Views, Comments and Statistics: Gauging and Engaging the Audience of Medievalist Blogging

Abstract

A blog without an audience is no more than a constrained word processor; the point of blogging is surely to find an audience. But how can we go about gauging the audience that is attracted? Can it be measured or assessed, can it be courted, can it be deterred? Is the audience a blogger gets the one they want? This article looks, through the lens of the author's experience with an academic blog on medieval history, at these questions and concludes that although the largest portion of the audience remains invisible, unengaged and perhaps accidental, the members of the audience of a successful blog who do interact and respond are the real necessity for a fruitful collaborative space that benefits readers as well as authors.