Record comments and 500,000 page views for September 2015 and other meta

September 2015 was a month of milestones.  I posted the 2500th entry, the blog surpassed 500,000 page views over its history, and it set a new record for comments during a month with 74.  The blog also earned 12,893 page views.  Time to review my page view goals from Record page views for August 2015 and other monthly meta to see how that stacked up with expectations.

I conclude with my readership goals for September, which aren't very high.  September 2014 saw only 11,785 page views.  To beat that will require 393 page views per day for 11,790, which is the minimum goal.  The low goal of ending a day ahead entails 406 page views per day for a total of 12,180 total.  The medium goal of a five percent increase over last year would be 12,390 total or 413 page views per day.  The high goal would be at least 13,000 page views to keep the streak going, which would mean 434 page views per day.  As of tonight, the blog is exceeding all these goals, but it's only the first week.  There are 23 days left in September.  Stay tuned.

While it was the first month since February not to exceed 13,000, it still met all other readership goals by increasing page views over September 2014 by 1108, 9.4%.  As a consequence, the blog earned 429.77 page views per day and 368.37 page views per post.  Those weren't records, but they were good.  On the other hand, the blog had an average of 2.47 comments per day and 2.11 comments per entry.  Those are records!

To celebrate both the 500,000th page view and 2500th entry, which was Happy Labor Day from Detroit!, I'm posting the theme song for this blog, (Nothing but) Flowers.


Also to celebrate the record number of comments, I'm sharing the most commented on entries last month.

Thanks to a battle with several persistent spammers, Science fiction speaks to our current anxieties, posted August 3, 2014, is now the most commented on entry in the history of the blog with 52 comments, half of them deleted.  It started off with eight comments.  Thirty more were posted during September 2015, making this the most commented on entry this month.  Fourteen more came in October, so it will likely be the most commented on entry this month as well.

The most commented on entry actually posted during September was Blog recommendation: You Might Notice a Trend posted September 25, 2015.  It earned seven comments thanks to a conversation with the writer of the blog that was recommended.  That wasn't enough to place it in the top ten, as it earned only 69 page views last month, 85 according to the raw counter.

Follow over the jump for the most liked and most read entries of September 2015.

Two entries tied for most liked on Google Plus with four pluses during September.  The first was Grown-ups go back to school, too posted September 3, 2015.  The second was The science and hype of 'The Martian' posted September 28, 2015.

Now for the most read entries, all of which were in the default top ten during September, although some were not popular enough to finish there at the end of the month.  All but two of them were posted last month, making it a good month for new posts.

The countdown begins with Quatloos for "dinghy lovebirds" Gamrat and Courser posted September 2, 2015.  It earned 148 page views during the month according to the raw counter and had 124 according to the default counter before it fell out of the top ten, enough to place it thirteenth overall and eleventh among all entries posted during September.  It earned its page views by being shared on the political groups in Facebook.

Talk like a drum corps pirate posted on September 19, 2015, International Talk Like a Pirate Day, was the twelfth most read entry during September and the tenth most popular among last month's posts according to the raw counter, which listed it as having 149 page views.  It fell off the default top ten with 136 page views, which would have placed it eleventh and ninth respectively.  It earned its page views from being promoted at the drum corps groups on Facebook.

The eleventh most read entry during September and the ninth most read of those posted during the month was Burning all fossil fuels could melt Antarctica.  The entry posted on September 14, 2015 earned 161 page views according to the raw counter and 131 according to the default counter before "Talk like a drum corps pirate" knocked it out of the monthly top ten.  That latter stat would have placed it twelfth and tenth respectively.  The entry earned its page views by being shared at the climate and environmental groups on Facebook as well as being linked to at The Archdruid Report.

The top ten for September 2015 begins with 'Game of Thrones' wins Best Drama and three other awards.  This entry, posted September 21, 2015, earned 146 page views according to the default counter and 163 according to the raw counter, placing it tenth overall and eighth among all entries posted last month.  It earned its page views by being shared with the fantasy and science fiction groups on Facebook.

