The comet has passed and the dust has settled

Top 20 and some feedback...

What an amazing collection of posts formed this year's #Adventblogs and #PostAdventBlogs series. Thank you to all of you who wrote pieces under the theme of "Comet Tails and Coal Dust". I am amazed and delighted at the range and breadth of interpretations, as well as the global interest shown in the series. We ran to over 50 posts and the comet only passed and the dust finally settled earlier this week, so here are some observations and stats about the series.

Every post received in excess of 500 views. We had poems, personal stories, music, history, facts, humour, annual reflections and words of inspiration and encouragement. It is clear from the shares, likes and comments that the series was very popular. I love the fact that, since Alison Chisnell founded the series back in 2011, it has become an annual tradition that is valued by a large number of people around the world (and not just the authors).

As per last year, I will now provide a little more information about the series as a whole.

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Total number of views for the series: 15,895 in December and 10,990 in January (for the 20 days of the series) - NB these numbers are still rising daily.

We had people reading the blogs in over 30 countries, with the top 10 for audience numbers being:

Pageviews by Countries

Entry	Pageviews
United States	5649
United Kingdom	4589
Russia	1798
Slovakia	1039
Germany	330
Ireland	153
France	140
Poland	118
Australia	105
Ukraine	91

The twenty most popular posts, if rated by views, are: 

1. Shine a Light - an uplifting post by Mark Catchlove urging each of us to support those around us - with a total of 1864 views - made up of 1577 views directly to the blog and 287 via LinkedIn (that compares to 1467 views via the blog for the most popular post in last year's series)
   
2. Down in the Dirt - a confessional, but encouraging, piece that touches on dark places before finding the light, by Paul Clarke - with a total of 1059 views (made up of 709 views on the blog + 350 via LinkedIn)
   
3. Advent Hopes by Simon Heath, the opening post of the series, was a cheerful and witty poem - with a total of 1045 views (made up of 792 on the blog and 253 via LinkedIn)
   
4. Do you EnJoy Shopping? - A post advocating the benefits of enjoying life, by Phil Marsland - with a total of 994 views (made up of 714 views on the blog + 280 via LinkedIn)
   
5. Beyond Compare - by Fiona McBride in which she ably demonstrated the value of silencing your inner critic and giving something a go - with a total of 937 views (made up of 582 views on the blog + 355 via LinkedIn)
   
6. With Thanks to the Coal Dust - a brave and poignant post by an anonymous writer about the pain of miscarriage and the value of a caring and supportive family - it made a big impact on those who read it - with a total of 914 views (made up of 673 views on the blog + 241 via LinkedIn)
   
7. Of Nice and Men - a post about personal impact and the benefits of being nice, by Tim Scott (I can vouch from personal knowledge that Tim is one of the nicest people on social media and IRL and is mindful of the impression he makes on others) - with a total of 870 views (made up of 509 views on the blog + 361 via LinkedIn) 
   
8. A Challenging Year - in which Helen Green appreciated that things are not always as bad as they seem and came to realise that it is love that makes life worth living - with a total of 858 views (made up of 617 views on the blog + 309 via LinkedIn) 
   
9. Each Moment Counts - A moving post about friendship, love, loss and what it is to be human by Brett Fish Anderson from South Africa - with a total of 852 views (made up of 443 views on the blog + 409 via LinkedIn) 
   
10. Not All Those Who Wander are Lost - was an annual reflection combined with deeper thoughts on life by Peter Cook who concludes that it is vital to remain young at heart - with a total of 836 views (made up of 561 views on the blog + 275 via LinkedIn) 
    
11. Christmas Comet Fragments - provided a wonderful and nostalgic glimpse of a traditional British Christmas, by Mat Davies -  with a total of 782 views (made up of 521 views on the blog + 261 via LinkedIn) 
    
12. It's Behind You - is a powerful poem that can be interpreted on many levels, it was written by Amanda Arrowsmith - with a total of 832 views (made up of 469 views on the blog + 363 via LinkedIn) 
    
13. Reflected Brilliance and Volatility - An honest post about the occasionally fallibility in recruitment, by leading search consultant Mark Husband - with a total of 809 views (made up of 437 views on the blog + 372 via LinkedIn). Mark Husband is the MD of Cogent Search; he commenced as a humble blogger submitting his own post, but was so inspired by the pieces he read, which were written by others, that his firm the sponsored the series on LinkedIn, which explains why the LinkedIn views rose over the course of the weeks we ran. Thank you Mark. 
    
