State of the Blog Address 2014

Since the year is ending, I guess it's time to assess the well-being of Dell on Movies.

Let's start with a little bit of history.

What most of you who visit this site probably don't know is that this blog has been around since 2009. Before this year, it had very few, if any, returning visitors. This means that despite the fact that I was posting three or four times a week, most posts only had a handful of views (one handful), and no comments. And it was all my fault. Other than posting reviews, I didn't put any effort into it. There is a reason, though.

The seeds for this blog were really planted somewhere between 2004 and 2006. I had two jobs. The second of these was as a video clerk at Blockbuster. Remember those? Anyhoo, the great benefit of that job was lots and lots of free movies to watch. Being a writer, I naturally started writing reviews of what I had seen. I posted them on a message board I used to frequent. It actually became quite a popular thread that I kept up for several years. Eventually, the site folded and many of its patrons, myself included, moved en masse to another site where I restarted the thread. It was again popular. However, I decided that I needed somewhere else to store these reviews in case this new site went belly up. Dell on Movies was born. Almost. I actually created a blog called The Urban Cinefile. I posted there for a very short while, but gave up after I found that no one was reading it and there were about a million other "urban cinefiles" on the web. In 2010, I decided to give this blogging thing another shot. I scrapped the old title and went with Dell on Movies, imported those few posts over to this site and started posting reviews again. Still, where were my readers?

I wasn't trying to attract any readers is the correct answer to the question. I merely posted whatever I did on the message board, came back a few days later and posted something else. Effectively, this site was a storage unit for all of my movie reviews and the occasional list. This was fine by me because my thread on the message board was still going strong. Things went on this way until sometime in 2013. By this time, there were rumblings that the message board where I had actual readers was about to shut down. Another en masse move happened. I finally decided it was time to put more effort into the blog. I stopped posting reviews on the message board and concentrated on starting to diversify content here. This meant more lists and a couple other semi-regular features. But you people weren't coming around, yet. I was running out of patience and about to shut this place down for good.

Finally, I decided to see if there were other movie bloggers out there and what they were doing. I googled 'movie blogs' and one of the first sites listed was Dan the Man's Movie Reviews. If you're familiar with Dan's place you'll know that he is ridiculously prolific. The dude posts a lengthy review every damn day, or pretty close to it. And he gets lots of comments on every one. I was jealous. I was only getting about one comment every few months and once literally went two whole years without one at all. I did the smart thing and started commenting on his site plus the massive movie site Screen Rant. Dan repaid me by checking out my site and commenting from time to time. However, he did two things on his own site that were far more valuable to me as a blogger. First, he opened his arms to me by almost immediately putting me on his blog roll. It's something I try to pay forward by doing the same for other bloggers who stop by here. Occasionally, I'll forget but I plan on circling back to include some of you that got missed. Second, and this is really an extension of the first thing, he unwittingly let me into a larger community by way of that blog roll which is massive. Without counting, I'm pretty sure it's got over 100 sites listed. I just perused the list, picked out some blog titles that caught my eye, visited them, and commented on most. Actually, I still do this from time to time. It's no wonder that a number of you reading this today will likely have come to meet me in this way. By extension, I really met all of you that I consider blogging buddies this way. That's because while out visiting those first sites, I encountered and participated in my first blogathon. This past spring, I hosted my own for the first time. The rest is history. I mean, this still isn't the biggest blog around, not even close, or close to close, but it's a lot busier place than it used to be. For this, this blog will forever be in debt to Dan the Movie Man.

The result of my finding Dan's blog is that 2014 was by far the most fun and "widely" read year of existence for Dell on Movies. I had to put "widely" in quotation marks because, well, it's not widely anything. However, I think I've carved out a cozy little corner of the blogosphere just big enough to show up on a map. Granted, it has to be a rather comprehensive map intent on showing all the nooks and crannies of movie blogdom, but I'll take it. Before this year, I didn't even have that. As evidence, my average number of views in 2014 is roughly triple what it was in 2013. Better than that, returning viewers are up far more. As many of you know, it's the returnees that actually chime in and comment on all this hard work. Those comments are the biggest evidence that someone is actually paying attention. Thanks.

So what about 2015?

First, and foremost, I plan on continuing to reach out to you guys, my fellow bloggers. I visit most of the sites on my blogroll nearly as often as you guys post and try to comment most of the time. That comes with a bit of a disclaimer. If you're on my roll, have been posting, but I haven't been commenting, there's usually a very simple reason. The movie you're reviewing is probably of recent vintage (released within the last 12 months or so) and I plan on seeing it soon. I try not to read reviews of those movies until after I've watched them. Otherwise, I'll be around offering my agreements and disagreements on your musings.

Next, I'm going to continue the features I started in the last 18 months. Here's a quick rundown on them. On My Mind are just my ramblings on the movie watching experience with my family. Movies I Grew Up With are just that, posts about movies I first encountered as a youngster and still have a fondness for. Terrible Movie Summaries are my big attempt at humor. I summarize movies in one not always appropriate sentence. The Quick and Dirties is the latest feature. It's really just short reviews of several reviews in one post. In addition to these, I'm trying to come up with one or two more that I might spring on you. All of these are semi-regular, meaning I post them whenever the mood strikes me. The same goes for any lists that I create. I do it whenever. I'm not into imposing deadlines on myself for something I do strictly for fun. Just be on the lookout.

That said, there is one thing I participate in that has a deadline, of sorts, that's the Thursday Movie Picks by Wandering Through the Shelves. I definitely plan on continuing on with that. I know, I missed last week and two of the last three this year. Still, I had a great time doing them, so I look forward to racking my brain every week.

Okay, I'm lying a bit about the whole deadline thing. Kinda. I do have deadlines on my blogathons. However, those deadlines are more for you than me. I've got a few ideas brewing for this year. In fact, I'll be launching a new one over the first few days of the new year. I hope you decide to take part. I will certainly try to take part in yours, too.

Oh yeah, there will be plenty of full length reviews. And no scores, in case you missed it. In the fall, I'll take inventory of all I've watched and hand out The Dellies for 2014 as well as my lists of the best and worst this year had to offer. Also in the fall, I have to stay true to my roots and hopefully not run too many of you off when I have my annual Most Horrorble Time of the Year with 31 straight days of horror in October.

Phew! I think that's enough to keep me busy. I look forward to making 2015 an even bigger, better year here on Dell on Movies. I hope it is for your blog also. I'll swing by your place and check up on you.

Thanks again for reading my cinematic inspired drivel and...