Do you know how long internet blogs have been around? At least since late 2004, when I read a newspaper article about this new thing called blogs. It said they were popping up devoted to all sorts of topics, so I thought to myself: I would like to read a blog about Elvis. I wonder if there is one.
So, I Googled Elvis blog, but nothing even close came up in the results. Hmmn. I’m a writer and Elvis fan. I should start one. And I did. On January 31, 2005, ElvisBlog was born. Because it was the first, I created a silly handle for myself: Original ElvisBlogmeister. Nobody has ever challenged this claim, so I guess it’s mine to keep.
This was the first post, all 228 words of it. There were no pictures until two and a half years later when I posted an article on Elvis outfits and wigs.
Today, pictures and photos are the main appeal of ElvisBlog, with a bit of text to add interest and sometimes a little humor.
Every two or three years I publish a Happy Birthday, ElvisBlog post. The above from the 2007 mentions 108 blog articles so far. Now the total is 730 posts.
Also, on the second birthday post, I mentioned that the total hits over the two-year period had reached 80,000. For the year 2016, the total was 301,336, up 4.4% from the previous year.
Visitors is a more important number to me. People accessed ElvisBlog almost 168,000 times last year. I am very proud and grateful for this support. Thank you.
Please indulge me with one more brag. Today, the results are much different than in 2004 when you search for Elvis blog. 18 million results? The brag is that for the time being, ElvisBlog is higher in the results than Graceland’s official Elvis Blog. I am sure this position will reverse sometime soon, with their huge mailing list and Graceland Insiders membership. I have praised this blog in several posts and provided links to it. It is quite good, and you should check it out. (but don’t skip this blog to do that).
Here’s a list showing the international spread of ElvisBlog readers.
Japan used to be in the top 10 ten, but they have dropped off and Brazil has moved in. I have no idea why.
This is the bottom of list (cut off at a minimum of 20 page views). Somebody in Iraq has been checking in to read ElvisBlog. Do you think they run the risk of being beheaded if they are caught reading about Elvis?
And where in the world are Guernsey and Reunion located?
There is one last picture I would like to show you. This fall, I will be introducing another book: BIG E and the SANTA MAN – Part 2. Here is the artwork for the cover.
Isn’t this outstanding? I am so grateful to Carol Stephens at 2D Creative Designs for her brilliant work creating this picture of Big E’s gold Cadillac jet sled. He and Santa will be flying around in it to defeat another plot by Scrooge to ruin Christmas. After the success of the first book, I was moved to write a sequel. Stay tuned for more news on BIG E and the SANTA MAN – Part 2 as we get closer to the Christmas season.
© 2017 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
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