Three drink recipe entries made September's top ten, beginning with There's a Santorum cocktail, too.  Posted September 16, 2015, this entry earned 158 page views according to the default counter placing it ninth overall and seventh among entries posted last month.  The raw counter shows 188 page views, which would have placed it eighth and sixth respectively.  I shared this entry at the political groups and at Kunstler's blog.

Infidel753 helped push It was a good week for solar energy in Michigan over the top after I crossposted the entry to Michigan Liberal and Daily Kos by linking to it at his blog.  The entry, posted September 18, 2015, earned 160 page views according to the default counter, placing it eighth overall and sixth among entries posted during September.  The raw counter had it behind "There's a Santorum cocktail, too" with 175 page views, which would have placed it ninth and seventh respectively.  I padded the entry's total by sharing it at The Archdruid Report.

The second drink recipe entry to make September's top ten was Drink to Deez Nuts for President posted September 2, 2015.  It earned its 165 page views (213 according to the raw counter) by being shared by Paul W. at his political blog and then promoted by me on the political pages on Facebook and at Kunstler's blog.  It came in seventh overall and fifth among entries posted last month according to the default counter, but tied for fourth overall and second respectively according to the raw counter.

Scott Walker ends campaign as soon as he realized it became a zombie.  The entry posted on September 22, 2015 earned 183 page views (201 according to the raw counter).  Those were enough to place it sixth overall and fourth among those posted last month according to the default counter, but seventh and fifth according to the raw counter.  Infidel753's sharing the link on his blog was enough to push it into the top ten, while my promoting it at Kunstler's blog padded its page views.

A new blogger, Boat Bits, shared the link to More on low gas prices for Labor Day 2015, driving enough page views to push it into the top ten.  The entry posted September 8, 2015, earned 186 page views (213 according to the raw counter), placing it fifth overall and third among entries posted last month, but tied for fourth overall and second respectively according to the raw counter.  I padded its page views by sharing the link at Fabius Maximus.

John Oliver on Courser and Gamrat came in fourth overall and second among last month's entries on the strength of Facebook shares and web search, as I didn't promote it at other blogs.  The entry posted September 15, 2015 earned 193 page views according to the default counter but 209 according to the raw counter, which placed it sixth overall and fourth using those stats).

September was such a good month for new entries that it took until the third spot from the end to get to the back catalog, and that just by a few hours. I posted Debate drinking game rules for Carly Fiorina on August 31, 2015 at 8 PM local time, which was already September in the Eastern Hemisphere, and all of its page views were counted among September's stats.  The number one drinking game entry ended the month with 204 page views (246 according to the raw counter) placing it third overall and in second place among posts from the back catalog.  It earned most of its page views from being promoted at Kunstler's blog with the balance from Paul W. linking to it and my sharing it on the political groups in Facebook.

The winner of the new post trophy goes to First Courser and Gamrat, now Kelly and Mack posted on September 6, 2015.  It earned its page views through being shared on Daily Kos, first by me, then by another blogger.  In addition to coming it first among all entries posted during September, it was the second most read overall last month.

The winner of the revenge of the back catalog trophy and the single most read entry during September was Trash to energy: Student sustainability video festival 46.  It earned its 319 page views (420 according to the raw counter) by other people linking to it.  Infidel753 shared it first at his blog and then at Crooks and Liars.  From there, Boat Bits picked it up.  I didn't promote it on the environment and energy groups until September began.  I finally linked to it in a comment at The Archdruid Report, by which time it was already number one.

I conclude by noting that my readership goals for this month have already been met.  The minimum goal was to beat last October's 13,059 page views by earning 422 page views per day for 13,082.  Ending the month a day ahead at 13,504 page views would have been the low goal, while a 5% increase would have required reaching 13,712.  The blog passed all of those goals on Sweetest Day.  It's now approaching 19,000 page views as I type this and could easily surpass 20,000 by the end of the month.  Whatever the total, it will be a new record.  As a result, I'm coasting for the rest of the month by posting only one entry per day for a total of 37 for the month.  I'm also suspending promoting this blog on Kunstler's and Greer's blogs for the rest of the month.  I don't need the page views this month.