothing?
Make your year-end gift go twice as far for First Things by giving now.
