response by Philocrites

January 14, 2008 @ 1:49 pm

Are you discounting all Google search results, or do your pageview numbers include search visitors who might be finding useful content when Google points them to your site. Who do you hope would be your primary audience?

response by Steve Caldwell

January 14, 2008 @ 2:53 pm

Most material for a “best of UU” blog is going to be the written word. However, it’s possible that an occassional “best of UU” selection could be the spoken word (mp3), a visual image, or a video presentation.

This could be a sermon podcast or a YouTube video with a UU theme that you showcase on your blog.

response by Jess

January 14, 2008 @ 3:27 pm

I’m not discounting all Google results — just the ones who look at a single page and never come back, coming in on search terms such as a specific minister’s name. Many searchers do poke around for awhile, which is great. But I’m looking at mainly the number of hits that come in when a new post goes up, and there is a pattern.

My intention was to create something that is easily findable for people looking for information about Unitarian Universalism, but also to create a place where some theological discussion could happen. I tried to ask leading questions on each post for awhile, but no responses.

I also got hit pretty hard by comment spammers, so have had to start closing comments, which I don’t like. I may try to open them up again and see what happens.

As far as “multi-media” content — I have done some of this, with videos, including podcasts with text when they’re available, and with some images. Not being a person who ever listens to podcasts, I’m somewhat limited — and culling through to find the “best” is pretty time consuming with audio and video, too.

response by Philocrites

January 15, 2008 @ 4:41 pm

I wonder if you need to consider a promotional blitz. Unlike most blogs, Best of UU doesn’t draw an audience through the singular voice of the writer; it features an ever-changing chorus of voices. (Beacon Press’s new blog is similar to Best of UU in this respect.) It doesn’t forge connections with other blogs by leaving comments elsewhere. Instead, you’re functioning a little bit like a small magazine.

What about offering some nice promotional buttons for use on other sites? Reaching out to congregational newsletter editors and website managers? Maybe even launching some paid ads promoting the site? I’m sure there are other approaches you could take, too.

Your content is more polished, longer, more spiritually focused, and less timely than a lot of blogosphere content, and it seems to me that you need to find ways to tap a different audience than blog readers.

I value what you’re doing, but can appreciate that it’s hard to keep at it when the audience seems so small.

response by Steven R

January 15, 2008 @ 6:11 pm

I wouldn’t think too badly of random google searches, that is still spreading the best of UU, just slowly.
“Phil” is right about buttons or something, links to your blog increase your google-count (doesnt it?), which means folks looking for UU info would more likely to find you. And once they find you, they are more likely to return.
theological discussions dont get much comments. chit-chat however does. If you want the best of UU, then you have to accept small (but hopefully building) audience and not too many insightful comments.
It’s easier to talk about nehti pots (as i did the other day in a comment in an UU blog), than it is to provide insight.
do what you want, enjoy yourself, and hopefully it will continue to grow…..
but yeah, you could ask us to link to this site!

response by Aaron Sawyer

January 15, 2008 @ 6:26 pm

DiscoverUU will launch soon with a relatively large promotional blitz and will feature The Best of UU in its own section.
I’d love to see ‘the best’ by subject, and involving other media like sermons, videos, and podcasts would be nice as well.

Thanks for doing what you do. Please hold out until June/July so we can see what kinds of numbers the UU community can draw together.

Use a non Internet Explorer web browser to view the page in progress

http://discoveruu.com/sample.php

response by Jess

January 15, 2008 @ 7:31 pm

Good suggestions, all.

I’ll be working on some buttons — I was thinking of slicking up the graphics and layout when I get a chance as well.

I’ve been using the categories by format and using tags for subjects and authors — perhaps I’ll create a larger tag cloud on its own page for better searching.

response by earthbound spirit

January 16, 2008 @ 7:01 pm

Personally, I shy away from reading the longer pieces (sermons and such) that you post. It takes too much time to read them, and I’m still finding my own voice around a lot of issues. But, that’s me.

On the other hand, I drop by faithfully and always appreciate the shorter pieces as inspirational gifts. I like seeing how other people write prayers, and usually find something to take away - even if whatever is posted isn’t what I’m thinking about most at the time. Thanks!

response by Bonnie

January 16, 2008 @ 9:15 pm

I’ll be glad to put you in my church newsletter, and I can probably link from our website, too. I am president of a small fellowship in the Bible Belt, and I read most of what you post via RSS feed. I’ve even found two sermons here which I later borrowed for services (we are fully lay-led so always looking for good material).

For my own purposes, I’d like to see more examples of what UU is about and not so many sermons that directly address the question “what is UU about?” As a dedicated UU myself, I may not be your target reader, but I think that gems which address various spiritual themes from a distinctively UU perspective would serve as well to show seekers what UU offers that’s different. (I really enjoyed your husband’s sermon on prayer, for example.)

I don’t always read the longer pieces in full, either, and I enjoyed the poetry you were posting a while back. Maybe one sermon a week, along with a shorter poem or meditation on the other day or days?

I’ll still read if you don’t change a thing, though! Thanks for creating this opportunity to easily get a taste of, well, the Best of UU.