It's mid-February. As winter lingers and hints of spring begin to emerge, I find myself reflecting on the journey that began twelve months ago. It was this time last year that I launched Periscope Insighter. With one year behind me and another stretching ahead, I'm excited to take a moment to share some of the key statistics and highlights that have shaped this blog during the past year.
Venn the Stars Align
On the morning of February 10, 2023, I kicked off my blog with the opening post, Venn the Time is Right. In that post, I established that “this blog is about the things I think, read, speak, and write about. It comes from the intersection of my knowledge domains”.
And indeed it has been. The original Venn diagram was a bit limiting. I’ve updated that original Venn diagram to better reflect the content that has been created.
By The Numbers: Blog Year in Review
Initially, I had planned to deliver original content once a week. In reality, my publication schedule has averaged three high-quality posts per month. At the time of writing, I’ve published 38 blog posts, with this one marking number 39. While one of those was a guest contribution, the rest have been in my own unique voice.
Top Posts by Numbers of Views
Reviewing the statistics provided by Wix for the first year, it's intriguing to note the top five stories with the highest views.
It's worth mentioning that these views are cumulative over the first 365 days of the blog, so it's natural that older posts would accumulate more views, considering their evergreen nature. However, what's particularly fascinating is the presence of a much newer post at the top of the list within the same time frame.
Links to Top Five Posts by View
Action Steps Nonprofit Hospitals Can Take to Strategically Use Volunteers Volunteers play a key role in supporting care. This article explores action steps that nonprofit hospitals can take to strategically use volunteers.
Data Storytime for Volunteers: A Process Improvement Example BI tools aren't always key. Knowing metrics & audience is. A simple poster can effectively visualize improvements.
Measure For Measure: Start Your Data Story Where it Matters An effective data story starts with knowing what to measure and why. Start your data story by knowing your purpose and your audience.
Charting Your Course: Process Mapping as a Visualization Tool Process mapping as a visualization tool is valuable for leaders to add to their data storytelling toolbox.
Volunteer Satisfaction Science: A Story of Measurement That Started a Movement In 1999, I created the VSI. Fast forward to 2023: 358 citations & global scholarship have rejuvenated its significance.
Top Posts by Time Spent
What stands out about this next set of posts is that they have engaged blog visitors for the longest duration.
What particularly excites me about this top five list here is that visitors to the blog spent a good amount of time taking in the information before moving to the next page. These posts are mostly more recent than those on the first list.
Links to Top Five Posts by Minutes Spent
Effective Communication in Healthcare is a Team Sport Discover how to elevate patient care & organizational culture through improved healthcare communication. Learn about barriers & solutions.
Visualizing Success: Nonprofit and Healthcare Data Analytics Explore the power of visualizing data analytics in nonprofit and healthcare business. Learn how visual insights drive informed decisions.
10 Kinds of Stories to Tell with Healthcare Data There are 10 kinds of stories to tell with healthcare data. HCAHPS "Quiet at Night" scores for 10 regional California hospitals are used.
Data Storytime for Volunteers: A Process Improvement Example BI tools aren't always key. Knowing metrics & audience is. A simple poster can effectively visualize improvements.
How to Decide on a Data Story Format: a Guide Choose the perfect delivery method, from annual reports to single slides, for your audience. Discover seven options in this data story format guide.
Top Posts by Number of Clicks
While early post views were largely from friends and colleagues, as the year went on that changed. The growing amount of traffic originating from organic Google searches has steadily increased. Having a post link come up in search engine results and get clicked on through a Google search is kind of amazing. Google makes sure I am aware of these achievements.
I was thrilled when, on April 5, 2023, two months after my blog's launch, I received a notification from Google that my site had reached 5 clicks in 28 days. Fast forward almost 10 months later, and I now have achieved 80 site clicks in 28 days.
Links to Top Five Blog Posts found via Google Search
What Should a Company Do to Develop Better Data Culture Organizations that have a healthy data culture exhibit three characteristics: intellectual curiosity, innovation, and iterative process.
