Friday 4 April 2008

Surprise, surprise!

No not the Cilla Black TV programme! It is my surprise following the installation of the new visitor counter. I realise that I am not among the big players from the perspective of the number of visitors unlike Octomusings (Olive Morgan) and Methodist Preacher and Dave Faulkner and others and yet I am amazed that folk from four continents have at least visited my blog once. I note there is Europe (UK), America, Australia and Africa (South Africa) so it would seem I have gone international so to speak. Only need Asia for the full set!
I must try to blog more often as I have been a bit slow recently and I have just received some work to mark for Faith and Worship (12 peoples submissions) so may be a bit busy, but may make some comments about the work I have been marking (No names though).

7 comments:

PamBG said...

Blogging is not a competition. Nor should life be, for that matter. (I was going to say 'Life isn't either' but I know that for some people, it very much is a competition.)

May we all be who we are and use the gifts that God gave us. Like tutoring new preachers!

Shalom.

Fat Prophet said...

Thanks Pam, I wasn't suggesting any element of competition it was more a case of my very pleasant surprise at where people were looking at the blog from - I am a great believer in using the gifts that I believe God has given me and where I can put back some of what I have received - I am not a local preachers tutor but am a connexional assessor for what was my least favorutie part of faith and worship and people say God hasn't got a sense of humour. I believe this to be a way that I can assist those who are still in training and encourage them on their path.
I note your comment about being who we are and that is certainly what I try to do - I can not be somebody I am not and I would never try - in the words of one of my cartoon heroes Popeye 'I am what I am'.

PamBG said...

I thought it was 'I yam what I yam'. ;-)

And God definitely has a sense of humour!

Fat Prophet said...

You are of course absolutely right and it is certainly what I would have said if you were in earshot! I was conscious that some people might never have seen Popeye and could have thought I was talking about the other type of Yam

David said...

Never mind the four continents - you get at least one regular visitor from Sandwell. For Walsall blogger that really IS an accolade!

Anonymous said...

I've never been talked of as a big blogger before (although my waistline is expanding). I'm sure Richard Hall and Dave Warnock have far higher traffic levels than me! The Statcounter on my blog shows people having visited from numerous countries around the world; it doesn't mean they've commented, though. It's hard in any case to judge the readership of a blog. Some software can detect who lands on your page, but you have no idea who is reading you through a feed reader, be it software or web based.

More seriously, I echo Pam's first comment about blogging not being a competition. I see it as a conversation, a chance for iron to sharpen iron - which is why the comments you and others have made on my most recent blog post in the last 24 hours have been valuable to me.

So keep plugging away. I have learned that one important issue about blogging is that you blog until you discover your blogging voice - that is, the post topics people appreciate you writing about. In my case, it took me a long while to discover it was largely issues about ministry to which people responded on my blog.

Fat Prophet said...

Thanks MP for your comments about a Sandwell blogger - don't forget I am really a West Bronmwich lad so would hope a fellow Sandwellite visited my blog. We do after all seem to have a number of things in common!
Dave Faulkner its good to have you visit and thanks for the comments - I suspect you are right with what you say about a blogging voice - I regularly visit Connexions because there is often some quite challenging stuff on there and of course they use lots of big words which is nearly as good as the page in readers digest about improving your word power! In a similar way I visit Methodist Preacher because he can be quite thought provoking, and Olive Morgan who I find a great encouragement and Pambg who I met at Synod last year so feel I know better than any of you because I have met her - and of course the President and Vice Presidents blog has been on my list all year - I hope the next president keeps it going.