« More on mindlessness | Main | The great Google float »
A year in the 'sphere
April 15, 2006
It was exactly one year ago today that I posted my first entry on Rough Type. Here are some official statistics:
Total number of entries: Lots
Total number of words: Don't even want to know
Out-of-pocket costs (est.): $1,650
Revenues (est.): $225
Net loss (est.): $1,425
(Welcome to the wacky world of citizen media, where journalism is an avocation, like fox hunting used to be.)
Opportunity cost of author's time: Less than he thinks
Number of comments and trackbacks: Thousands and thousands
Percentage of above represented by spam: At least 80%
Current Technorati rank: 689 (2,834 links from 1,085 sites)
Average daily page views at start of year: 0
Average daily page views now: 6,589
I believe that represents some kind of exponential rate of increase, which I'm pretty sure is a sign that the singularity is near, which I take as an indication that the time is right for a vacation.
Bye.
Advertisement: Are you ready for "The Big Switch"? Fast Company calls Nicholas Carr's new book "compulsively readable - for nontechies, too." Salon says it's "magisterial." Order now from Amazon.com.
Comments
Thanks for the statistics, it's always good to have empirical evidence.
If I may ask, what's the bulk of the cost? It seems high just for webhosting.
And it would be interesting to know the revenue breakdown between Google ads and Amazon honor contributions.
Posted by: Seth Finkelstein ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.roughtype.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at April 15, 2006 12:58 PM
Seth,
Most of the costs were from original site design. Ongoing costs are negligible.
$200 Google, $25 donations.
Posted by: Nick Carr at April 15, 2006 01:35 PM
Once again I see that statistics don't tell much about the value proposition. I find a lot of value in your words and thoughts. Have a good vacation and please come back to this stand! I look forward to what you will say to balance out all the hype talk from the likes of Gates, Jobs and their paid flacks!!
Robertg in Vancouver BC now (previously Dalian PRC)
Posted by: BobG in Dalian at April 17, 2006 09:45 AM
$1,650 out-of-pocket cost, mostly for design? That's a rip-off Nicholas. Blogs are often perceived as being part of a larger "thing" (some people name this Web 2.0, some refuse to use this term) on the Internet, which also comes with stuff like free blog hosting and free blog skins / designs ;-). So in the end you could have made $225 instead of losing $1,425.
Posted by: Loek at April 17, 2006 02:09 PM
Hey, Nick,
Just started reading your blog today: auspicious beginnings. Your "Amorality of Web 2.0" seems a very seminal work.
Kudos for a year well spent. May the Collective Conscience look down upon you and smile. :)
Posted by: tigger2u at April 21, 2006 04:40 PM
Happy birthday ;-)
Posted by: nzlemming at April 23, 2006 06:53 AM
Nice job, Nick.
Posted by: Sam Hiser at April 24, 2006 11:31 AM
Nick, As Loek rightly points out "in the end you could have made $225 instead of losing $1,425." Just take a moment and savor what could have been. You could have saved even more by just reprinting other peoples posts, spending your time on other more renumerative pursuits.
Posted by: Timothy Swan at April 24, 2006 07:36 PM
Stop your gripping Nick. What about the brand building? Priceless...
Posted by: Tom Foremski at April 26, 2006 04:34 AM
Glad you returned. Both Steve Gillmor and Doc Searls think you left for good, according to their April 24 podcast. http://gillmordaily.podshow.com/
Funny how those in the know, don't know.
Hehe.
Kim
Posted by: Kim at April 28, 2006 11:50 PM
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)
Nick's new book:
"Future Shock for the web-apps era" -Fast Company
"Ominously prescient" -Kirkus Reviews
"Riveting stuff" -New York Post
Greatest hits
Avatars consume as much electricity as Brazilians
The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock's avatar
Other writing
The end of corporate computing
Nick's last book:
Order from Amazon
Visit book site