Today is No Right Turn's third birthday. In the past year, we've had 144,335 unique visitors, and 5,017 comments, and I've written 1284 posts totalling 277,896 words. Maybe I should just give up and write a book...
Looking back at last year's roundup, it looks like I met most of my goals. I managed to produce a candidate survey, even if it was not as successful as I would have liked it to be. I've lobbied, agitated, encouraged, submitted, researched, analysed, and wonked. But the work I'm most proud of has been that on sedition and the sedition by example series. I've slowed down on this, but I'm still doing research, and hopefully one day I'll find an MP willing to take a bill to repeal this archaic law.
As for the year ahead, the above pattern seems to work, and it will be more of the same. I expect to have less time this year, but I have no intention of giving up. It's fascinating seeing what I can do with this thing, and its good to have a place where I can vent my spleen. And while there are days when the words have to be dragged out of me with sharp hooks, it's still fun enough to keep doing.
Finally, I'd like to thank my guest columnists (both of them) for contributing excellent material in the lead-up to the election, and all the people who sent me links, tips and encouraging emails. I'm slack, and so half of you didn't get the replies you deserved, but thanks for the comments anyway.
happy birthday!
ReplyDeletei'll have to admit you're too much of a hard-line liberal for my liking... how about less integrity and more blatant stabs at ratings?
how about a little more moral equivocation this year?
how about some less thought-through posts and more drunk rantings?
garn... you know you wanna.
Happy birthday! Keep up the good work. Yay for people doing good stuff on the internet etc!
ReplyDelete(I wish I could have phrased that better but thats as good as it gets when I haven't had my second coffee of the day yet...)
Happy birthday, and keep on rockin' in the free world. Did you notice your link on Salon's Daou report the other week?
ReplyDeleteYeah happy birthday. I recommend starting a book. I did that, and now I just copy and paste any significant blog rants into that so I don't feel guilty about not working on the book as often as I should...
ReplyDeleteKakariki: I've seriously thought about it. But the level of research required is... intimidating.
ReplyDeleteintimidating?
ReplyDeleteyou've already got academia written all over you and you're worried about research loads?
6 years... that's how long it took to get mine written. and i still have to do the final work to go for publication.
just getting to having the degree conferred has taken a year.
get started now or it'll never happen.
I think you should do a PhD. I want everyone to suffer as much as me...7 years and counting... For maximum masochism I suggest you combine it with working and having a child or, better yet, children!
ReplyDeleteMTNW & Che: wouldn't that mean having to give up blogging?
ReplyDeleteOne thing at a time. I have other things to do this year, but in the meantime I will be collecting material and hopefully hitting the archives again. Maybe I'll manage to get my shit together...
nah, not at all. truth is, managing to put together posts for PA was was helped me thru the final year of writing.
ReplyDeleteif you focus too closely on your subject matter you'll become lost in detail. it pays to branch out every now and then into something else.
plus, you can field the material in a 'non-published' format and receive free feedback on your ideas.
volume may have to drop a little but... i found that 1600 words a week, usually written in a local cafe and well away from my desk, was just the ticket.
Are you ever going to reveal your real name? I'm just dying to know who you really are.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your blog reaching three. Its one of the best blogs I've ever read and your industry, idealism and plain hard work deserves admiration. Well done and keep it up!!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what toms said. Great work, it is a must read site.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on everything bar the wonking, which will make you go blind. Or vote conservative.
ReplyDelete