It’s been a remarkable year here at Down the Road. I had a ball this summer exploring and writing about US 50’s original path across Indiana. My son and I took a trip to Chicago together to celebrate his new teenagerhood, and I shared some of the sights we saw. I loaded film into some of my old cameras and uploaded the results. And I chronicled the difficult journey my church is on as we’ve fallen on hard times.
But what has been most exciting is that three of my posts this year have really taken off. One post became popular on StumbleUpon, bringing a gob of hits. And I had two posts featured on WordPress.com’s Freshly Pressed this year. I thought the response was great the first time, but the second post brought an avalanche of attention that eclipsed the first.
Here then are 2010’s most popular posts by number of views. As usual, posts about my vintage cameras are most frequently popular.
- Defending good grammar, sort of – This post about the balance between clarity and perfectionism in writing got as many hits in two days as my blog normally gets in two months, thanks to being Freshly Pressed.
- This cup is already broken– I’ve learned some powerful lessons about attachment in the past few years, and I reflected on them when I broke my favorite coffee mug.
- Argus A-Four– This post, also featured on Freshly Pressed, shows some great photos I got from an inexpensive 1950s 35 mm camera.
- Olympus Trip 35 – This camera has almost a cult following, but I wasn’t all that impressed. It might have helped if I’d read the camera’s instructions first, though.
- Kodak Duaflex II – I had one of these when I was a kid and really liked it. I was glad to find one on eBay this year for a few dollars.
Another way to measure a post’s success is by how many comments it gets. Of the posts I wrote this year, these got the most comments. The first three won’t be much of a surprise.
- Defending good grammar, sort of – More than two hundred readers took a moment to chime in. Thank you all; it was a blast!
- Argus A-Four
- This cup is already broken
- Finally appreciating autumn– I never used to like autumn because it meant winter was around the corner, and I hate winter. Then an especially stunning autumn made me realize I was missing out.
- Captured: Across the deck on a rainy evening– Late one evening after a rain, I stepped onto my deck to photograph a beautiful golden light.
It seems like every year the posts I like the most are read the least. I am proudest of these five posts. If you haven’t read them, I’d be grateful if you would.
- On Rabbit Hill – None of the families who lived in my childhood neighborhood had much money, but I can’t imagine a better place to grow up.
- On Erskine Boulevard – The neighborhood to which we later moved was a real step up, and retains much of its charm today.
- Woozy from the exhaust – A friend and I visited the 2010 Mecum Spring Classic muscle car auction. We got some great photos of the cars.
- The old songs – A Good Friday service at which we sang the old hymns powerfully reminded me of why I love God.
- Spring tree flowers – My current neighborhood may be modest, but always looks regal when the trees flower in the spring.
To my longtime readers, thank you, thank you for coming along for the ride. To my new readers, I hope to hear from you often in 2011!
