Reaching 500 blog posts (in about 5 years): A look back at page views and content.

Introduction

This article marks the 500th post since I started this blog.
I started writing on this URL in May 2017, so it's been a little over five years now.

Some articles have been taken down, so not all 500 articles are currently publicly available.
Since this marks a milestone number, I'd like to talk about my blog as a whole this time.

About PV

Page views (PV) were approximately 45,000 in June 2022 and approximately 55,000 in May 2022.It generally fluctuates between approximately 45,000 and 55,000.
In May 2021, there were approximately 52,000 page views (PV), and in May 2020, there were 24,000 PV, giving the impression that there can be a sudden surge if something triggers it.

The articles with the most page views are those about popular free games and articles related to Mahjong Soul.
I've noticed that articles about popular video games tend to get longer reads.
You can get a general idea by looking at the article rankings for the past week, which are available on the homepage.

To be honest, I don't really care about the number of page views.
The number of articles will continue to increase, and I feel that free games are developing independently of current trends and fads.
(There are seasonal factors such as an overall increase in page views during long holidays.)

Breakdown of article categories

Since I'm not focusing on any single genre, I suppose it would be considered a general-interest blog.
Although I call it a miscellaneous blog, it mainly revolves around my hobbies, so perhaps it's better to call it a hobby blog.

When sorted by category and ordered by the number of articles, the results are as follows:
I'll briefly discuss the content of each category.

game

baseball

The second most frequent topic is baseball articles, but I haven't been posting many new ones recently.
For a while, I was constantly writing articles about how to improve and practice in amateur baseball, so the number of articles I wrote increased quite a bit during that time.
I participate in amateur baseball games less frequently than before, and consequently, the number of articles I write about them has also decreased.
I enjoy physical activity, and I feel like I can still improve my skills, so once my child requires less attention, I'd like to participate at least twice a month.

However, I do feel that my physical strength has declined quite a bit...

mahjong

The third most frequent type of article is about mahjong, and these articles are mostly about Tenhou and Jan-Tama.
Recently, there seem to be a lot of articles aimed at improving your performance in Mahjong Soul.
When I first started the blog, I wrote about basic technical theories and such, but after watching various strategy books and explanatory videos, I realized there wasn't much I could do, so I stopped talking about technical details unnecessarily.
Lately, I've noticed a real increase in the quality of books and videos available, which seems to be contributing to a rise in the average level of academic ability among people who study diligently.

I do write occasionally, but currently, there aren't many new posts.
I play online mahjong at a pace of about 50 to 100 games a month, aiming for 1-2 games on weekdays and 5 games on weekends.

life

The fourth most common category is lifestyle blogs.
It might be difficult to tell what genre I write about, and that's understandable.
When I'm unsure what category to put something in, I just put it under "Lifestyle" because "Uncategorized" doesn't look very good.

The content mostly consists of reviews of things I've purchased, or introductions to new discoveries that I'm excited about.
I write with the thought that this might resonate with people who have a similar lifestyle to mine.

Manga and anime

The fifth category is manga and anime.
Originally, I had kept them separate, but I merged them because I felt there wasn't much point in keeping them separate anymore.
I read quite a lot of manga, so I could write many more articles.

However, there are so many people out there writing reviews of manga, so I'm wondering if I really need to put in so much effort to write my own.
Even so, when I'm deeply moved, I sometimes feel compelled to write an article to ensure I never forget that feeling.
I often become interested in and start reading when I see an image on Twitter.

work

The sixth category is work.
I feel I acquired a lot of specialized knowledge during my first job, so I was writing various things as a way to review that knowledge.
However, I think this information is becoming increasingly outdated, so I believe I will eventually have to stop publishing it.

I used articles about quitting a job or changing careers as a way to organize and articulate my own thoughts.
It's not exactly a pleasant topic, but thanks to being able to vent on my blog, I think I've reduced my complaining in real life.

novel

The seventh is a novel.
I often read mystery novels during my commute, so I mainly wrote articles about the ones I found interesting.
However, given the genre, it was difficult to introduce it without spoilers, which made writing this review challenging.

These days, there are a lot of really good summary pages available, so I feel more comfortable writing my own spoiler-filled reviews.
I haven't been able to read much lately, so I haven't been posting much.

株

The eighth article is about stocks.
When I first started investing in stocks, I tried various things and made mistakes along the way.
However, since establishing my own method a few years ago, I've been able to manage my investments with a stable mindset.
It's not like I'm making a huge profit or anything like that, but I feel that the most important thing is being able to do it in a way that suits my personality and without stress.
I considered writing an article introducing my methods, but I felt it would be embarrassing and might come across as suspicious, so I decided against it.

