My Blog Has Hit Its Terrible Twos!

     Holy smokes, it's been two years already? 

    It isn't too often that I'll use GIFs on my blog, but I believe one is in order today. Two years ago today I started up this blog, giving it a silly name and expecting nothing to come of it, and to only write for a couple weeks. And yet here we are two years later, alive and well. 

    This year was admittedly a slower one for Don Cardwell, as I posted only 44 times, contrary to last year's 126 posts. Though I've posted a handful times in January already, which has been good. I expect to crank out about 50 or so posts this year, which would be ideal.

    Though this year was slower in terms of posting activity, the viewership has jumped up A LOT (thank you bots). Whatever the reason for this, I like statistics, so be ready to get hit with the blog's stats for this year.

    

    My blog is now up to 70,277 views all time, and 56,412 this past year, which is so much more than I ever would have thought my blog would hit in a year, even with a bot invasion.

    My biggest single month of this past year in terms of viewership (not entirely fair for a blogoversary post since January is almost entirely cut out) was September, when the blog boasted 18,770 views; more than the entirety of the blog's views last year by almost 5,000. I only posted three times in September, which begs the question: how many of those viewers were human? Surely not many. Those three September posts received 1431, 1124, and 207 views respectively. But the post the bots loved most was my July 13th post, Grant Taylor in 200 Words, which received an absurd 4073 views. The single comment on that post would suggest that humans were not the main viewers.

    I think my favorite part about card-blogging is the comments y'all send my way. My 44 posts yielded a large number of comments, at 215. It's awesome to see what readers have to say about what I write. My most commented upon post is a tie between three, with eight comments each: Slowing Down (where I said I wasn't going to post as much), The Latest Grabs (when I hit the LCS for the first time in a few months back in November), and A Short Christmas Message (my Christmas post).

    I also added a trio of followers this year, putting me up to 19 total readers who also follow the blog. I'm glad to see some more interest in my humble little blog and in the hobby itself.

    (Next year's stats will be posted around New Year's; I feel that's a better time for stats since it's the beginning of the year.)

    I would like to give my sincerest thanks to all those who have checked out my blog this year. This is such a great hobby with great people in it, and y'all are what makes writing this blog of mine so enjoyable.

    Now that we're through with all the boring stuff, it's time for some fun: this year's giveaway! Sadly, I don't have much to give to the winner; autographed cards won't be in the mix this year because my LCS, the supplier of the prizes, was thin on autos this month. Nonetheless, the person who wins this contest will be receiving a pack of both 2025 Topps Update and 2025 Allen and Ginter, as well as a few shiny bonus cards. 

    

    All you need to do if you should wish to enter is leave a comment stating who your all-time favorite player in your favorite sport is. By doing this, not only will you offer me amusement, but you will also get your name entered into the whimsical spinny wheel. Whoever's name is first to be landed upon three times will be the winner of the contest. You don't need to be a follower of the blog to enter. I'm leaving this up to anybody who wants to enter, even if you've never seen my blog before. Though I wouldn't complain if you followed my blog if you haven't already 😉

    The winner will be decided on the morning of Thursday, the 29th. That gives y'all a whole week to enter!

    I also created this short questionnaire about my blog and the card collecting hobby. I enjoy making polls like these and seeing how people respond. 

    Click here to fill it out

    And finally, I've taken my fandom a little bit too far with the advent of a new blog, Macklin CELEBRATION - The Fan Club of Macklin Celebrini. I invented it on a whim, kinda like this blog, and will be posting once a month, or whenever I feel like it. If you like Macklin or the San Jose Sharks, go ahead and check it out. If not, I have failed you. 

    I believe that'll do it for this post. Thank you for checking out the blog today, have an amazing week, and happy collecting! Let's make this year better than the last!