As year 1 of blogging comes to an end (270 posts later), here are my top 15 (measured by traffic), top 5 page views, and some things I’ve learned about blogging along the way.

Top 15 posts of 2011:
1. 10 actions that kids learn from their parent’s marriage.
2. Better Together: I was fired today.
3. Crossing the line: 8 warning signs of inappropriate relationships with students (Guest Post)
4. 3 ways to help teenagers with porn.
5. I still can’t believe this is FREE
6. Lady Gaga: “I feel like a loser!”
7. PORN: “I’m just assuming you struggle.”
8. This is a picture of youth ministry.
9. “I was fired…my family is hurting.”
10. 10 ways a teenager benefits from being in a small group (from a dad’s perspective).
11. 7 ideas for deeper conversation with teenagers.
12. One of the BEST IDEAS I’ve seen in a long time!
13. 10 ways I deal with criticism.
 14. I wish this was an April Fools’ complaint.
15. 4 steps I’d take for intentional parenting

Top 5 page visits of 2011:
1. Student Leadership Conference 2011
2. Doug’s longer bio
3. Books by Doug Fields
4. One Minute Bible for Students
5. Join the team

Some of my “year 1” learnings:
1. Blogging is a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. I wouldn’t consider myself a natural writer and have found writing books very difficult, but at least when I write books I can write at my own pace.

2. When I began blogging in January I thought, “Wow! That’s a lot of people reading the blog.” I had no idea that there would be 10x more viewers by October. The growth amazed me.

3. Almost half (7 of 15) of the most popular posts had numbers (#) in the title.

4. Some of my favorite posts didn’t even break the top 20… seems strange to me.
*Duffy, Dr. Ruth, Syracuse & me (part 1 & 2)
*5 Steps toward the death of “to-do” lists (part 1, 2, 3)
*MOM: you lived well, you loved well…you left a legacy.
*Duffy Robbins: to know him is to love him

5. While it is hard work (#1 above), I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would. I felt fueled by the emails and personal interactions throughout the year where people commented about something they read here. It made me want to keep writing.

 

To those of you who stop by and read and/or subscribe via RSS and/or email… thanks for being part of a new journey with me in 2011. I look forward to learning a lot more about blogging and learning more from you too.

Blessings,
doug

Question: What input do you have for me as I move forward in 2012? I’m so very open to learning and would love your input here.