14. Dictionary of the Wind is a wonderful piece of writing by Neil Usher with the ability to inspire using words hitherto unread in the English language - a total of 761 views (made up of 489 views on the blog + 272 via LinkedIn) 
    
15. Anger over Fear - a thought-provoking post, by Khurshed Dehnugara, that urges us to consider and appreciate why we and others react as we do - with a total of 758 views (made up of 422 views on the blog + 336 via LinkedIn) 
    
16. Awesome Diamonds by Bina Briggs told us about some inspirational people in her family and advocated appreciation for all those wonderful friends and people around us - with a total of 757 views (made up of 415 views on the blog + 342 via LinkedIn) 
    
17. Turn Down the Light  - a personal confession by Gary Cookson that he does better in job interviews when he is simply himself (as indeed we all do). It's nearly February, I'm looking forward to finding out which organisation was fortunate enough to hire him - with a total of 755 views (made up of 459 views on the blog + 296 via LinkedIn) 
    
18. Comet Tails and Dust Trails by Siobhan Sheridan, who I am confident will become one of the great HR bloggers going forward. She wrote a post that wove together stories, ancient history, modern research and the ability to change your perspective and move with the times - with a total of 754 views (made up of 478 views on the blog + 276 via LinkedIn) 
    
19. In For a Penny, In for a Pound - an important post about mental health and how it is viewed in the work place, by Alice Cowell - with a total of 730 views (made up of 524 views on the blog + 206 via LinkedIn) 
    
20. Illuminate Your Stars and Let Your Diamonds Shine - an uplifting post by Donna Hewitson that emphasises the value of cherishing and encouraging others, to help them shine - with a total of 686 views (made up of 428 views on the blog + 258 via LinkedIn) 
    

One of the extraordinary things about the above list is that there are so many new voices, some, like Brett Fish or Mark, were virgins to the series, having not followed it in previous years. Others, such as Paul, had encouraged people behind the scenes, but added their own voice this year - I am so glad to have them with us. It is worth noting that a few, who were former followers of the series, used this year as an opportunity to write their first ever blog (indeed that was partially the theme of Fiona's post). Congratulations, amongst others, to Fiona and Siobhan. The enthusiasm shown towards the posts, and the comments people have left, clearly show how much their writing was appreciated. I do hope that they will continue to write and perhaps start a blog of their own. 

To my mind all the contributors, and not just those in the most viewed top 20, are stars. Without you there would be no series.

In my next update I will provide some information on the wonderful and imaginative ways in which people tackled a challenging theme. In the meantime, I hope 2016 has got off to a brilliant start for you. Thanks to the pleasures of hosting the series, it certainly has for me.

The Start of the Advent-ure

Where do I start? I’ve had a wonderful weekend rereading the posts that people so generously contributed to the Advent Blogs series. What an amazing selection of articles written by so many inspirational people. Thank you!

 

It is said that HR is bad at data, although Deborah’s post showed that some of us are naturally analytical when sorting out our lives. While perusing all the pieces, I created a spreadsheet to undertake some rudimentary analysis of the posts. So here is a little of what I discovered:

1.  The theme for the series was Paths and Perceptions – a number of writers tried to write about both, but most posts showed a clear bias towards one or the other (for example Ed was clearly a path follower whilst Meg, who kicked the series off, was concerned by the perception filters we each apply and Alex worried at our inability to put ourselves into others’ shoes and hence to appreciate their view points.) Paths were most popular, with 41 writers stepping that way, whereas 31 preferred considering perceptions.

