Year End Round Up

Well, folks, we’re about to enter a new year and a new decade. Ready?

This blog you’re reading, the Kineti blog, is entering its 6th year of existence. Not a bad record, for this vicinity;-)

In 2007, after sporadic blog posts of little value, with a tiny readership (read: my mom + wandering internet nomads), I wanted to get serious about blogging and produce something of value for God’s blog-reading people. In How to Achieve Ultimate Blogging Success, I wrote,

To follow prolific blogger Jeff Atwood’s blogging advice, here is my schedule and I'm sticking to it: 2 blog posts a week.

Shalom, and thanks to you few loyal readers who come to visit despite my sporadic postings. :-)

This worked out quite well – 2008 saw a 600% increase in blog posts, and a 60% increase in visitors.

What about 2009?

While I exceeded the “2 posts per week” schedule, and have reaped the benefits of a semi-popular blog, this year I tried a different approach to blogging: less reactionary blogging. Fewer controversial, ungracious posts. Avoidance of fruitless internet fights over theology. More content. More contribution to the Messianic community.

The result?

Fewer blog posts – 108 instead of 127.

Fewer unique visitors: ~14,000 instead of ~16,000.

visitors

A small decrease in total number of posts and visitors is a bit discouraging on the surface.

On the other hand, I had fewer posts because I did less reactionary blogging: instead of writing some angry post in reaction to some other blogger, I tried to avoid fruitless internet fights. (With varying success, admittedly.)

Additionally, I started 2 projects that have a net benefit to the Messianic community. 

  1. The Greatest Commandments project, which maps all the commandments in the Torah in a hierarchical structure.
  2. Weekly Bracha, a weekly digest that sheds light on various gems in the Messianic blogosphere.

These projects actually contribute something of value to the Messianic community. Contrast this with controversial internet smackdowns, which attract a lot of traffic – everybody likes to see a good fight – but contribute very little value.

I started projects that are actually beneficial to the community, wrote a number of quality posts and a few haymakers. It’s a good feeling to be able to do something, rather than just argue about stuff.

I’m happy with the Kineti blog this year. I hope you fine blog readers are, too.

A Glimpse Into the Crystal Ball: Kineti 2010

I’m going to rub my psychic temples, or whatever it is that Miss Cleo does, and predict where the Kineti blog is headed in the new year:

miss-cleo

There will be more posts, but shorter in length. Why? The magical internets tell me you fine blog readers have short attention spans:

avgTimeOnSite

We’ll try shorter, more digestible posts in the coming year and see if we can do better.

In 2010, the Kineti blog will have more brainstorms. Sometimes, you just want to get on your soapbox and start talkin’. Get out there and call’s ‘em like I see’s ‘em. I refrained from this in 2009 to keep the quality high, but in retrospect, that didn’t pan out. We can improve.

I also refrained from posting on a lot of controversial matters in order to avoid internet fights. In 2010, I will continue avoiding fruitless fights, but will not be pulling any punches in the posts. Lots of people will be offended, there will be great wailing and gnashing of teeth, yada yada.  ;-) The fruit of keeping quiet to promote unity has produced only a sour flavor. 2010 will see a change.

In 2009, I withheld posts because some of my blog readers are actually friends or family, and I didn’t want to burn bridges there. In 2010, I won’t be concerned about this kind of tippy-toeing.

In 2010, I’ll be frank and plain, as if addressing a note to myself. No worries about who’s gonna think what and what consequences there will be – this is a stifler. There’s a subtle quality to writings in which the author is not putting up a facade, or hiding behind the material in stoic fashion, or kissing religious ass. 2010 will see new direction in this area.

~end of techno-psychic vision~

Happy New Year, fine blog readers! Messiah’s finest blessings on you guys for the coming year. A blog without readers and comments ain’t a blog – so a big THANK YOU to you all who read, and a massive atom-bomb-sized THANKSAMILLION to you commenters. I sometimes hate you and your bat-shis insane crazy comments, but I mostly love ya. ;-)

Happy New Year, happy decade. Let’s hope the 2010s will see less religious stupidity. And more wisdom among all God’s people.