Also, in July 2022, as part of a reorganization of the entire blog, I removed this category and stopped publishing the articles.

food

The ninth topic is about food.
I used to write quite frequently, but lately I haven't been writing much.
The food industry has a fast cycle of trends coming and going, so I disliked the fact that the value of my articles would quickly diminish even after I put in the effort to write them.
I might write about a food item that's been a staple for many years, but even if I did, it would feel incredibly outdated, so the possibility is low.

music

The tenth category is music.
In my case, I often like songs individually, but I find it difficult to write articles about individual songs.
In some cases, I like specific artists, so I introduce those in separate articles.
Lately, I haven't had many opportunities to listen to new music, so I've been increasingly drawn to reminiscing about older songs.

Sometimes I hear a song in a new anime or TV show, and I suddenly think it's good and get hooked.
However, overall, I feel that my input has really decreased compared to the past.
I suppose it can't be helped, because there simply isn't enough time to pursue everything.

Regarding the content of the article

Now, let's review the content of the article.
Things I've always been particular about are,The key is to focus on one topic per article and to ensure the content is helpful to the reader.Those are the two points.
That hasn't changed so far.

Articles like "Games I played today" tend to be diary-like, and the title doesn't clearly indicate what the article is about.
I try to make it easy for myself to search for articles later by including titles that indicate what the article is about, such as "Review of XX" (although the early article titles may have a slightly different theme...).

Also, even if I were to write something like a diary, I don't think there's anyone who would be interested in the daily life of someone like me who isn't a celebrity or anything, so I consciously avoided writing that kind of content.
I write with the hope that the content will meet the expectations of those who decided to read it after seeing the title.

I don't pay much attention to the number of characters.
However, looking back at the articles, it seems that they naturally exceed a certain word count.
This is probably becauseI write articles because I have something I want to write about, so I think that once I start writing, it will naturally grow to a certain length.
Conversely, I don't write articles just to increase the number of posts when I don't have much to write about.
The content becomes superficial, and there's nothing more painful than forcing yourself to write an article.
Since I'm not writing this for work, I plan to take it easy.

If you're serious about affiliate marketing, you might find yourself writing about a variety of products, even if you don't have much to write about.
However, I believe that if I write an article praising a product that I don't particularly think is good, there's a risk that people who read the article and buy it might end up feeling disappointed.
It would damage the site's credibility, and I don't want people to think I'm recommending such a worthless product.
Therefore, when it comes to things I've bought with my own money, I try not to be too considerate and write about the bad points as well.

Reasons and tips for continuing

When I first started the blog, I set myself the ambitious goal of posting one article per day.
I gradually reduced the frequency to one article every two days, then one article every three days, and ultimately aimed for 100 articles per year.
I've stopped setting a goal of quantity and now I write whenever I feel like writing something!
One of the reasons I was able to continue was that I was able to set a manageable pace for myself and stick to it.

Another reason I was able to continue is that I was able to maintain my style of "writing what I want to write" as much as possible.
Just as playing an interesting game makes you want to share your thoughts with someone, or buying something interesting makes you want to write your own review, I think writing articles fulfills that desire to talk to others and helps relieve stress.

Another reason is that writing down my thoughts and feelings in an article gives me a sense of relief.
The thoughts and feelings that arise in your mind at each moment will disappear unless you put them into words.
While memorable experiences linger over time, the more time passes, the more fragmented and unnecessary details are stripped away, leaving behind fragmented memories.
However, I believe that the essence of feelings that deeply move us lies in the very things that are stripped away.
With this in mind, I want to preserve as much of the excitement and emotion I felt in that moment as possible and try to convey it to others.

I'm aware that my writing often uses roundabout expressions, but when it comes to the parts expressing my thoughts and feelings, I try to avoid cutting anything out if I'm going to write them at all.

In conclusion

I'm surprised myself that I've managed to write 500 articles.
However, just writing this much makes the act of writing itself a little more enjoyable.
Lately, when I'm unsure whether to try something new, I've even developed a proactive attitude that makes me think, "Well, it'll make good blog material, so I might as well give it a try."

Also, I've found that the number of like-minded people I can exchange information with through social media like Twitter is increasing, and I personally feel that it's been a great source of inspiration.
I think the frequency of my blog updates has decreased compared to before, but the pace at which I play games has remained fairly stable.
I intend to continue doing this in a relaxed manner so that I can keep it going in the future.

Summary of lifestyle-related articles