Five years of the Diary

Well, it is nothing near the soon-to-be 40th anniversary of The Bridge, but the five-year milestone for the Diary this week is probably worth a bit of mention.

The boring numbers first. More than 3,000 stories posted, in a wide range of lengths. Around 7,500 pages accessed every month. Every visitor spends, on average, more than two minutes on the site.

Over 7,500 images are linked to the stories, and they have been individually clicked through to nearly 130,000 times. They include 143 sets of slideshows, and these days any new one will be played between 300-1,200 times within a week or so of being posted.

At any given time I check the statistics, the vast majority of visitors are local, but there's always a respectable percentage of 'wild geese' from Kilcullen. As I write this, there have been in the last 12 hours visitors from the US, the UK, Australia, Poland, Finland, Thailand, Singapore, The Netherlands and Germany. Many other countries not on that list feature regularly, and quite often I know who they are, because their relatives back here have from time to time mentioned to me that so-and-so checks in regularly for news from home.

Each year I think the Diary has reached its limit, and each year it gains increased readership, although the growth has been at a reduced rate over the last couple of years. That is to be expected, as the population of Kilcullen, at least those at home, has stabilised somewhat. Perhaps, though, there are more wild geese taking to the waves and skies, and perhaps that segment will grow a little faster in the immediate future?

From time to time I get emails from our Kilcullenites abroad, always positive, and it is nice to know that the Diary does in its small way keep them in touch with a place which, in some cases, they may only ever come 'home' to on a visit, as they have settled permanently in their adopted country. It would be nice to do more, though just now I have no concrete ideas how that might be achieved.

Back to 'home' Kilcullen, and I have a definite idea that there is still a swathe of residents who may not be able to access, or don't know about, the Diary. For those first, if existing readers know some, perhaps they can be reminded that your editor also fills a page in the Kildare Nationalist each week about Kilcullen, its goings-on, and its people. For those with the Internet, and who don't know us, maybe we'll undertake a little local marketing over the next couple of months.

The Diary has attracted a few occasional contributors, though not in significant numbers. Nevertheless, for their contributions, your editor is very thankful. As he is for those who send in notices, texts, photographs, and pieces of paper with scribbles on them. The Diary is not just for your editor's entertainment, but for everybody in the community, and I would be very glad to receive more submissions for publication.

Finally, it doesn't just happen. The Diary does take time and effort to maintain. I appreciate the fact that occasionally some people tell me that they know that. It eats into my work and leisure times, but I don't begrudge it, because I have over the last five years gained an enormous personal satisfaction in maintaining its regularity and, apparently, its value to so many people. None of us know what may be in store even in the next hour, but just now I'm looking forward to the next five years.

Thanks for looking in,

Brian Byrne.