30000 and going strong

Athough admittedly sitemeters give only a rough idea of one's readership, it was nice nonetheless to see my own clocking up its 30000th hit this afternoon. This is all well and good, but I know receiving comments either on the blog or in person is far more rewarding.

At Language World, for example it was lovely to chat with likeminded colleagues who had found particular posts genuinely useful in their teaching. I find this kind of feedback really motivating because in a way it justifies the time I spend researching and writing posts. It would seem therefore the blog is achieving its purpose and is becoming a useful form of reference for language teachers wishing to enhance their classroom practice with ICT.

That said, I think it is important to heed Graham Davies' recent words of wisdom and resist the temptation to become obsessive about these things. I myself have decided to cut down my blogging habit recently for this very reason. Moreover, I'm glad I'm having a break from conferences, great as they are, to concentrate on other matters like writing 18 sets of reports by the end of May. Great.

Thanks to everyone who has read the blog so far and for your kind words of support.

Comments

[Graham Davies]

Thanks for referring to my "words of wisdom". I found out too late that spending too much time hunched up at a computer keyboard can damage one's health. I developed a severe back problem and began to suffer from blurred vision and headaches. Both problems have now disappeared, but only because I took appropriate action: i.e. limiting time spent at the keyboard and indulging in physical activity every day - walking my dog, swimming and playing golf at least once a week.

I think it is also important to ensure that you have enough "downtime" each day, just relaxing, watching TV, listening to music, etc. Oh, and make sure that you always have a good book nearby. I do a lot of light reading, one of my favourite authors being Bill Bryson.

[Alex Blagona]

Congrats on the hits! I sometimes look at my blog and think that as I've not posted for 3 days, I'd better find something to put on there - forcing myself to post, when really I should wait, because something interesting or educational or fun is always likely to come around the corner. I certainly admit to being up far too late, and I think that until recently I was becoming quite obsessive about it, and my wife thought I was turning into a 'geek'.

I have now discovered yoga, and have found my 'chi'. =)