2. There were 6 first time bloggers and each of them wrote with aplomb – congratulations and welcome to the blogging community. I am humbled by people’s courage to step into the unknown and to share intimate facts about themselves and their lives. Given her trepidation at writing, but the brave, open piece that ensued, Gina deserves a particular mention. I would also like to wish Susannah on-going success as she develops her career and life in a direction that suits her. Without my commenting on it in an intro, I would defy any reader to distinguish between a “newbie” and a “veteran”.

3. I had expected self-awareness to be the primary theme (indeed it was a topic covered in 50 of the posts – Andrew gave a clear depiction of what it is like to be a public speaker and there was a powerfully frank piece by the originator of the Advent Blog series, Alison Chisnell, which appeared on Christmas Day – Alison’s year took an unexpected turn, but she has learned to be thankful for the new life-affirming opportunities that have opened up for her), but in fact appreciation, in its various forms, was expressed in 52 of the posts. Appreciation is Dawn’s job, but she realised that we need to show how much we value people who are close and precious, but occasionally overlooked, as well as those in our wider lives.

4.  Authors were diverse - people in their teens (thanks to my son, Hamish, whose poem still makes me misty eyed whenever I read it), twenties (my other son Charles who urged us to think deeper than the superficiality of first impressions and the articles we read), thirties (it’s often easy to forget that, given the depth and breadth of his knowledge, David is in his mid 30’s – I would like to take this opportunity to wish him all the best when he starts his new role as Head of London for the CIPD), forties (Jayne’s piece was all about the pleasure to be gained from being that little bit older – Confucius also felt that contentment and self-awareness need to come with age. I must confess that I am quietly pleased that my illustration for Day 57 was an early Heinz advertisement as, unbeknown to me, Jayne’s father worked for Heinz), and fifties (what a walk Chris gave us – showing the importance of belonging as well as inhabiting a space and feeling a sense of spiritual connection with others).

5. Posts originated from countries around the globe (including Australia (thanks Colin – what a great review of your childhood/formative years), New Zealand (Zoe – I’m so glad to read that you are settling well into your new homeland and beginning to make more time for yourself), Switzerland (Sara – I know that you are not as “flakey” as you claim - it was a beautiful post and I hope one day to meet Bean and Tiny), Scotland (Julie – what a challenging year on so many levels and yet you still manage to shine and inspire), England (Phil managed to find insight and an answer to a question that had troubled him for 700 days whist walking the streets of Leeds for a Street Wisdom session), South Africa (Janine – your girls are lucky to have you as their mum and I shall think of you as #7 going forwards) and the U.S.A. (I loved Christopher’s uplifting piece about dropping our expectations, taking time and acknowledging others to make life better for all).

6. There were 3 anonymous bloggers – each of which of whom were brave and honest. The first had personal information to share, in the hope of encouraging and supporting others, her piece shows that tough times can happen, even to the best of us. It was clear from the response that the second anonymous blogger received that they are not alone in finding the seat at the top uncomfortable – good luck with your new venture. The third anonymous writer wanted to protect his family – what an awful year, but as he said, he survived and I am pleased to report that he tells me things are picking up. I salute all three of you.

7 Total Views for Advent Blog posts in January 2015 were19835 and for December 2014 they were18513

8 During January the significant views by country were (2,803 views were scattered across countries around the globe but did not exceed 35 in any location):  

United States	10525
United Kingdom	4930
France	649
Germany	466
Australia	137
New Zealand	89
Taiwan	70
Slovakia	64
Ukraine	64
South Africa	38

The top 12 blogs by page views will be disclosed in my next post

As you can see, I have not illustrated my thoughts and comments, which risks making this post quite dense and hard on the eye. As a result, I shall post the second half of my thoughts and supporting data later this week.