A few days ago I turned 73. Well past any reasonable retirement age, but I cannot see myself as retired. While there is not the same pressure of past years, the thought of playing golf and going to lunch a lot does little for me.
In late November last year, WordPress cut off the basic numbers that had been supplied about readership of this blog. I could no longer see which posts had been opened, how many times, and the country and source of the opener. It had been a free part of the site for the whole 15 years of the blog, and I did look at it, and once a year, do a superficial analysis of it in a post, referring to the most popular posts, but that is all I did.
It was a curiosity for me to see which post performed best, but the numbers are tiny, ridiculous in any commercial context. However, I did nothing with that information.
In contrast to my advice to all my clients, I did not bother to look at the also free Google Analytics. I stopped that some time ago when I realised I was spending time looking, and doing nothing with the conclusions.
Equally, I have made no effort to ‘monetise’ the blog, rarely touting for business, no ads, no affiliate links, none of the obvious things I knew I could do to generate some cash.
When I started the objective was to use it as a lead engine for my one man strategy consulting business, but that did not last. Rapidly I realised it was way more personal, self-indulgent, even selfish than that. I did not really care who read it, although gratified to know a few did, The purpose had become to order my own thinking, be creative in the way I thought about things, and to sate my curiosity.
Back to the numbers. My initial annoyance with WordPress, dissolved, Who cares, I don’t. The metrics did not matter to me, beyond some level of vanity, as I did not use them. Their absence for the past 6 weeks has not altered my ‘scribbling habit’ at all, a habit that like any deeply held habit is very hard to break, and why bother, it adds value to my life, and if it adds value to anyone else, that is a bonus.
We live in a world of numbers.
If it cannot be counted, it does not matter sayeth the consultant, I have said it many times, while knowing the truth of Einsteins utterance that ‘Not everything that matters can be counted, while not everything that can be counted matters’.
Rarely do I see myself as a writer. Occasionally, when someone compliments me on post, I feel that maybe I am, but I see myself as a scribbler, one who feels compelled to write stuff down in order to make sense of it, to coalesce the conflicting information and emotion banging around in my brain. The act of writing is what is important, not what comes after. Therefore why should I be annoyed that WordPress has demanded I pay for some numbers that may appeal to vanity, but I do not use.
Stick your numbers up your arse WordPress. I will scribble on regardless, and reconsider GA.
Have a great 2025.
I have noticed you absence!
Intellectual exercise keeps you young!
I’m with you, but have gotten lazy in my old age