Friday, August 19, 2016

Popular entries from the back catalog for the fifth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News


Last month, I teased that "I have only one more entry left, a look at how entries posted before March 21, 2014 2015 fared last year."  It turned I wasn't ready to do post it until I finished the monthly metas for March and January, the latter of which told my readers to "Stay tuned for the final installment of the annual retrospective tomorrow."  It's tomorrow and also Flashback Friday, the perfect day to fulfill my promise and finish this series.


The highest ranking entry from the back catalog as of March 20, 2016 was Eye spy the gas price rollercoaster about to coast down like a parachute from September 2, 2012, which was in fifth place on the all-time top ten with 1988 page views, 2936 according to the raw counter.  Those numbers were a sign of stagnation compared to  March 20, 2015.
The most read entry for the history of the blog according to the default counter as of March 21, 2015 and still the current number one is Eye spy the gas price rollercoaster about to coast down like a parachute, posted on September 2, 2012 with 1988 page views, which it still has now.  The post currently has 2916 according to the raw counter.  This entry was not among the top 20 for the second year of the blog on March 20, 2013, and not among the default top ten as of March 20, 2014.  It began its rise during the second half of 2014, when gas prices began their long, deep slide from $3.50 to just under $2.00 and a lot of web searches retrieved it as one of the results.  The entry was in the monthly top ten for six months running during that time period, enough to move it from not on the list to the top of the leader board.  Amazing how a change in economic conditions can revive the fortunes of an old post.
Since last year, it gained not a single view according to the default counter and only 20 according to the raw counter while falling four places.  It continued its slide the past five months, finally being displaced by John Oliver on feelings over facts and Colbert on Trumpiness earlier this month, but that's really a story for next year.

Follow over the jump for what happened to the rest of the back catalog last year.
   

James Robertson ABC's Person of the Week from February 7, 2015 ended the fifth year in sixth place with 1766 page views, 1872 according to the raw counter.  Like the previous entry I listed, it really got almost no page views since last year.
As promised and foreshadowed, the most read entry of the fourth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News is James Robertson ABC's Person of the Week posted on February 7, 2015.  It has 1767 views according to the default counter and 1788 according to the raw counter, which I use to rank the top 20 entries each year.  It also received two comments.
It got 84 more raw views yet actually lost one according to the default counter!  Consequently, it should come as no surprise that it fell from second at the end of the fourth year to sixth at the end of the fifth and kept falling.  I eventually was pushed out by Tyrion Lannister ties Sanders and beats Clinton and Trump in May 2016, a story that I'll repeat in detail next year.

Before I continue with the rest of the back catalog that remained in the all time top ten, I wish to say farewell to all of the top ten at the beginning of the fifth year of the blog that not only did not last until the end, but didn't seem to put up a fight:
Sic transit gloria mundi.

Enough of the back catalog entries that sunk without a trace during the past year.  I'm ready to discuss those that did their best to stay afloat and even try to rise out of the depths during April 2015 through March 2016.


