Journalistic cycles are often driven by calender milestones so today I celebrate my first anniversary as a blogger--albeit it slightly tardy.
I started Mobile Point View in April of 2007 primarily to frame and define my "personal brand", project and shape awareness of my industry perspective and "thought leadership", enabling me to keep my eye focused on the mobile industry and global business trends through a discipline to discuss my views.
Along the journey I found it also fed internal motivations such as a love/hate relationship with writing, and my wanderlust for "Adventure Roads" and "Adventure Capitalism."
Plus, it feeds my spirit to learn more about other cultures and keep my skills sharp in making connections--both technical and human. I've been told I've got a combinatorial world view which my blogging reflects, being part travelogue, wireless industry and global commerce analysis, pus a passionate interest in high growth markets such as China, Africa, and the Middle East.
Recognitions & Connections
An unexpected turn along the path has been the recognition of my views and writings by technoscenti like Om Malik of DigOm, Gerry Purdee of Forrester Research and mobilista Rudy De Waele. A surprising approach by Mobile Messaging 2.0 to contribute to that corporate sponsored blog has led to additional "thought leadership" and recently my being tapped to be the Managing Editor of Mobile Messaging 2.0. So now I'm a "professional" journalist, meaning my meanderings put some coin in my pocket.
Another unexpected consequence of having a cyberspace billboard has been the people I've become acquainted with--gratifyingly in other countries--who have graciously shared their time, interests and expertise with me by reaching out and establishing a personal connection as result of my views, especially Lars in Tokyo, Ben in Beijing, Mikki in Hong Kong, Tarek in Egypt, Feng in Beijing, James in London, and Mohammed in Iraq.
Reflecting a modicum of success, the connectedness of the mobile industry and power of the internet, the number of others who I have met at conferences who entered a conversation with "I know you, I've read your blog!" has been surprising and energizing.
What I'm most proud of is being relevant and interesting to readers from 128 countries.
After a year of blogging, I've got a slurry of mixed metrics on total visits (over 100,000 ), page views, time on blog, google juice, etc., but the one which I'm most proud of is the reflection of my reach and global view point. Having readers from so many countries reflects my purpose, passion and pursuits to illuminate the power of mobile communications to consumers and its fundamentally global characteristics.
Interesting Quirks of Where My Readers Are
Some interesting aspects of my readership include: 9,600 visits from readers in India, 900 visits from readers in Pakistan, 30 visits from readers in Myanmar, over 740 visits from readers in Iran, and 400 visits from readers in Nepal. I've got one regular reader in Foggaret el Arab, the dead middle of Algeria with a population of 4,300. The snowiest reader must be in Bathurst Inlet, Nunavut, Canada--probably someone visiting the Lodge.
I guess that reflects the power of the web, the strength of interest in mobile communications, and once in a while my ability to strike a chord which resonates with a variety of people in diverse international locations.
Here's a tally of reader countries as of June 2008
| A Year in the Blog Life | ||||
| Visitors from 128 Countires | ||||
| Americas (25) | Europe (40) | Asia (26) | Middle East (11) | Africa (26) |
| US | UK | Australia | Afghanistan | Algeria |
| Barbados | Andorra | Bangladesh | Bahrain | Botswana |
| Bolivia | Aserbaijian | Brunei | Egypt | Cameroon |
| Brazil | Austria | Cambodia | Iran | Canary Islands |
| Canada | Azores | China | Iraq | Cote D'Ivoire |
| Cayman Islands | Belgium | Fiji | Israel | Djibouti |
| Chile | Bosnia | Guam | Jordan | Ethopia |
| Columbia | Bulgaria | Hong Kong | Kuwait | Gambia |
| Costa Rica | Czech Republic | India | Oman | Ghana |
| Dominican Republic | Denmark | Indonesia | Qatar | Libya |
| Ecuador | Estonia | Japan | UAE | Madagasacar |
| Grenada | Faeroe Islands | Kazakhsatan | Yemen | Mali |
| Guatemala | Finland | Korea | Mauritius | |
| Haiti | France | Laos | Moambique | |
| Honduras | Georgia | Malaysia | Moldova | |
| icaragua | Germany | Marutius | Morocco | |
| Jamiaca | Gibraltar | Myanmar | Mutitania | |
| Martinique | Greece | Nepal | Nigeria | |
| Mexico | Iceland | New Zealand | S. Africa | |
| Paraguay | Ireand | Pakistan | Senegal | |
| Peru | Italy | Philippines | Sudan | |
| Puerto Rico | Latvia | Singapore | Swaziland | |
| St. Vincent | Lichtenstein | Taiwan | Tanzania | |
| Trinidad | Lithuania | Tajikistan | Togo | |
| Urguay | Luxemburg | Thailand | Tunisia | |
| Venezuela | Macedonia | Uzbekistan | Uganda | |
| Mallorca | Vietnam | Zaire | ||
| Malta | ||||
| Monaco | ||||
| Netherlands | ||||
| Norway | ||||
| Poland | ||||
| Portugal | ||||
| Romania | ||||
| Russia | ||||
| Serbia | ||||
| Spain | ||||
| Sweden | ||||
| Switzerland | ||||
| Turkey | ||||
| Ukraine | ||||