Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Touched Again

by Tom Bozzo

I saw today that somehow I was voted the fifth "Most read [sic, see below] blog" in Madison by readers of Dane 101. I did not vote for myself, as I didn't actually know that they were even running a vote. So thanks very much to those of you who found this place worthy of mention! I will try to bring you cuter kids, more random mentions of LEGO, and even more economics-tinged slices of life in the rest of '06.

I followed Ben of Badger Blues, which has been in the Locals section of the sidebar for a while. In third is Sandhill Trek, which I hadn't previously seen but which looks highly entertaining and is now added to the sidebar. Sandhill's Frank Paynter notes in his own comments that the actual most read local blog really is Althouse (whose notoriety is such that she's now the object of a parody blog), and I'm between pretty sure and positive that the rest of the UW law school "salon" plus Madison blogger-in-exile Jeremy Freese also attract considerably more readers than I do. Though what I assume to be the proliferation of blog aggregators to allow serious blog readers like yours truly to hold down full-time jobs makes traffic measurement even more of an art than it was a year ago when daily visitors here could still be counted on my digits, if not actually my fingers.

The top two spots are occupied by Eating in Madison A to Z, whose authors are making their way through the Madison restaurant scene in alphabetical order, and at the top ex-mayor Paul Soglin's Waxing America. Soglin sometimes blogs a little too much like he's angling for a rematch with Mayor Dave (note: smoking ban still in effect, world not ended), though he certainly isn't Red Paul in the more contemporary meaning of the moniker.

I've also added runners-up Ald. Brenda Konkel's This side of town... and Lisa Subeck's Go West and Turn Left.

And, while we're on the subject of the sidebar, I've cut the on-hiatus Mixter's Mix and the entry for Brayden King's pre-Pub Sociology solo blog without prejudice. In the dept. of eventually adding the entire Phantom Scribbler blogroll to my own, I've added Bitch, Ph.D., Geeky Mom, the Really Useful (especially to Blogger bloggers) No Fancy Name, and the brilliantly named Evensong Martini Club (whose author is also a Kieslowski fan) to the "Others" section of the list. Battlepanda and Lawyers, Guns, and Money round out the new additions. Thanks to NetNewsWire, I can almost keep up with all of you.
Comments:
Hi Tom, thanks for the link. I've been to Madison once, years ago. I drove a buddy from Durham NC to Madison, where he was starting a PhD program. It was late summer, so it was bright and sunny. I doubt it's bright and sunny there now, huh? :)
 
Welcome, JM!

We do get some crisp, clear, and very cold days this time of year that have their virtues, but sadly we're in the midst of a period of extended winter gloom that almost makes me want to move to the what-is-that-fiery-orb-in-the-sky belt...
 
Ah ha! Now I know why so much of my traffic hails from Madison. You must be sending it my way, Mr. #5 Blogger! Congratulations!
 
Congrats! I'll read you over Soglin any time.
 
Congrats! Though I did not vote for you, not having been aware of the balloting.

Yours is on my must-read list of blogs. Typically, each morning I take a look quick look at Althouse (though less these days than I used to -- sorry Ann), then Ocean (and ask toddler-level questions about what kind of food is on view), then use Ocean's sidebar links to visit you and others, allowing myself to be further diverted on a blog-by-blog basis.

I work in publishing, so I can consider a certain amount of blog reading to be research. Plus, a boss has an economics degree, so I can round out my discussions by citing economic interpretations.

Also, I believe I happen to be somewhat near you in age, with two kids (7 mos. and 2.75 years), and interested in economics (though not a statistician). So I find lots to enjoy here.
 
Thanks, PS, Sara, and Karton!

PS, I'd hope that between Oscar, Jeremy and me, you see a fair number of Madison visitors. Always hard to know how many people pay attention to the links, though.

Karton, thanks for the view into what brings you here.
 
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