The eighth most read entry of all time as of March 20, 2016 was Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts from April 6, 2014 with 1421 page views, 4937 according to the raw counter.  As of March 20, 2015, it was not on the all-time top ten.  I climbed into it over the course of the year, a story that begins in the monthly metam for March 2015.
Two entries tied for the fifth most read entry of the past month.  One of them was also the sixth most read during February, the fourth most read during January, and the second most read entry of the past year.  "Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts" earned 142 page views during March mostly from web search but also from being featured in "'Game of Thrones' for the fourth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News."  It had 1479 page views total as of March 20, 2015, and currently has 1561.
It continues in the monthly meta for April 2015.
The most read entry during April and the winner of the Revenge of the Back Catalog Awards was "Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts."  It earned 323 page views entirely from web search and minor social media promotion tied into the season premiere last month.  This entry came in tied for fifth during March and was the second most read entry according to the raw counter during the year it was posted.  It had 1561 total page views according to the raw counter at the beginning of April and 1930 now.  Despite all the views, it still hasn't found its way onto the official top ten.
It finally entered the top ten in May 2015
The winner of the back catalog trophy for May is "Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts."  Web search alone drove 428 page views to this entry, enough to place it second for May.  According to the default counter, this entry has 919 total page views, good enough for sixth place on the all-time top ten.  Last month, it wasn't even tenth.  It has even more according to the raw counter, 2421.
Nothing like a season of "Game of Thrones" to drive readership to this entry.  It continued its rise through the rankings in Monthly Meta for June 2015.
The most read entry of the month and the winner of the Revenge of the Back Catalog trophy is "Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts," posted April 6, 2014.  It earned its 455 page views in June almost entirely through web search with minor social media promotion.  This entry has been in the monthly top ten all this year.  It currently has 1381 page views, 2940 according to the raw counter, and ranks third on the all-time list.
It held its own during July 2015
This entry from the back catalog (posted April 6, 2014) came in fifth overall with 199 page views according to the default counter during July.  Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts earned them from web search and sharing on three fantasy groups on Facebook, reaching 950 people.  It's amazing what the right social media promotion can do.  The post ended July third on the all time list with 1457 page views, 3226 according to the raw counter.
After that, it failed to make the monthly top ten until the next season of "Game of Thrones" aired, descending the rankings to eighth by March and off entirely by May 2016."
Game of Thrones D&D character alignment charts" posted April 6, 2014 tied for ninth overall with 191 page views.  It got its readership from web search related to the broadcast of the sixth season of the show.  Those page views weren't enough to keep it in the all time top ten, as sharing "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" at the start of the month knocked it out.
It hasn't returned to the top ten since, although it is still getting page views and just might.
   

Speaking of Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet, it's next on the list.  The entry from October 18, 2014 ranked ninth on March 20, 2016 with 1330 page views, 3478 according to the raw counter.  It was easily the most active entry from the back catalog all year, appearing in eight of twelve monthly summaries beginning with Monthly meta: page views and posts for March 2015 and goals for April 2015.
The fourth most read entry during March has been in the top ten every month since it was posted last October.  It was also the third most popular of all entries from the past year.  "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" earned 199 page views last month and 1245 total by March 20, 2015 and 1325 by the end of March according to the raw counter.  The entry is also on the all time top ten list at eighth place with 822 page views according to the default counter as of March 20th.  It earned most of its page views from web search with a little assistance from being featured in "Student worksheets for the fourth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News."
It rose during April 2015.
The ninth most read entry during April has been in the top ten for eight consecutive months since I posted it in October.  "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" earned 131 page views last month, all through web search.  It continued to advance up the all time top ten since it broke into it in March, as it's currently the fifth most read entry in the history of the blog with 898 page views.
It continued climbing in May 2015.
"Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" has been in the top ten every month since it was first posted in October 2014.  This month, it earned 259 page views, all from web search, to place it third overall.  The entry has a total of 1145 page views, 1849 according to the raw counter, enough to make it the fourth most read entry in the history of the blog.
Its run in the monthly top ten ended in May, which meant it fell down the rankings until August 2015, when it fell out the first time.
The most read entry last month not only earned the back catalog trophy (barely, as it was posted on July 30, 2015) but also was the most read entry both last month and for the entire history of the blog so far.  I shared "WXYZ on redistricting reform" on the Coffee Party USA Facebook page, which earned it 2529 page views during August.  Added to its page views during July, and it ended the month with a total of 2578 page views, 2606 according to the raw counter, enough to knock "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" out of the top ten.
It re-entered the top ten in October 2015.
"Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" fell out of the all-time top ten, but re-entered at the end of the month.  Before it fell out again, it had 994 page views and sat in tenth.  It got most of those page view from my printing it and passing the copies to my students.  It has since been knocked out of the all time top ten by November's top post.
Speaking of November, it still managed to get in the monthly top ten.
"Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" was knocked out of the all-time top ten by the top post of November, but it still managed to get in the top ten for the month with 150 page views, which it earned from my students looking it up as well as general web search.  This post from October 18, 2014, came in sixth overall.
Here's another view of that changing of the guard from Climate for the fifth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
The winner of the Revenge of the Back Catalog trophy and the number one entry for all of last month was "Republicans on climate change and energy at the CNBC Debate" posted October 29, 2015.  It earned its 2416 page views during the November by being shared at the Coffee Party Facebook page.  It also ended up on the all-time top ten with 2486 page views, 2513 raw, during both October and November.  It's currently in third place all time after knocking "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" out of the top ten.  It's one of six posts shared at the Coffee Party Facebook page to get in the top ten so far this year.
This was the second entry to dislodge Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet, the first being WXYZ on redistricting reform.  The post climbed back on the leaderboard in between and has since returned, but that's a story for another entry.
In case my readers hadn't figured it out already, this is the entry for that story.

