TOP 10: THE MOST READ ARTICLES OF 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

It’s top of the pops (or posts) time again when WordPress very kindly compile a whole dossier of a  Different Angle’s performance or, more specifically, those articles that you, the readers, have found most interesting in 2012.

Visitors to a Different Angle don’t just come from subscribers, Facebook or any other social media connection but they are also forwarded from my website and, most importantly, Google and other search engines. So each time somebody searches with particular keywords that match one of the posts on a Different Angle they are then referred to the page as one of the ‘most active’ and ‘most relevant’ articles.

In fact, in 2012 visitors from 141 countries visited the a Different Angle blog with the main visitor count coming from UNITED KINGDOM, UNITED STATES and AUSTRALIA.

Apparently:

The London O2 Arena has a seating capacity of 20,000. This blog was viewed 140,223 times in 2012. If it were a show at the O2, it would take  7 (and a bit) sold-out performances for that many people to see it! The figure also represents a significant increase of views on last year of 16, 923.

In 2012, there were 51 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog from 109 to 165 posts. There were 160 pictures uploaded.

The busiest day of the year was 18th November. The most popular post that day was THE INVASION OF ST NEOTS HAS BEGUN telling the story of a wind farm that is being built next to and visible from a clump of small villages in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom.  This controversial story that is clearly a case of ‘not in my back yard’ may have sparked the ‘busiest day’ but lacked reader ‘staying power’ as it didn’t even make the top 10.

So who did?

Let’s find out….

1. LIVING WITH THE DEVIL; A TRUE STORY OF NARCISSISM – As always, the story that features in my manuscript, COMING UP FOR AIR, has received by far the most views. There are clearly a lot of people out there who believe they are or are living with a narcissist. Interestingly, studies show that modern society is increasingly becoming ‘self absorbed’, it’s believed this is a syndrome of the recession where many are starting to truly believe in the saying that ‘charity starts at home’. Taking care of yourself and your family far outweighs altruistic practices.  If you’d like to read the actual excerpt (a part of the real story) from my manuscript that inspired the article, click here.

2. WHO ARE YOU CALLING UGLY? – This article looks at our obsession with beauty. Is it really in the eye of the beholder? What makes someone’s beauty somebody else’s ugly?  Featuring  some charming adjectives such as “swamp donkey (or pig”). This subject is universally recognised and that would explain why it received an unprecedented amount of reads putting it firmly at number 2.

3. 2ND EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM COMING UP FOR AIR – LIVING WITH THE DEVIL  – The true story behind this year’s most popular post proved just as intriguing for you. I’m naturally thrilled that this made the top 10! With most of you eager to be the first to read excerpts from a manuscript yet to be finished/ published!  (interesting how the 2nd excerpt beat the first by a just a few thousand)

4. 1ST EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT FROM COMING UP FOR AIR; THE GAME WE PLAY – The  first excerpt from my controversial manuscript, Coming Up for Air, a non fiction book about relationships. Many of you clamoured to find out which games we all play in real life to glean information from our partners. I’m thrilled that this made the top 10. Thanks!

5. THE DAY THE EARTH ENDS – We were all supposed to check out of this world on the 21st December 2012 in some gargantuan apocalyptic way but the Friday came and went relatively unnoticed.  This article talks about how this so called prediction was misinterpreted.

6. LETTING GO. ARE YOU STRONG ENOUGH? With an unprecedented hit count in its first hour, this article about how we all find it difficult to ‘let go’ of the ones we love really struck a chord with many of you.

7. NEW JOB, NEW WIFE, NEW LIFE…MID LIFE CRISIS? – It’s believed that each of us will experience one major mid life crisis in our life time.  This article looks not only at the symptoms but at the science. This other universally recognised subject enters our top 10 as one of the most read and shared.

8. MY HANDS ON THE NEW RANGE ROVER EVOQUE BUT MY LIPS ARE SEALED – This  article has been popular ever since it was published. For obvious reasons. There are many out there who are interested in the baby Evoque and a lot of them sought insight from my collaboration with Range Rover prior to the car’s release.

9. THE SECRET SHAME OF MEN – One of the year’s most controversial articles talking about domestic violence but with a twist; the article talks about the somewhat taboo practice of women who beat men.  Interesting how this, one of the most taboo subjects even today, managed to make the top 10 of most read articles on the blog. I’m guessing there are a few men out there who are able to relate to this.

10. LAZY SLOBS, TANTRUMS AND GAMBLERS…ARE YOU AN ENABLER? – We’re all guilty of it one way or another, we think  we’re doing the best by the ones we love but are we? This article talks about how by enabling the ones we love, we may actually be doing them more harm than good.

So did your favourite make the top 10?

Fear not, other articles that nearly made but missed out (in some cases just by a few hundred reads) are featured below but in no particular order. Some popular reads in 2012 were posts from 2011.

• The proudest night of my life. When was yours?
• The Binquision; failing to declare will result in a possible fine and execution
• Funny Monday, amusing stories and pictures from around the world 
• Watch Tony Marturano on TV chat show
• Are You a Life Settler?
• Have you surrendered your  Privacy? 
• Where did they come from? Spilling the beans on popular sayings
• Casa Bella’s Wigs, Laughter, Trophies and Murder! 
• Love; awesome or overrated? You decide 
• Casa Bella’s Devil’s Dinner Party’s Naked truth
• Love? Maybe but how young is too young?
• The Invasion of St Neots has begun 
• Random acts of Kindness or Weirdness?
• Facebook Page Posts; like them or lost them
• The Death of Marriage
• Casa Bella’s Devil’s Dinner Party 2; the gifts and the curses 
• Smile, these are actual London underground announcements
• Sunday’s interesting fact and hilariously wrong headlines 
• Ghost, boats and beauty; the Range Rover Evoque 
• The Death of the High Street
• Has Christmas lost its Sparkle for you?
• a Different Angle makes TV début this Monday
• Christmas loved or loathed… how does it make YOU feel?
• When did you lost your innocence?

All of the most recent posts can be viewed in order of publication on the a Different Angle homepage. If  you’re looking for a specific post then use the search button above (or Google, appending with a different angle).

At the foot of the website you can view the 6 most popular articles of the past week, browse the ‘most viewed tags’ or the archives by selecting a month from the drop down box.

If  you like to get to the most recent or browse historic posts through Facebook, you can do so from the a Different Angle Facebook page. Simply like the page and click on the NEWS tab.  And if you’re not already a fan, LIKE US now by using the link to the right. Don’t forget, if you like to receive posts from the a Different Angle page in your stream, it’s very important that you LIKE and or COMMENT on the posts to ensure that Facebook continue to deliver these to your stream. If you haven’t read about how Facebook are increasing revenue by charging page administrators to actually show  posts to their own fans, you can do so by clicking here.

Thank you so much for reading a Different Angle throughout 2012. A special thank you to all newcomers. I can’t express just how thrilled I am to have gained so many new readers in 2012 and, as always, will work to ensure that 2013  posts are just as, if not more, interesting.

If you have any favourite topics I haven’t written about and you believe I should then feel free to send me an email via my website http://www.tonymarturano.com or leave a comment below.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🙂