Social Media Withdrawal: Experiment's End

The westernmost tip of Ireland, the Dingle Penninsula, where they have done some Satr Wars filming.

Well, it's over.

I'm back from our wonderful vacation in Ireland, and am ready to wrap up my little experiment in social media withdrawal.

I did not take my laptop with us, and for ten days, was too busy sightseeing and enjoying my first-ever trip overseas to really write or post from the blog and then forward to social media sites.

So, what would happen to my blog with ten days without new blog stories, and without connecting posts from Facebook and other social media sites?  Is my blog traffic self-sustaining, or do I need to continually push it on social media?

Well, without social media the daily visit numbers plunge from about 100 per day to around 10.  So, somebody is still checking it out, but that is a 90% drop in traffic.  Guess I still need to promote on Social Media.

The blog post that I only put onsite without promoting on any social media received a whopping total of 13 views.  Another recent post, endorsing the Congressional candidacy of  Lisa Ring, has hit 650 views, most of which occurred before I left.  That post benefitted from the power of social sharing, with a number of people sharing it to their own feeds.  I love it when that happens.

Facebook has gotten rather depressing, for a number of reasons.  One of the most prominent is that very few things, even beyond the political, don't get sniped at by somebody, for some reason.  But with the clear results of my experiment, I have to keep using Facebook for promotion.  Once I'm on Facebook, it is very hard not to challenge the assumptions of the Trumpeteers.  Sometimes I think I should let it go, but then I think of Schindler of Schindler's List.  How can you live with yourself if you don't do everything that you can?  Too much is at stake.


So, anyhoo, I'm back!

Expect some Ireland blog stories very soon!  I have to get Alison to send me some of the pictures that she took, She's so much better at getting good photos than I am.

Want proof?  Here's one of my pictures of Derry. Northern Ireland, taken from the train.

Stay tuned!  Watch your social media sites, or better yet, bookmark The Strait Line, and enjoy it every day!  Read a new story, or read one of the 1700 stories already on the blog!

You keep reading and I'll keep posting!