The Palouse Wargaming Journal (PWJ) marches passed the Year 11 Milestone.
This venture and adventure begun eleven years ago still carries on. Perhaps content and style have evolved over these intervening years. Perhaps not. Writing about wargaming has certainly found a place in my daily life. With a steady, yet sustainable, pace of about ten posts per month, I find myself in a comfortable place. I should hit 120 posts for 2023 as has been the pattern over the years. Even after eleven years, I have yet to run out of content. A bit surprising really since having sufficient content was one of my concerns when I first began. Often, I wonder if writing battle reports of games played, alone, could consume all of my time. With two games this week and three next, I reckon it could.
As with last year's anniversary reflection (see Ten Years Before the Screen), my blogging and hobby take-aways remain unchanged. Looking over other bloggers’ shoulders as they press on with their hobby offers motivation and inspiration. Reader commentary here does the same.
My gaming reach continues to expand as more wargamers find themselves with a seat at my remote gaming table or I at theirs. The cadre assembled, thus far, tends to (thankfully!) come back for more. Remote gaming opens up the gaming doors to many, some who may not otherwise have the chance to game. Many games enjoyed over the past year. Many more to come in the next year.
What about statistics?
Well, the PWJ is up to 1,579 posts, 45,318 comments (half mine, of course!), and 323 Followers. Curious that the number of Followers rarely varies.
I am grateful to anyone who happens to stop in to read my efforts and doubly grateful for those readers who regularly offer up a comment or two. If you are not a regularly commenter, leave a comment and let me know you are here!
Thank you for your patronage and friendship.
I continue plugging away.
Some impressive statistics there Jonathan, well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, George!
DeleteCongratulations Jonathan! Your blog never fails but to enthuse and your supportive comments on my and other's blogs provide motivation to continue posting.
ReplyDeleteYou are now in addition, the unacknowledged maistro of the remote cross-continental game!
Neil
Thank you! You are very kind in your comments. “Unacknowledged maestro”? I have just been acknowledged!
DeleteCongratulations on the next milestone. I agree on the content thing, that there always seems something to write about, but of course it wouldn’t work without the personal enthusiasm that goes behind it all.
ReplyDeleteYour plate has been very full these past couple of years with zoom games and in that regard the blog has morphed from being painting centric to being more inclusive of game planning and AAR’s, giving a wider range of topic to draw from.
Your blog is well visited and regarded, but you are also very kind with your own time in terms of supporting other blogs and laying on group zoom games and as such you remain a key part of this internet network that is the friendly place of the blogosphere space that we inhabit and share.
Thanks, Norm! You have always maintained your regular support. Your contributions are always appreciated.
DeleteHappy Blog Birthday Jon!!! Here's to many more years!
ReplyDeleteCheers, Ray!
DeleteCongratulations Jon, you manage a tremendous level of consistency, always interesting posts 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt!
DeleteHere's to many more years blogging Jonathan. 10 posts a month is really impressive!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Oli! My ten posts per month pale in comparison to the length and depth of just one of your comprehensive posts.
DeleteWell done on another year of blogging and your support of other blogs through your comments.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter! My content would not be as rich and varied without games with you and others.
DeleteCongrats Jon - on a point of order, this is not plugging away, it is leaps of triumph.
ReplyDeleteYou are too kind, Sir!
DeleteWell, so far, that's only 8 comments Jon, but they have already said more or less all there is to say! Congratulations, thanks for the virtual friendship, thanks for taking time to post your painting progress and game reports and finally thank you for being such a great supporter of many, many other bloggers efforts!
ReplyDeleteThank you and you’re welcome! You forgot to add “intercontinental mail coordinator”!
DeleteLol...true, I forgot about that one!
DeleteHow could you forget those ordeals?
DeleteCongratulations on your 11th anniversary. Here is to 11 more. I appreciate both your content here and your thoughtful comments at my corner. We will get together remotely yet!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sir! Being anonymous, I know not to which “corner” you refer.