The post missed December, but returned in January 2016's rankings were a mess and other monthly meta
"Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" from October 18, 2014 won the Revenge of the Back Catalog trophy for January by earning 139 page views through web search to place fourth overall.*
...
*I needed this paragraph for the final installment of the annual retrospective and the lack of January's stats stood in the way of posting it.
It climbed into the top ten again in February 2016.
Web search also revived "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet."  It was in the top ten last month with 139 page views, but got even more this month with 171, enough to place it fifth overall during February and ninth all time with 1395 page views since October 18, 2014.  It helped that I also shared it on a Throwback Thursday/Flashback Friday and that I printed it out for my students.  Nothing like blogging as professional development!
It maintained its ranking by doing its best Red Queen impression during March 2016.
The first of two entries from the back catalog in the past month's top ten, "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" from October 18, 2014, earned 162 page views from web search to come in tenth overall.  It ended the month as the ninth most read entry of all time with 1404 page views.  It has since been pushed out of the all time top ten.
That happened in June 2016."
CNN and MSNBC interview Libertarian candidates William Weld and Gary Johnson" from May 24, 2016 earned a second month in the top ten by being shared at the Coffee Party Facebook page on the first of the month.  That drew in 2700+ more page views to the entry in 24 hours.  In addition, June 1 saw 3,037 total page views, including 850 the first hour after the link was posted.  As a result, it earned the top post of the month and the Revenge of the Back Catalog trophy by collecting 2740 more page views during June.  The entry now has a total of 3136 page views (3187 according to the raw counter) placing it fourth on the all-time top ten.  It knocked "Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet" out for what may be the last time.
Sic transit gloria mundi.


One more entry from last year's all-time top ten bears examination, Happy 4th of July from James Howard Kunstler's Tea Party!  Monthly Meta for July 2015has the story of how I tried to revive it.
When the month started, Happy 4th of July from James Howard Kunstler's Tea Party! from the first year of the blog (posted July 4, 2011) had fallen from fifth place overall in March to seventh place overall.  Sharing it at the Coffee Party Facebook page lifted all the way up to fourth place overall with 1236 page views (1838 according to the raw counter).  It was also the fourth most read for the month with 357 page views.
That was the last hurrah for this entry.  It was replaced by replaced by Corn questions from 'Food, Inc.' worksheet the second time it showed up on the top ten.  Sic transit gloria mundi.


I close by mentioning a post from the back catalog that earned enough page views that I would have included it among the holiday entries that made the past year's top 20. Here's the story from Monthly Meta for July 2015.
The most read entry of the month and the winner of the back catalog trophy (posted July 4, 2014) is A drum corps 4th of July!, the other holiday-themed musical entry I shared over the July 4th weekend, earning the blog nearly 2000 page views over two days between the two.  Thanks to the drum corps people on Facebook, this entry ended the month with 510 page views.  That translates into about 550 page views according to the raw counter during the month.  It has 816 views over its history.
It repeated in the monthly top ten last month, too.
The second Honorable Mention went to "A drum corps 4th of July" posted July 4, 2014.  After being shared at the drum corps groups and communities on Facebook and Google+, it had 252 page views, which put it in 10th place as of 11 P.M. on July 14, 2016 and returned to the top ten at 9th place on the last day of the month.
The post now has a total of 1158 page views over its history according to the raw counter.

With that, this project is done for this year.  YAY!

Previous retrospectives about the back catalog.
Previous entries in this series.

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