It was ten years ago today that the Ohio River Blog launched. A lot of things were going on then, and a lot has changed.
Back then I had just lost my job of 30 years. I was a victim of downsizing. So six days after that, this blog appeared. I needed something to keep my busy while I looked for work, and given my interest in almost all things having to do with the Ohio and its tributaries, it seemed the logical thing to do.
It was a good time to start a blog. Blogging was popular. Towing companies were launching lots of new boats. Coal was big, and boats were everywhere.
But over time people drifted away from reading and moved more toward podcasts and videos. If you're not into politics, you're not going to keep your readership. As interest in this blog waned and as more and more things at home demanded my attention, I got to putting up fewer new posts. And people stopped commenting. So far this year I've had only ten posts worth publishing, and most of those were in February.
I looked at Google Analytics to see how the readership was doing. Based on those numbers and the huge amount of spam I get -- most of it using grammar and syntax that betray the fact the writers' native language is not English -- I came to the conclusion that about half my readership is from Russia and former Soviet republics.
So what now? I'll stay on here, although I don't see posting picking up until something big happens. Even then, I'm tired of working to provide free content when people who make YouTube videos can make some money from their content.
I'm thinking of a few videos I can make, and I am working on a couple of longer-term things that could be more lucrative. Even if they're not profitable, they will be fun.
So please hang around. I don't know if this will keep going for another decade. We'll just have to seel.