DeleteJonathan, I thought I had my Google up, obviously not. Oh well, this does give me another chance to say reading your blog has been has been pretty near a weekly event i look forward to for quite awhile now.
DeleteJoe, thanks for returning to identify yourself. Your comments are great to read.
DeleteCongratulations! Long may the Journal (and author) thrive!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ross!
DeleteCongrats and happy B(log)'day! Visits to your blog have provided inspiration for a fellow bloggist, but have also become an established component of the hobby for me (and I would guess more than a few others as well).
ReplyDeleteEd, you provide great encouragement. Thank you!
DeleteCongratulations! My fifteenth blogging anniversary is coming up soon … and the time has flown by!
ReplyDeleteAll the best,
Bob
Thanks, Bob! Happy to see you pop in for a visit and comment.
DeleteHappy blog birthday Jonathan… here’s to many more.
ReplyDeleteAlways an inspiration… your output is as enjoyable as it is impressive…
All the best. Aly
Thanks, Aly! High praise from you!
DeleteCongratulations, Jonathan, on your blog's anniversary. I usually read it for the content, but always enjoy the grenadier "eye candy' at the top of the page!
ReplyDeleteBest regards,
Don
Thank you, Don! You may the first reader ever admitting to coming here for "eye candy"!
DeleteWell done Jonathan, 11 years of content is an achievement to be proud of. Particularly when it's as good as you produce. I particularly enjoy your battle reports and the GWS analysis articles. Always a good read.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Lee! If you enjoy battle reports and GWS analysis, you are in luck! One of each coming up soon.
DeleteCongratulations, Jon. And here's to many more. :-) I may not always comment these days, partly because I don't feel I have much to say about non-Horse and Musket games, but I always drop by and look. Your enthusiasm and effort is always appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThanks, David! Looks like I need to get back to some 18th Century Horse & Musket gaming to draw you out.
DeleteCongratulations Jonathan. Your blog is always entertaining with a lot of variety to keep one interested. One hundred and twenty posts a year is quite an achievement. I much prefer reading blogs than Facebook pages.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Glad you always find something of interest and that you are a regular commentator. I enjoy reading blogs too and I don't "do" Facebook.
DeleteSincere congratulations on your 11th anniversary. (What gemstone is that, I wonder? I also wonder if Hallmark has a card for wargame bloggers?)
ReplyDeleteYour commitment, productivity, analysis, and posts certainly are standard setting for others in the hobby as well as for those just discovering it.
I am reminded of the mockumentary THIS IS SPINAL TAP. It appears quite evident that you have turned it up to 11. Here's to 11 more years of setting a standard and of being a standard bearer of the wide-ranging and pursued in diverse ways hobby.
Appreciate the question about number of followers . . . I have sometimes wondered if my reduced-platoon contains any bots. I have also wondered how I might react if the strength of this already reduced-platoon decreased.
Given your background with stats, I wonder if you have a way of estimating how much time you might have invested in posting. I wonder how many words you have typed, and how many pictures of games played or painting projects you have provided your cohort of followers and your legions of fans? Along that same line, I wonder if you could break down your posts by category, like you've done with other masses of data and information.
Keep calm and blog on!
Thank you, Sir! You are most kind!
DeleteThere must be a way to aggregate word and photo counts across blog posts short of scraping the webpages but I am not familiar with any method to do it.
Perhaps you might be able to estimate word count and number of photos?
DeleteStaying with the statistics for a bit longer . . . Do you have any breakdown or piecharts or graphs as to your blogging habits? That is to ask, what percentage of posts have been wargame reports? What percentage have been modeling/painting efforts? What percent have been dedicated to miscellaneous topics? With regard to periods of interest, are you able to provide any details about your level of interest over this impressive time frame? Has your interest in SYW been steady or has it been a roller. coaster? What about other periods?
Inquiring minds want to know!
OK. If you are going to ask impossible to answer questions, you must at least identify yourself!
