Dominic Foster

Wheelspin and Traction

Yesterday I posted about how my Web Stats had shown a drop in my Distinct Hosts Served. This got me thinking about how the traffic to my Blog has been formed over the last few days - in a manner I have ended up calling Wheelspin and Traction.

First, imagine that you are really keen and excited about learning to drive a car. You read all sorts of books, web sites, blogs and then spend copious amounts of time lurking around forums - learning about the mechanics - and aesthetics of cars and suitable driving methods to get you from a Know-Nothing-Novice to Indy-500-Superstar.

So now you feel like you have acquired the necessary knowledge to be a successful driver. Next you go to a local car dealership - the sort that sells the type of car you believe is suitable for applying your knowledge of driving. Since you are such an expert, you decide to purchase a big grunty V8 - with Slick Tyres, a Stylee Spoiler and Fluffy Dice hanging from the rear view mirror.

You drive the car off the forecourt and, at first, navigate cautiously down the road. You feel great that you have finally started to drive. You stop at the first set of lights and rev the engine a bit. The lights turn green - You floor the accelerator - The wheels spin - The cars slides sideways - Theres noise, smoke and a feeling of great excitement.

Then you ease off the accelerator - The car slows - You can’t wait for the next opportunity to Wheelspin.

After a while, Wheelspins are not so much fun anymore. Your original perspective of good driving skills changes. You modify your car - removing the Fluffy Dice (oh yes - that’s much better) and changing the brand of tyres. Maybe you change the car all together for something like a 4 Wheel Drive vehicle because you would like to have better Traction.

This is a bit like how my experience of Blogging has gone so far. I’ve been Wheelspinning when I posted a comment on Joel on Software - and again when posting a comment of Problogger.

Ooh those heady jumps in my Web Stats were certainly exciting. But I long for the Traction of regular visitors.

I believe that I can take a positive from quantifying this experience. I must not kid myself that I’ll have 500 regular readers by the end of Week 1. Better Blogging is a constant tweaking of many parameters such as Page Design, Blog Content, Search Engine Optimization, Link Building and many other facets of this fascinating domain. By fulfilling my 31 Days to Better Blogging, I’ll have plenty of experience to draw on.

All the best with gaining and maintaining Traction!

Related Posts:
Day 5 - Roundup
Less Traffic Today :(