I've been doing this for almost five years now, and I monitor the site statistics fairly closely. I think I've got a pretty good idea as to who reads this content and the raison d'etre. People typically fall into one of six groups.
1. Family, Friends and Acquaintances
These are people who know me in the non-virtual world. Family will visit to see what I'm up to, see pictures of the kids, etc. Friends and acquaintances will do the same, because they play ball with me, run with me, are fellow playoff poolies, work with me or are just buds or buds of a bud. This type of visitor is almost always a repeat visitor, often dropping by at least once a day.
2. The Locals
As you may have noticed, there's a rather Toronto-centric quality to this blog. Fellow Torontonians enjoy reading about other Torontonians and keeping up with local happenings. The "Toronto Blog" crowd drops by for a second opinion on Toronto topics and usually returns on a regular basis.
3. The Former Locals
There's a group of visitors that used to live in Toronto, and enjoy checking in on what's happening back home. Some of these people now live elsewhere in Canada, have moved to the States or are now living overseas, but they're naturally curious as to what people are talking about in their former city. Again, these visitors either subscribe to the RSS feed or drop by regularly.
4. Those With A Specific Overlapping Interest
Because it's all about me, there are certain topics I cover more frequently than others, because they're personal passions. Someone who is a die hard Toronto sports fan may keep their eyes on the category pages for the Leafs, Raptors, Jays or Argos. Fellow Hip fans watch related entries and my Hip page. Simpsons fans enjoy Homer's Quote of the Week and related entries. You get the idea...
5. Toronto Mike Fans
This is my favourite group, because these people don't know me in the non-virtual world but somehow stumbled upon this blog and liked it enough to bookmark it and return regularly. Some leave comments, most don't, and some have became friends in the non-virtual world by way of this virtual world. Often these people discover the site via a Google search or a link from another blog, but the fact they return means there's something here they enjoy, and that's pretty cool. Interestingly enough, I find people in this category are far more likely to leave a comment then those in the first category.
6. The One Offs
These are people who come here via a Google search, get the information they seek, and disappear into that good night never to be heard from again. This is the majority of traffic on this site, people hunting for wedding playlists, a particular Homer Simpson quote, information on whatever happened to Humble Howard and Freddie P, an MP3 of Gord Downie's Hallelujah, a celebrity death watch or the Alphagetti Gobbler. Sometimes these visitors fall into the 5th type and become fans of the site, but more often than not they stay in #6. That's okay, I've usually got the information they're looking for, and if I can help just one person learn a little bit about Bill Barilko, I sleep well at night.
There you have it, the six types of Toronto Mike visitors. Some fall into more than one category, but typically you're in one of these six. Which one are you?