DeleteSince backing up blogger writes the contents into an XML file, theoretically, one could read this file and parse into its respective elements. Having never looked at the resulting back up XML file , I do not know if it is well-formed or complicated. I think I will examine the back up and see if the XML is systematically processible without too much complication. Otherwise, the LABELS in the sidebar give an indication of percentages of categories but does not provide a time series look.
Have my interests and focus changed over time? Yes but I still enjoy many core periods. In the Year-End wrap up, you can see what has crossed the painting desk and what has been on the gaming table.
Interest in SYW has almost always been present. I reckon it has been steady and steadily building.
Odsbodikins, I was not aware that the question or questions rated as impossible to answer. It was certainly not my intention to cause you consternation. (It seems you have your hands full, what with the severe defeat recently experienced at 2nd Ilipa!) I was not aware of the rule pertaining to questions and identity. I thought, or had heard, that one of the central attractions of this thing called the internet was anonymity.
DeleteThe points expressed in your tech-heavy paragraph are well taken. I suppose that I should have taken more time and made more of an effort to survey your LABELS and numerous YEWUs (Year-End Wrap Ups) to determined just how many of your approximately 1,600 posts have been about the SYW, or wargame reports, or musings on weather and what armies to grab in case of a natural disaster.
Thanks for your attention and responses, slightly irritated though they may be. (That's another thing about the internet, it's often difficult to determine tone through just the written word. Body language and volume, and the way the words are spoken convey so much more.)
My responses were not offered with the slightest of irritation. I welcome your questions and curiosity. Even more so, I encourage comments such as yours.
DeleteYou may remain anonymous as you wish, but part of the sense of community is knowing to who you are conversing.
Keep you comments flowing and don’t be a stranger!
Currently reading the new book by Tom Hanks. What doe that have to do with anything? Well . . . If I read the line about "asking impossible questions" several times, paying attention to the exclamation point punctuation, I hear a certain degree of irritation or perhaps aggravation. The first full paragraph could be interpreted as a college professor trying to explain something important to a freshman or first-year student who has not learned to appreciate knowledge, the learning process, etc.
DeleteI appreciate your permission to maintain my anonymity. (Another connection to the novel currently being read. What must it be like to be a movie star?) The second half of that sentence could be the subject of a separate blog, a book or books, as well as a course of study for an advanced degree. Expect that it already is! It is interesting to think about a "sense of community" as established, provided by, and maintained by this kind of medium. It is also interesting to think about how much one can really know someone through electronic exchanges, social media, wargaming reports, etc.
Detecting some irony here . . . I am anonymous and yet you don't want me to be a stranger.
Gotta love the English language.
Ironic? Yes. Tracking who is who across different conversations would be much easier with a name onto which I could make a tag. How will I recall this conversation and put it into context upon your next commentary? For me, past conversations have memory upon which must can be built.
DeleteCongratulations on reaching 11 years. Great blog and content
ReplyDeleteThank you, Neil!
DeleteWell done Jonathan. The longevity of your blog is a testament to your consistency, quality of content and engaging prose.
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Richard! You are very encouraging. I think it grit and sticktoitiveness as much as anything.
DeleteCongratulations on the anniversary and especially on maintaining both the hobby efforts and the recording of those on the blog.
ReplyDeleteRichard
Thanks, Richard!
DeleteFantastic effort Jonathan! Not only in quantity but also in quality. Thanks for taking the time to produce the blog it is very much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you can do it all as well as all your comments on others' blogs. I struggle to meet my target of two posts per month is the best of times.
Thank you, Ben! How do I keep ticking over posts? I have an active imagination with a great interest in Wargaming.
DeleteCongrats on 11 years my friend! Yours is one of my fav blogs to visit, and though I haven’t been a follower for long, I intend to remedy that as long as you keep posting. Here’s to many more years!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Dai! Happy to have you along for the ride. Seeing you in the Top 10 suggests you are already quite active here.
DeleteI intend to beat out that rotter, Stew for top spot.