20 comments:

  1. Thanks for keeping us up to date on your blog plans for 2010. I hope you will be able to communicate what you intend in a cordial, constructive, and rather parliamentarian way.

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  2. Judah, your blog has been an important part of my experiences and walk in Messianic Judaism, and I thank you my friend. God Bless you and Happy New Year. Shalom, shalom to you and yours.

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  3. Happy New Year's, Judah to you as well! Although I have not posted here in quite a while (because, if you can believe that, I have found some folks who are a lot more "wrong on the internet" than you are:), I fully intend to engage you in civilized discussion on (hopeful) very controversial topics in the future (G-d willing and if my wife still lets me spend this much time on the internet, of course).

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  4. LOL. See, that was my plan all along, Gene, get you hooked on the Rosh Pina blog so that you can pester Yeze and Gev instead of myself. ;-)

    (Happy New Year!)

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  5. Judah,

    I have enjoyed and benefited from your blog postings this past year. I do hope that you continue for another year ( Pesach to Pesach I mean ).

    Blessings and shalom to you and your family in the coming days. Though they may be difficult, may He keep you safe in His love.

    Gene,

    I have to say that I have missed you here on Judah's blog of late. You do have a way of bringing out, let's just say my thoughtful side. May we meet again here or on some other blog this coming year.

    Blessings and shalom to you and your family today and until Messiah returns.

    J.K. McKee,

    I would love to study as much as you do, but since I can't, I am glad that you come here frequently to share the good things that YHWH has given you.

    Be blessed in the work He has given you to do. May shalom follow you through the coming days of trouble at the end of this age.

    Shalom to all who read. Be strong in YHWH and may we all find ourselves drawing closer to Yeshua and to one another.

    Efrayim

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  6. Judah,

    May Adonai bless you and keep you and yours.

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  7. Thanks Efrayim and Dan. Here's to a fruitful 2010. :cheers:

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  8. New year was a few months ago on Rosh HaShana! Anyone who REALLY wants to follow HaShem goes by the civil new year when the kings of Israel began to rule. BUT NOOOO IT HAS TO BE SECULAR-SHMECULAR!!! (ahahaha jk jk just trying to start a religious ruckus battle in opposition to your "resolution")

    Seriously, everyone have a good secular new year.

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  9. Great job Judah, although it should have been swamii making the predictions..... ~ Jesse

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  10. but aaron, the new year is the 1st of uhbeeb, not in the evil jewish "new year" rosh hashana that they took from babylon...

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  11. "YAHshua hamashiYAH",

    There are different new years on the Jewish/Israelite/Hebrew calendar of the Torah. Not just one, not just two. Different new years marking different things. The months start at Aviv, correct, but the civil new year along with the renewed Torah cycles starts on Rosh HaShana/Yom Terua.

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  12. This is just me conversing with myself trying to re-create a classic religious battle in hopes to appear as if I'm making trouble for JudahBro when in fact its really just to make him laugh. Hope I succeeded..?

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  13. Oh, and the second reason was to subtly shoot by a lesson on the New Years, hahahahaha. Woops... =P

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  14. Dear Judah,

    How dost thine name Christ whilst making mention of a psychic?

    Comest, thou, unto the kirke this Sunday and I shalt cleanse ye from thine evil sins which thou hast committed this day.

    -Religious McReligionface

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  15. Hahah!

    What's funny is, I had to think twice before referring to the new year (due to religious zealots), and I had to think twice about saying "psychic", "ass", and "temple rubbing". Also because of religious zealots.

    You nailed it! :-)

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  16. Well done Judah, this is a great blog & the first Messianic blog I started reading regularly. I'm looking forward to Kineti L'Tziyon version2010 :D

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  17. Thanks, Yeze! You and Gev have done an amazing job with your blog. I've never seen a blog rise in popularity so quickly.

    Hope you have a happy new year.

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  18. Happy New Year Judah,
    I look forward to reading your blog in the upcoming year. You are at your best when presenting the stuggles of from your heart as a Messianic. - C.F.

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  19. Thanks, C.F. I think you're right, I'll keep that in mind.

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