Fixpert in 2010
Fixpert is going to be significantly different in 2010. I’m not sure what it will look or feel like yet, but I don’t plan on continuing down the same route that I’m on. I feel that I’ve changed quite a lot in the last couple of years, and this change must be reflected in what I produce here.
I’ve also observed a major change in the behavior of my readers, and that will be the focus of this post. For those who care, I’ll open the kimono, or lift my skirt or whatever, and give you as much information as I can about what’s going on and why.
I think that this post might be useful for anyone who has a blog and is dissatisfied with its current performance. For those who are not used to analyzing their own sites, it will give you a peek into how you can be more mindful of what you’re producing and the effect it’s having on your audience.
Things Done Changed: A Look at the Data
Over the course of the past year, I noticed that there was a dramatic drop-off in comments on Fixpert. I knew that my traffic wasn’t declining, so it wasn’t as simple as losing visitors. There was clearly a change in behavior, and perhaps a loss of engagement on the site, but why?
I decided to try and analyze this change with Google Analytics, Google’s Webmaster Tools, and Crazy Egg. These are all site analytics tools that I highly recommend, and that are well-documented in tutorials elsewhere.
Indeed, I found that incoming traffic was steady, and I often ranked well in searches for relevant terms. But, I also saw that compared to last year, visitors were spending far less time on the site than they used to, staying for only about 30 seconds. They generally visited only one page before bouncing, rather than clicking around the site to explore more. They were also much more likely to visit the site once, but not return again.
Based on what conclusions I’m able to draw from this data, I imagined that this was a very common scenario for a visitor to Fixpert. We’ll call him Pete:
- Pete does a Google search for bike district.
- Pete sees a Fixpert post in the search results and clicks on it.
- Pete skims the page for about 30 seconds.
- Pete leaves the site and never returns.
- The end.
I’m simply describing behavior here, and not making an attempt (yet) to draw conclusions about why. This scenario is describing what about 95% of my audience is doing. That’s important, because it didn’t used to be like this. In 2007, a user might spend something closer to two minutes on the site, consume at least two pages, and 25% of them would return again for a second visit.
Why the Change in Behavior?
This is conjecture, but I’ll do my best to speculate on why I’m seeing these changes on my site.
1. Shorter, Faster, Morer
The internet has changed a lot in the six years that Fixpert has been around, and users’ behavior online has changed dramatically in the last 1-2 years with the widespread adoption of Facebook and Twitter. The overarching theme in 2009 was: large quantities of short-form content, produced quickly by anyone and everyone. Facebook status updates, 140-character Tweets, and many other factors such as limited time and attention, have trained an audience of web users to create and consume smaller and smaller chunks of content.
It’s possible that long blog posts (like this one) have temporarily fallen out of fashion, but if so, I believe that the pendulum will swing back as we feel the cumulative effect of a web-full of intellectually anemic moments. Twitter has it’s place, but it does not replace our need and desire for long-form content.
2. Conversing Elsewhere
I believe that many of our conversations online have moved to Twitter and Facebook. Not only have I noticed a decline in comments on Fixpert, but I’ve noticed the same trend on other sites as well. People are now posting links to Facebook or Twitter and having the subsequent discussion with friends there, rather than having that conversation on the site itself (there are exceptions of course). It’s often hard for publishers to track these conversations, as they’re happening in private, walled spaces.
3. A Super-saturation of Blogs
The web has matured to a point where there is no limit to the information available. Six years ago, Fixpert was perhaps one of the few places online focused on urban cycling, messengering, and the like. Today, I’m drown out by a healthy chorus of bloggers who cover the same themes. Not a bad thing, but it means I have to be more vigilant about offering something that no one else can.
4. Blogging versus Re-blogging
Yes, there are officially a bajillion sites online. But I still think that there are a rare few that produce quality, original content. Those are the sites that you add to your RSS reader, and return to for a second helping. More often, sites just re-blog — they find something good elsewhere online and link to it, maybe adding a quick comment of their own. I have certainly been guilty of this myself, particularly in 2009. Re-blogging creates a lot of the behavior that I described above in my data analysis (short visits, high bounce rate, reduced site loyalty).
In fact, when drilling further into the data, I found that when I wrote original content, such as this post, Complaining About Track Bike Hipsters, the time spent on site shot up 300%. Even though visitors didn’t leave a single comment, they were actually taking the time to read. This is counter to my #1 argument, I’m just exploring various possible factors.
5. I Didn’t Post Enough
Only 22 posts in 2009, many of them just re-blogging. One thing I’ve found in maintaining a site over the years is that you really see a big benefit from posting regularly. Having said that, I don’t think re-blogging for the sake of getting a fresh post out is worth it. If you’re able to post high-quality, original content on the regular, your users will reward you. I should have written more, and more thoughtfully in 2009.
What’s Next for Fixpert.com then?
On a good day, I think, “bah, I’ll just write whatever and not worry too much about a long-term vision for the site.” On a bad day, I think, “maybe I’ll just delete the whole deg on thing and start over.” Neither is a good strategy, so I want to take the time to have a thoughtful approach about what to do next. I’m left with a few questions to mull over:
- Who am I writing for?
- What can I offer them that no one else can?
- Can I do it regularly, say once a week?
Until now, Fixpert was a blog about urban cycling, messengering, commuting, sprinkled with some tech-related and personal essays. I’m not sure what it’s going to be going forward, but I know that I’d like it to be a reflection of me, of my personality.
I know this post focused on metrics, but really in the end, it doesn’t really matter if people read my posts or not, as long as I have fun doing it and I’m proud of what I produce. I want to improve as a writer and continue to refine and develop my voice. That was a big goal with starting Fixpert in the first place and the site has served me well in that regard. I feel much more confident about my writing than I did in say, 2004, but I still have a lifetime of improvement ahead of me.
Possible Upcoming Themes
I think I’ve been withholding a lot of the more interesting, and perhaps intimate, thoughts and themes of my recent life. I’ve stuck with what felt more vanilla and safe — posting about some solar-powered bike light and captioning it with, “Cool dude! Cowabunga!!” I’m bored with that, and it’s fair to say my readership is too. Here are some recent themes that I’d like to explore more:
The Love and Hate of Technology
As a person who works on the Web, I’ve consistently wrestled with technology and my relationship with it, how it’s impacted my personal relationships, my career, my sense of self. I often feel alienated as a result of “social” experiences online that are intended to do just the opposite. I have observed how destructive technology can be to society on the whole, and I’m saying this as a technologist! I don’t want to write reviews of the latest Apple doo-dad with 13 mega-flops. I do want to write personal essays about, say, how a relationship broke down due to technology.
I’m an Artist
I feel I’m going through something akin to a “coming out” process as an artist. It feels strange when people ask me what I do to say, “I’m an artist.” But it also feels much more honest and exciting than shrugging and mumbling, “uh, I do web design.” I no longer identify strongly with the skills that I use to make money, it’s not who I am, it’s just something that I do, part of the time. Emerging as an artist has been one of the most difficult processes I’ve ever been through, and I’ve mostly gone through it alone. I think I should share this with others.
Drawings
I’d love to start integrating my artwork into this site. There’s kind of this lame Artwork section now, with mostly scans of old shitty sketchbook doodles. The last year, I’ve focused on taking my art more seriously, working to hone my craft, and it’s only fair that I start sharing some of that online. Doing so will help me grow as an artist.
2010: What’s Our Focus?
What should we all focus on in the coming year? All of us bloggers? I think that original, high-quality, thoughtfully produced, long-form content will be a critical differentiator as the pendulum swings back from our Twitter binge of ‘09.
I can’t wait to see what we make!