Of course I'm interested in my readers. I watch things. By watching my counter, I can say with conviction that my readership continues to slowly increase. Over the past two weeks, I have averaged 158 hits per day. My 2-week peak a couple of days ago was a very respectable 316 hits. My all time record of 324 hits was achieved a couple of months ago. My first two weeks with the blog, I averaged 63 hits per day.
The most interesting thing about my readership is the response I get. It is quite low. However, I know all my regular readers do not read the blog every day. Some only "catch up" every 3 or 4 days. Therefore, my total number of readers would be estimated to be 400-500 persons. I am delighted with that number. Another interesting thing about my readers is that they don't say much.
Typically, a gauge of reader acceptance or participation of any publication would be a high response rate. I don't believe that's true in this case. Please don't misunderstand. I have absolutely nothing against Facebook. It serves a function. I even use it myself, occasionally. However, I don't consider my readers to be limited to Facebook crowd only. I consider them to be a little more sophisticated than that. I like to think I write about more than social chatter. Furthermore, I think my readers would read what I have to say, and if they disagreed with me, they would lower the boom. They don't. Therefore, I consider any absence of response as a positive. I am writing about things that others have thought about. I am not as much as a crusader as I thought. It would appear to me that the only difference between me and four or five hundred other people in Rowlett is that I write about it.
But........reading and writing isn't good enough. If you have a genuine interest in Rowlett's future, you must take action. Now, I'm not asking for much. You can leave the oxcarts, pitch forks, and hungry children with dirty clothes in the garage. We are not going to march on city hall. We have to start slowly. First, a little practice. If you haven't voted by mail, or early voting, please spend just a few minutes dropping by your p0lling place and vote on Tuesday. It's good practice and the experience will aid you in a year and a half when we have another local election. You will need to be at the top of your game to vote in the next local election. A couple of the mayoral candidates have already started campaigning with kissing babies and getting their name out in public.........over, and over, and over, and over......ugh. Go vote!!
Happy Halloween!! Took my 9 year old grandson to the Mavs game last night. Row B seats and VIP parking. What a blast. Congrats to Rowlett High School marching band. Going to the state. All ain't bad in Rowlett.