Blog News

I'm always curious how people find my blog. Many visitors arrive using search engines and the search words often inspire new posts. What drives their curiosity often drives my own.

For example, one person searched for "restaurant automation" and found my blog today. The restaurant industry interests me because I think we might have too many restaurants for what is coming. Automation also interests me because it affects long-term employment. So guess what I'll be searching for today? Restaurant automation!

Last night before I went to bed I saw some traffic coming from Mish's site.

I searched for my blog's name on his main page. There I was listed in his links. Imagine my surprise. He's got about 50,000 regular readers. I've probably got about 10 (no complaints!). For a reason that will remain a mystery, Mish added me to his site. Was it my recent anti-hyperinflationist posts? The world may never know! In any event, thanks Mish.

I'm an introvert. My blog doesn't have all that many hits. Gaining readership was never a priority to me. In fact, I'm not sure I'd enjoy having hundreds of comments left for me every day. As you can probably see, I generally try to reply to everyone who leaves a comment. I enjoy the interaction but that kind of volume would wear me out. In sharp contrast, the current volume is nearly optimal (and the quality of the interaction has been outstanding).

I don't seek out link exchanges (although will generally accept if asked, meaning that I have yet to refuse). If I see a blog that interests me, I'll simply add it. That's how Mish appeared on my blog. Most of the time I agree with what he has to say. Some of the time I'm in wild disagreement. It is almost always interesting and that makes him a must read for me. He definitely doesn't think inside the box.

As a side note, I don't mean to play favorites but MaxedOutMama comes in a close second and for the exact same reason. If I was trapped on a deserted island and had but two blogs to take with me, those would be the two.

And lastly, I've added a new blog to my links today. I spotted a visitor coming in from Wasatch Economics.

Here's a blast from the past. Keep in mind that it was two months before the great recession began.

October 23, 2007
Wasatch Economics: Recent market trends

My interpretation of these three indexes is that many investors shifted cash from credit markets to equities due to the crunch and now are recognizing that equities will suffer due to economic slowing in the US and the effects of tighter credit on net income for public companies. Also, even though foreign buyers may be reducing their purchases of Treasuries, domestic demand for same has increased due to the desire to shift cash to the least risky investment.

Nicely played. Here's Scott's latest post. Let's hope he's not two for two.

February 28, 2012
Wasatch Economics: Warning sign of coming downturn

Oh oh.