Zigzag

I wanted my final post in the A to Z Challenge to be something that provided a conclusion to, and summary of, what had gone before it. So, because I'm geeky that way, I made this graph showing how the number of visitors to my blog ebbed and flowed each day during April.

Fittingly, it turned out to be a zigzag – or at least, enough of one for me to be able to claim it as a handy Z title.

So what did I learn from all this? Well, apparently my blog readers are interested in timewasting, quinqueremes and X-ray fish. They're not so keen on vegetarianism, regret or opinions. (Or ugh days, but I can hardly blame them for that.) Which tells me that although I started out wanting to use this challenge as a way of revealing a bit more about myself – being less anonymous – people actually prefer it when I steer clear of the serious subjects and go off on a whimsical tangent instead.

This is all very unscientific, of course, but it got me thinking about what readers really want from blogs. I've visited quite a few new blogs this month (though not as many as I would have liked), and discovered all kinds of interesting bloggers as a result. But I have to admit, my favourite posts haven't been the most informative or the most insightful, but the most entertaining. If I want to find out about something specific then I'll do a search for it. But if I'm looking for a blog to read on a regular basis, it's the sparky ones – the witty, humorous and/or well-written ones – that will keep me coming back, no matter what they're about. Information and insight are an added bonus.

Maybe there's a lesson for all of us in that.

Which blogs have you enjoyed most over the past month? What do you look for in a blog?