DeleteYou have some work to do!
DeleteCongratulations! Here’s to the next eleven…
ReplyDeleteAlan Tradgardland
Thank you, Alan!
DeletePWJ congratulations on 11 years blogging ... I too had early worries that I would run out of material to blog about. Not happened yet ...
ReplyDeleteThanks! We both must have much to share.
DeleteCongratulations sir!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteAs one of those who’ve benefitted from your expanding horizons and ever open table - cheers! Your effort and enthusiasm is massively appreciated by many. Here’s to another 11.
ReplyDeleteMark, having you join in at the table with your own enthusiasm has been a real pleasure and a great addition to the collection of remote wargamers.
DeleteCongrats on yet another year on interesting and varied posts, all of a consistently high quality. Yours is certainly the most commented upon Blog that I follow, so you must be doing something right!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve! I appreciate your support and encouragement that each of your comments provides. You always maintain a very high ranking among the list of top commentators.
DeleteCongratulations on your blog-aversery! As for the follower count, it isn't really a useful measure. It's a distinctly Blogger thing. Engagement and shares are a better measure, and your comment section routinely demonstrates you have readers, and loyal readers at that, who find something in your posts that sparks a desire to participate in a conversation. If you really want to deep-dive on site visitors, Google Analytics makes it easy - everything from repeat visitors, how long visitors spend on any given page/post, geography (which they give you in Blogger, but with more granularity in Analytics), etc.
ReplyDeleteHere's to 11 more years!
Thank you, John!
DeleteMy understanding is that Google Analytics has recently changed to a new system. I gave it a half-hearted try to conform to the new system but gave up after a brief attempt. Perhaps ignorance is bliss?
Outstanding - looking forward to many more!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Greg!
Deletehappy blog birthday! 11 years is a loooong time. And something to be proud of as I bet most blogs don't last that long, notwithstanding keeping up with all the other blogs and providing encouragement and engagement.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that the remote gaming has recently upped you 'games played' count, and probably added many more battle reports than probably going on previously.
Glad that blogging remains a fun activity for you after a decade. 😁
Thanks, Stew!
DeleteYes, remote gaming had changed the frequency of my gaming markedly. Perhaps retirement had a hand in the increase as well. Before lockdowns, I gamed maybe once a month. The last two years have seen gaming frequency approaching 100 games a year. 2023 will be much the same, I suspect.
For now, blogging is still a fun activity.
Congratulations on your first eleven years of blogging, always entertaining and often enlightening , good luck with the next eleven!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, Iain!
DeleteCongratulations on the 11 years of Blogging. It's always part inspiration, part perspiration but always fun- for the creator and the readers!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, John!
DeleteCongratulations on your eleventh blogaversary, keep doing what your doing👍
ReplyDeleteThanks, Phil! I’ll try to keep it up.
DeleteCongrats on another milestone, Jon. I’m in the ‘regular reader but not regular commenter’ category, for the stats. 😁. Always worth a look, and a beautifully presented piece of wargaming journalism 👍🏼👍🏼.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martin! Very much appreciated.
DeleteHappy 11th Blogiversary! Here's to the next 11! 🍾🥂
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteAnother milestone to be proud of. And some impressive statistics too! Well done Jon. I feel we are all indebted to you for your zeal and enthusiasm in promoting our hobby indefatigably.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike! You really are too kind. As for indebtedness, Nancy often asks why I don't turn this hobby into a revenue stream.
DeleteCongrats Jon, long may you continue! You have a great blog, thoroughly inspirational, and of course you also support so many other blogs with your posiitve comments - and hosting excellent remote games, too.. not sure how you find the time!
ReplyDeleteThank you, David! Very encouraging words! Not sure how I always muster the time either. Sometimes, I don't sleep so much.
DeleteCongratulations Jonathan! Your blog has been a major joy for me for the last several years. I may not always comment, but I do enjoy dropping in.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! No need to comment but I am sure happy when you do!
Delete