Monday, November 12, 2012

LOL 7 - The Final Tally

What else can possibly be said about our recently completed LOL Day 7 event? Actually, quite a bit, at least for me.

Thank You

First, and most importantly, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who made LOL Day a tremendous success again this year. Your participation and support amaze and delight me. I truly appreciate all of the kind words directed toward me, but I'm just one of many people who make this community event possible.

The Obligatory Statistics

I'd also like to show off our latest numbers. Just look how the comment count has exploded!

YearBlogsComments
200646919
2007831,444
2008871,971
20091442,627
20101102,539
20111592,942
20121444,660


We had a few blogs that I had hoped might participate this year, but didn't. Nevertheless, I think we can all be pleased with the continuing growth of Love Our Lurkers Day.

The Evolution of LOL Day

Beyond the numbers, we've witnessed other changes. LOL Day has evolved into a kind of community block party. We now celebrate not only our lurkers, but everyone in the community. I didn't envision anything so grand in the beginning, but I never argue with success. LOL Day has grown in an organic fashion such that even I can't be certain where it will go from here. But I can tell you that I look forward to finding out.

About That Word

If I had the chance to do it again, I probably wouldn't choose the word lurkers. We would have to grapple with some other unwieldy acronym (Respect Our Readers?). I liked LOL because it's short, simple, catchy, and connotes a good time.

Many people dislike the word because they believe it suggests someone vaguely sinister. Yet the definition I applied, for anyone who silently reads, was then as now, common internet parlance.

In most other situations, I refer to those who frequent blogs as readers.

Wrapping Up

I've written many times about the importance of community. Throughout the year, we celebrate triumphs and console losses. We welcome new bloggers and mourn those who disappear. As we laugh and cry together, small kindnesses build one upon another to weave the fabric of our community. On Friday, we witnessed a strong, mobilized community in action. It was a beautiful sight.

33 comments :

Fondles said...

did you go around to the blogs to add up the comments??

wow. I want to give you a kiss!

and you're right, it seemed like a blog party. i didn't realise that people would come around and wish me happy LOL day but as soon as i found out I went around the blogs n wished others too! It was totally fun! Like Christmas in Blogland.

thanks again for this :)

Bonnie said...

Hi Fondles,

Yes, that's exactly what I did today. I count every year so we can see how we're doing. I'm glad you enjoyed LOL Day!

Florida Dom said...

Congrats on all you've done to bring this community together. You have helped nurture so many blogs and you have changed many lives, including mine.

FD

Aimless Rambling said...

Thank you Bonnie for all of your work in bringing and keeping us together. I enjoyed participating and can't wait to do it again.

SNP said...

Terrific job and amazing stats, Bonnie!

Minielle Labraun said...

Thanks Bonnie, I cannot believe I am even part of something so wonderful. You must feel so proud of what you began!

Unknown said...

You are amazing....truly :D

MrBBSpanker said...

I love stats! lol
Thanks for going around and counting all of those! I tried to go to each site that participated and at least say Hi or de-lurk. I can't imagine going through all of them and tallying up all the stats. According to your final tabulation, and the dramtic peak in comments compared to past years ... 2012 is the year of the blogger!!! And reader! :)

SmilingBelle said...

thank you oh so much for all you do:) this was my first LOL day and I had so much fun with it! I visited my blogs I read daily plus found some new ones:) I agree with Fondles....it was like Christmas in Blogland:) thank you again!

Belle:)

Anonymous said...

I dont mind being called a lurker... its what I am!
I have been silently lurking here for several years. Its given me some peace of mind that Im not too warped, or least theres others who have the same basic thoughts/desires as I do, and if I am a little "different", well at least I am in good company! Thanks for your wonderful blog, and the information in the tutorials, they are a great help.

Erica said...

Wow... just wow! The work you do, Bonnie! Thanks for these stats; it's gratifying to see the results of such a massive group effort. :-) I'm so proud to be a part of it.

Roz said...

Thank you so much Bonnie for all your outstanding hard work organising and wrapping up LOL day. You really went' round all the blogs and counted comments? Wow! I salute you. The statistics are amazing. It's great to see such a fantastic outcome!

This was my first year participating as a blogger. I had so much fun visiting blogs and particularly being my first year, I found the comments I received very encouraging and affirming.

It was a wonderful day and did feel like a big blogland party.

Kitty the Submissive Wife said...

Personally, the accountant in me just loved seeing the graph after the numbers. Perfection! :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks Bonnie for all you do! This was my 1st yr to participate in LOL Day and almost didn't do it because I've only been blogging for less than a month. I am so glad I did! It did feel like a huge block party and it allowed me to "meet" some new people in the community. In real life I would never go around my neighborhood introducing myself, but as people stopped by and commented on my post and introduced themselves I found myself wanting to get to know them. I started traveling to some of my fav blogs and letting them know how much they've inspired me.. Thank you for welcoming me and creating an event that allied me to open up and get to know this community a little more

Jake said...

