As a blogger, often I find myself tracking the number of page views a particular post gets as a measure of success. If I post something and it gets 20 page views and the next week I post something and that gets 100 pages views, one can sort of claim that the second post was 5 times more successful.

But the reality is, that’s probably really only a measure of popularity. One of my most popular posts was about some ongoing issues at RPI. But, I’m not entirely sure that popularity is a measure of success. In fact I’d argue that it’s often a misused metric.

What I actually prefer to know, but is often far harder to measure, is the impact a post or lesson has. I mentioned in an earlier post about how a single part of a lesson during a cave rescue class made a big impact.

So, this gets me to last week’s blog post. In terms of popularity it was rather humdrum. It didn’t stand out much in terms of the number of views it received and I was initially afraid that perhaps no one was reading it. (Yes, as a blogger, I have do have enough of an ego to hope people read my posts).

But, then something strange happened. I started getting comments and feedback, both here and other social media. Most of it was public, but some was sent privately and I’ll respect the privacy of those who sent it. And the feedback was generally supportive and informative and in several cases from women I know and whose opinion and feedback I value.  To them, I want to say Thank You. It is gratifying to know my post was read and had an apparently positive feedback.

I’m going to end this week’s quick blog with the name of a book that I’m reading this year. Yes, I say “this year” for a reason. Headstrong: 52 Women Who Changed Science and the World by Rachel Swaby. Each chapter is a quick read and it helps highlight the fact that women have been changing the world even when we didn’t know it. Some names I’ve recognized: Virginia Apgar for example. Most, like Mary Putnam Jacobi are new to me, but fascinating reads. I’m trying to read one bio a week, hence why it’ll take a year to read. I look forward to reading about Rosalind Franklin for example, a woman that I’d say was pretty much cheated out of a Nobel Prize.

So, in closing, thank you to who commented and gave me feedback. I value it and learn from it. And it makes writing my blog worth it to me.

Oh, and I have to comment on last week’s header photo. I picked it because it was a subtle example of poor design, anyone sitting at that spot on the bench risked having the latch slam into their legs. But I also picked it because I took it before one of the hockey games my wife plays in. She’s the one playing hockey. I’m just the guy opening and closing the door as they get on/off the ice.