5000 hits

If readership follows the norm – sometime over the next 24-36 hours the hits counter for this blog will register 5000 which is a very pleasing landmark.

A combination of the lack of posts through December and of course the festive season did however see a real drop in readership last month and as yet it has not recovered to pre-December rates. I do of course hope it will pick up again in the coming weeks as awareness of the reactivation of the blog spreads. Nevertheless I would welcome feedback from readers as to how the blog could be made more interesting or useful.

The blog was established to serve two primary purposes:

1). To provide a portal to information on the island’s projects to guests. The Hotel on Denis enjoys a high rate of return clientele, in the region of twice the national average, with many guests returning year after year. Such visitors feel a special attachment to the island and many had expressed an interest in following up on our environmental work on the island between visits. Others, meanwhile, expressed an interest in following a specific project after their visit – the Sooty tern project in particular seems to have been effective in capturing people’s imagination.

2). To function as one means, amongst others, of fulfilling broader awareness objectives in line with the Outreach Programme of the Island’s 5-year Environmental Management Plan (2008 – 2012) - i.e. raising public and stakeholder awareness of the work being undertaken on Denis and its ramifications; whilst also enabling a degree of transparency with regard to these activities.

I have and do receive e-mails from various far-flung places around the planet commenting on the blog and locally I receive quite a bit of feedback from colleagues and stakeholders. The interactive potential of the blog still remains largely unrealised however. At the foot of each post there is a comments tab (i.e. the word “comments” in green) which by simply clicking on you can leave a comment, ask a question make a suggestion etc… and have it posted on the blog. (Now the barrier here is if you don’t have a Google account. Though very easy to obtain, I recognise this will prevent any technophobe from commenting. For such readers please feel free to e-mail me on: office@gif.sc ).

I would very much welcome feedback from readers via this means (or e-mail) about the blog and in particular any suggestions as to how they feel the blog could be improved to better fulfil its objectives.

Thanks JN.