Storyboarding: The Secret Sauce of Data Visualization and Storytelling Success Storyboarding is a key step in data visualization and storytelling. Bridge the gap between data insight and effective communication in your data narrative.
Narrative Design: The Data Story Arc Data storytelling marries art & science, using narrative to drive change. See its application in a short video, summarizing its power.
10 Kinds of Stories to Tell with Healthcare Data There are 10 kinds of stories to tell with healthcare data. HCAHPS "Quiet at Night" scores for 10 regional California hospitals are used.
7 Data Visualization Tools for Your Storytelling Toolbox Select the right tool! This article includes a brief video summarizing seven data storytelling tools to graphically represent your data.
Category Posts
In my opening post, I noted several topic areas on which I planned “to provide insights, research, and resources” as well as sharing “how-to's, tips, and templates”. These topic areas become blog categories and tags. Each topic has been touched on to varying degrees.
37% of published posts were related to Data Storytelling Essentials
29% covered Business Analysis.
18% addressed Data Savvy
16% considered Reflective Insights and Effective Communication topics
and 13% discussed the Volunteer Satisfaction Index (VSI)
(Post percentages add to more than 100% as some posts are assigned to more than one category)
The distribution of post views per category closely mirrored the volume of published content within each category. Upon reviewing this year's post content, it's evident that most of both content and views were concentrated in just 2-3 categories. This serves as a valuable insight for prioritizing the development of future posts.
I have to admit that it’s rather intriguing to find myself in a somewhat meta situation, crafting a data-driven narrative around topics that delve into communication and data. Here I am, utilizing data and storytelling techniques to explore subjects that themselves revolve around the art of conveying information effectively and the analysis of raw data.
Followers and Connections
Examining LinkedIn's data is equally impressive and humbling. Over the past year, I've gained 400 new followers. I have primarily relied on sharing post announcements on social media platforms to get the word out
If you don’t already follow me on LinkedIn, then I invite you to do so!
Click this button right here.
It's always uplifting to hear from colleagues and friends who have invested time and effort in reading and sharing my content!
Likewise, a steady growth in site subscribers has also helped to get the word out. And my heart has literally leapt with joy for each of the 59 subscribers who have joined my mailing list this past year.
Summary
As I wrap up this annual review of Periscope Insighter, I can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment and gratitude for the past year.
Looking back, it's clear that there is an increasing interest in posts related to communication and data. This reaffirms the importance of focusing on topics that strike a chord with readers.
Here is a summary of the best of highlights shared in this article:
Top Post by Number of Views - Action Steps Nonprofit Hospitals Can Take to Strategically Use Volunteers
Top Post by Time Spent - Effective Communication in Healthcare is a Team Sport
Top Post Found via Google Search - What Should a Company Do to Develop Better Data Culture
Top Post Category by Number of Posts - Data Storytelling Essentials
Top Post Category by Number of Views - Business Analysis
In the coming year, I am eager to continue sharing content, resources, and tools as well as my thoughts on communication and data. Thank you for your readership, followership, and support. I do it for you and I couldn’t do it without you.
I am going to end this year end blog post review in the exact same way in which I closed the first one last year:
I want to connect with leaders in business, especially those in healthcare or volunteer sectors.
Leaders who use data to make decisions.
Leaders who want to upskill their data literacy and ‘stay in the game’.
Leaders who want to show their impact.
Leaders who want to apply a business analyst approach volunteer program development.
Leaders who want to influence change and impact user-experience.
Leaders who want to get their message heard and want to have their signal come through the noise.
Interested? I hope so! Thank you so much for stopping by. Comment! Like! Share! Subscribe! Do all the things and spread the word! Don't miss a post!
Roseanna Galindo is Principal at Periscope Business Process Analysis and a champion for data literacy, the human experience in healthcare, and leaders of volunteers everywhere. Learn more about Roseanna and her blog, The Periscope Insighter, by reading the opening post, Venn The Time Is Right
Roseanna is available for training, keynotes, and executive coaching. Visit PeriscopeBPA.com for more information.
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