Enclave Anniversary

I was never really sure, when I started this gig, how long it would last. All the way down the line Enclave has been a week-by-week, day-by-day proposition. Many times I started the week on Sunday wondering if I could write enough material to get through the rest of the week. I've been fortunate. First, my initial intuition that there is always something to write about when one lives in the city was confirmed. Rarely a week goes by when something doesn't surface as news or as fodder for commentary. Second, I've been lucky to have leads seemingly drop into my lap from no where. Third, I've received the encouragement and positive feedback (even when critical) from people whom I respect (not the least of which are the three people who have said good things about Enclave in the "What's Said" box to your right). Finally, my family's support has been unfailing.

So, as all of those stars lined up, I started writing about matters concerning my neighborhood, and low and behold, I became the publisher of a "hyper-local weblog." And today that hyper-local weblog, Enclave: Nashville North-By-Northwest, celebrates its sixth month anniversary. Six months may not seem like a very long time, but my perception is that the shelf-life of many blogs is also not very long. And I never set out in February thinking, "I plan to put six good months into this."

But they have been six good ones. In the last 182 days I wrote 250 posts, published dozens of photographs, and edited my own writing over and over. Readers have paid attention to Enclave to the tune of 7,000 total page loads and over 4,500 total visitors (unique) during its lifetime. During that short life, Enclave has averaged about 45 pageloads per day and 28 visitors per day. But the latest stats are even more gratifying:

• Both Enclave's pageload and visitor averages increased steadily each of the last six months.
• August's averages show a 525% increase over February's averages.
• Since July 1, Enclave has averaged 67 page loads per day and 42 visitors per day.
• The highest numbers of recorded page loads (192) and visitors (108) occurred on the same day: yesterday, only a week after Enclave had set its previous personal bests.

I could not tell you whether these stats are good relative to other hyper-local blogs. But as you can tell, I don't take them for granted. Their steady rise pulled by Enclave's recent momentum gives me the sense that I have made worthwhile contributions. I thank my readership for that opportunity.

And thanks for indulging me a few moments of self-reflection on the last six months. I hope to make a go of it six more, but I'm not entirely sure I'll make it. My hope of team blogging across the neighborhoods remains real; if not at Enclave then some place else. But I've got other non-blog pursuits to follow once fall gets here. So, I'll give you advance notice if and when time begins to wind down for Enclave. In the meantime, let's enjoy the ride. Here's to six more months like the last six we've had; I would even toast to three more good months or to one more good month, as long as I can count them as progress in this week-by-week, day-by-day proposition.