Thanks again, Bonnie, for both organizing this event and for creating it in the first place! What a good idea it was!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Bonnie. You make it fun.

Hez said...

thanks Bonnie for starting LOL Day. I had my first one, and thought it was great. Spent a better part of the day answering some new bloggers and gaining new friends along the way. Looking forward to next year :)

James Stephenson said...

Thanks again for all your hard work

Bas said...

We might merge our two Holidays, Bonnie's "Love our Lurkers" and Ana's "Thank you Bonnie day".

Bonnie, You must have spent an impossible amount of free time for our community.
We will never be able to be thankful enough.

Anonymous said...

I'll say it again, you do a good service for the community. Thank you!

Bleue D'âme said...

As my first time participating in LOL Day--it really was a great experience and I truly felt part of a community. Thanks so very much, Bonnie!

Unknown said...

This was our 2nd go around with LOL, thank you Bonnie for making it so much fun!

Anonymous said...

Hi-I can't tell if my comments as an out-of-the-closet lurker even posted to you. If you recieved it please e-mail mike at otkaok52@yahoo.com.
TIA. I really like it here.

spankedbywife said...

Bonnie-
Wow, the effort you put into this must have been astronomical!

It was both humbling and an honor to know that we were part of this wonderful effort.

Thanks!
Ken and Cora

Susie said...

Graphs and charts and everything. Wow! Thanks Bonnie...it sure was fun.

Mrs. Soft Bottom said...

I too will add my thanks for all that you do for us as a community.

Kaelah said...

Thank you very much, Bonnie, for another wonderful LOL Day experience! :-)

I guess there is a rather simple reason for the huge raise in the number of comments, though, which is that many bloggers have started to answer each comment individually (as far as I remember this feature is quite new at least for those who use Blogger). Still, the numbers are very impressive and I absolutely agree with everyone that LOL Day was a huge success.

pixiepie said...

I wish I had known you were doing this....I've only recently started writing again and would have participated!
pixie

Anonymous said...

Thanks Bonnie!
Perhaps next year we can email in our own statistics so you don't have to go around counting. But you're probably good at counting, most spankos are.

SPANKEDHORTIC II said...

Those numbers look like a win to me. thank you and well done Bonnie.

Prefectdt

Bonnie said...

Everyone - Thank you again for your kind words and for being a part of LOL Day 7. It's been amazing.

FD - It's rare that one gets the opportunity to help change someone's life for the better. But this medium has that power, especially when we work together.

SG - You're most welcome.

SNP - Thank you!

Minelle - Our community is so wonderful precisely because people like you are a part of it.

Lucy - Thanks.

Mr BB - Actually, counting the comments wasn't nearly as difficult or time-consuming as finding and linking all of the participating blogs. For the count, at least I knew where to look!

Belle - I'm glad you had a good time. Let's do this again next fall.

Anon #1 - It's never too late for a delurk. Welcome! It's a pleasure to meet you. You are in fine company indeed. :)

Erica - It's a genuine pleasure to serve this community. Thank you for your continuing support.

Roz - I'm glad to hear that you had such a positive experience.

Kitty - By day, I'm a technical writer. This stuff is my proverbial bread and butter.

MLBL - I'm glad that LOL Day was beneficial for you. I'm glad you're now a part of our community.

Jake - Thank you.

M&L - Fun is a big part of what we're after. :)

M3 - We'll definitely be ready next fall for LOL Day 8.

James - You're very welcome.

Bas - Actually, I don't have enough free time for everything. The secret is maintaining priorities and doing just what you reasonably can.

Alaisheart - Thank you.

Bleuame - That's great to hear!

SS - You're welcome.

Mike - I'm sorry, but I didn't find an e-mail from you. It may have been filtered by the mail provider. Then again, Friday was probably the worst day ever to send me an e-mail. It's possible it's buried somewhere in there, but I don't think I received it.

K&C - It was wonderful to have your blog included in our LOL Day 7 event.

Susie - We aim to please. :)

Mrs. SB - You're welcome!

Kaelah - That's an interesting point that I hadn't considered. Thank you!

Pixiepie - Sorry about that. Had I known you were around and didn't know, I would have notified you. Let's count on LOL Day 8 in 2013. :)

Fred - Fortunately, I don't have to count that high most of the time...

Prefectdt - Thank you for your support!

Toni said...

Thank you for all your hard work.

ronnie said...

Bonnie,

Thank you for all you for our little community.

Look forward to next year's LOL Day.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Love,
Ronnie
xx

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