I started this blog one year ago with three posts on some of the political issues I find most central. The first is an overview of a Marxist explanation of society. The second is an overview of the history and role of identity politics in the US. And the third is an overview of what makes for successful activist movements.
That was a start, anyway. 70 or so posts and one year later, here we are!
I’m going to celebrate the blog’s one year anniversary with an FAQ.
“So, what should I read first, Matt?”
One of the things I’ve learned from a year of blogging is that most people stopping by are first-time readers. With about 70 posts available, maybe you don’t know what you should read first.
I’ve tried to organize the posts to make that much easier on you. Under the category system, to your right if you’re on a desktop or below if you’re on your phone, the category ‘Foundations’ is the one I consider most important. That’s where you’ll find discussion of bigger and more fundamental ideas.
The other categories should be pretty descriptive. The ‘race’ category is about politics and race. The ‘baseball’ category is about baseball. And so on. I’ve tagged most posts with more than one category.
“How many people read this blog, anyway?”
The short answer is, ‘way more than used to!’
The longer answer is that the blog has gradually grown over the course of a year from about 100 readers per month to about 2,000 readers per month. In the grand scheme of things, that makes this a pretty small blog. I assume my number of readers is a fraction of the number of people who read, say, Bleeding Heartland or Iowa Starting Line. To name two other political blogs coming from Iowa. But the blog has continuously grown, and I expect it to continue growing.
As far as individual posts go, a few have done very well. Here are the 5 most popular posts:
1. Leaving Academia: A Guide.
This is an account of some of the reasons why I left academia and some thoughts and advice for others thinking about doing the same. It’s by far my most widely read post. And the reason is mostly because it was picked up by a couple of other blogs.
2. 5 Successful Anti-Capitalist Films.
This post was kinda fun to write, and it’s more evidence that lists generate clicks. It’s one that has done very well in search engine traffic. But the basic idea is that I listed some movies with anti-capitalist themes that performed well at the box office.
3. A Leftist Take on Universal Basic Income.
This is a post where I lay out the case for UBI from right, centrist, and left-wing perspectives. And then I criticize UBI because I think it’s a very bad idea. The post generates quite a bit of traffic from supporters of Andrew Yang, who’s running for president on a UBI platform.
4. Trump, the Political Order, and Stephen Skowronek.
This is another post that has done very well on search traffic. What I’m doing here is interpreting the Trump Administration using the theory of political regimes pioneered by political scientist Stephen Skowronek.
5. Identity Politics and Identitarianism.
This is a post on identity politics in the US. My main contention here is that identity politics has shifted in form over time. It’s gone from a more strategic posture to a full reduction of politics to identity.
“But do you make any money?”
Not really. I mean, this is technically a revenue generating blog. I run ads and participate in affiliate marketing. But making money isn’t really the point, and I’m not using blogging as a career. I have a day job for that.
That said, the blog does OK. My costs run about $100 per year. And while I pointed out before that I only made about $2 in my first 6 months, I’m at about $23 for the full year. As readership grows, I expect to hit the break-even point at some point during my second year. It’s possible I could even move a bit above that.
“OK, so can I send you some money?”
Just kidding. This doesn’t belong in an FAQ. For one, it’s not ‘frequently asked.’ But, really, I know some people writing online operate via donations. And that’s fine with me. As of now, I don’t have any donation mechanism set up. I may do it somewhere down the road, but not yet. If you’re interested in financially supporting this blog, the best way to do it is by clicking an ad or clicking on one of my book recommendation links and buying the book!
“What are you going to write about next?”
I suppose I’ll write about whatever I want! But, seriously, I do work ahead a bit. Usually by about 2-3 weeks. Here are some of my upcoming topics: the role of ‘open borders’ discussion in left-wing politics, a review of The Socialist Manifesto, propaganda, and some thoughts on how to evaluate presidential candidates.
Image by Godsgirl_madi from Pixabay
