Blog Statistical Analysis and the Current Blogosphere Political Culture in El Paso

You can't argue with statistics.  This is just a "shortie" on the blog and data which provides an interesting snapshot of the blog and blog posts to date.  The Norma Chavez Blog is still in the infancy of it's existence. I started posting on January 3rd, 2012 and to date have published only 13 blog posts (this being the 14th post) with over 6,000 views to date (as of today right now). 

As I have stated in previous blogs, this blogging experience is like "writing in the open skies", and it is also like learning a new language, first choosing a blog host, blog format, template, etc., and after that is done reviewing the tools available to the blog such as a statistical analysis.  Eblogger provides a weekly, monthly and overall statistical review of page views, traffic sources such as referring URL sites and browsers, and monitors your audience including countries with people that are following your blog (to date I have followers in the US, Mexico, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Germany (a lot for some reason), Philippines, France, Argentina and other countries (I've gone global already!). 

In the very short time that this blog has been in existence, it has garnered an average of 400 views per post per day with a low of 250 per day, and the greatest number of pageviews in one 24 hour period being 900 plus.  Granted these are not overwhelming numbers for a blog in a city of 700,000 people.  But considering that 85% to 89% of the traffic is from Facebook because it is not readily available in search engines yet (not sure why, but have some "techie youngs" who have offered to help me with that), and from what I have been told it is recognized by search engines based on actual hits (still figuring that out).  Though the blog is not even one month old, it is still good traffic for a new blog. Because I have chosen to "write in the skies" you never know who is looking up at the sky from around the world!! 

What the data demonstrates is reflective of the blog culture in existence prior to my writing a blog. The top three blog posts in the order of page reviews are (1) County Judge Veronica Escobar to Constituent "Alex Guzman "U R Not my Facebook Friend", (2) Facebook Page "Unfriend Veronica Escobar 2014", and (3) "Pachangagate, Darren "WITCH" Hunt, and Racism.  In that order.  All three blogs caused the most political controversy, most comments, and most personal emails, texts, phone calls, from both people supportive of me for exposing the political faction and their agenda and from those critics that don't like the labels or names I put to the faction.  For the most part, those who don't like the labels, don't like political factions nor do they like the local blogs.

This brings me to the subject of blog culture in El Paso, specifically political blogs.  I have only been blogging less than a month.  The political blog culture was already in existence when I started it and I too am disappointed that the number 1, 2, and 3 blogs are of the "chisme" nature.  It is annoying to read the other two political bloggers, the Criminal Blogger and the WASM (White Anglo Saxon Male) Blogger, and their perpetual reference to me with accusations, exaggerations, personal attacks and plain lies.  They will cross a libel line and their files are getting fuller every time they mention me.  I have no need to create false names because I have a blog and a personal Facebook account with my very own name, and obviously I don't have a problem writing what I think on either of those two social media mediums.  A subpoena of internet names and URL's from the proper authorities will clear those lies up.  But it is amusing how my blogging has created such heartache for these two men.

So, this blog will move into the next phase.  This blog will not be an exclusive political blog (we have that already, I have no interest in doing that because this is bigger than that), but I do intend to include blogging about politics and voice my political opinion using my experience and knowledge serving 14 years honorably in the Texas Legislature and organizing in the community over the last 20 plus years. This blog will continue to be peppered with everything El Paso in hopes to tease you, amuse you, anger you, get you to think, and to expose you to soooo, soooo much that is happening in and around El Paso with people OTHER THAN POLITICOS!!  I hope that my blogging will encourage others to blog locally because a healthy blog community is good for El Paso, "writing in the skies" exposes all the local details by the locals to an internet world!!  :-)

(For the record, I am not sending traffic to those mean spirited, self serving, egotistical bloggers, so any mention in your comments to them by name or blog, will not be posted - fyi).

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BLOG HOUSEKEEPING!

As I have stated on Facebook, after launching my blog earlier this year, it is like having a magic pen that God gave me to "write in the skies".  The outreach is unlimited, the medium exciting and quite a journey.  I have been learning the blogosphere lingo, have screwed up my template by trying another one and not knowing how to go back to the one I like better (ugh), and have been advised by various people I trust and admire on how to carry forward.

A respected blogger in Texas shared some thoughts on blogging, as has a local mujer I respect, and Latino powerhouses in the US also shared some thoughts for la Norma y "La Norma Blog" or as one of my friends said "ya eres Blogera" (RMR - reir muy recio or Spanish for lol - correct me here, I just made that up). I wish my old friend, San Antonio guerrilla, political agitator, columnist Carlos Guerra were alive today. I know that together we could have conspired an underground internet based Xicano word war. Just the thought of it brings a smile to my face. Luckily, as I go through some of my personal boxes, I have found numerous columns he wrote that I have placed in my office for purity and inspiration! The internet though, has proved quite an internet sky for political activism and underground internet wars.

So it is with these thoughts, that I hope to provide occasional housekeeping tips for the blog. A sort of order. So here are a few thoughts on what this blog will and will not be. Please email me your thoughts at blognormachavez@gmail.com or comment what you think I could do better. I am trying to make this an open forum, commenting is still in the tweak phase.

I will not prostitute the blog with political advertizing.  I won't be asking you for $300 a month per ad, to have your name roll across the screen. NO REAL POLITICAL BLOGGERS IN TEXAS DO THIS!  I will write on subjects and people, poli's and non-poli's alike. So you won't be treated "special" because you bought an ad on my blog. Don't get me wrong. In learning all the new terminology and gadgets available on blogs, I foresee advertising as a possibility, especially since my traffic is extremely high for a first time blog that isn't even being recognized by servers or search engines quite yet. In fact, most hits, as in 80% of my blog traffic, is from Facebook (eblogger has a pretty cool statistical analysis available and Google is already contacting me about ads). So now I understand why the Criminal Blogger and the El Paso WASM Blogger (White Anglo Saxon Male - don't know if he is protestant or Catholic but know he is male) include me in their blog posts, because I increase their traffic.

I expect nothing in return. If I write about you, good, bad or ugly, I expect nothing in return. No debt is owed. You don't have to be nice to me, I don't expect that.  It is a blog. It is an opinion.  It is what I have chosen to do as a medium, because I choose to use my political experience and knowledge, personal, professional, and political contacts, and networks, to write what I think.  That is it.  Read it if you like. Don't read if you don't like it.

I will look at your suggestions on subjects or people to write about.  I already have a bag full of ideas, people, events, things to write about, but sure if you have a suggestion, I'll look at it, so forward this on the blog, or email me.

My political social commentary is just that, personal commentary and opinion on my blog. Using humor, facts, current events, research, political thought, etc,. to provoke. I don't own the internet space nor does anyone else. Austin, Texas has numerous political bloggers and just bloggers who post on lots of different subjects. What you don't see in the other big cities in Texas in the blogosphere is one political faction dominating the media and blogs.

You don't have bloggers with criminal records, using an ink bat as a threat, to gain favor and sell ads and pimp a political agenda for their own personal power. Nor do you have a male WASM, initiating racially charged blog posts that criticizes the "masses" for rising against unfair policies by the power elites, as he does. He promotes the "masta" mentality, I will not.

This blog is for the "MASSES" to provoke political thought, action, revolution!!

And so, the blog journey continues....join me...  

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