Post haste

Time flies! It's five years to the day since I first compiled a list/overview of what were then the most visited posts here at SF and Nonsense. To my surprise, Postscript (or is that post post?) was itself instantly popular. It remains third on the all-time list.

Let the annual tradition continue.

Some rough posts :-)

Here's another year's all-time top-ten list, which I've assembled from data captured a few days ago. The format is: title/link; posting date; last year's rank in parens (if it was in the top ten); and a few words about the post content.

1. Of moons, clouds, and the state of the art(s), 13 August 2013 (1). A science and tech post.
2. Betrayer of Worlds, 12 October 2010 (2). The announcement of Betrayer of Worlds, the 4th book in the (in the end, five books long) Fleet of Worlds series.
3. Postscript (or is that post post?), 12 April 2011 (3). The original SF and Nonsense stats post.
4. Of fleet Fleets and Known Space, 1 February 2011 (4). Discussion of the Fleet of Worlds series; reading order within the larger Known Space series.
5. Trope-ing the light fantastic (life-sign detectors), 29 February 2009 (5). One from my tropes-in-SF series of posts. 
6. There is no fate (of worlds) but what we make ourselves, 21 August 2012 (6). The announcement of Fate of Worlds, the fifth and final book in the Fleet of Worlds series -- and, as it happens, also the fifth and final book of Larry Niven's Ringworld series. 
7. Humans, Pak, Puppeteers: in one word, 26 September 2011 (7). Another Fleet of Worlds and Known Space post. 
8. The neural interface you always wanted is (at least, could be) coming, 17 June 2014 (10). Some forecasting about the named tech, inspired by my participation in a days-long MEMS-and-nanotech workshop.
9. Kilometerstone (et. al.), 10 December 2008 (8). Commemorating an early round number (stretching a point just a tad) in my blogging.
10. Fleet of Worlds (at last), 9 November 2011 (n/a). I finally blogged about Fleet of Worlds, the release of which predated startup of this blog.  The occasion: release of a new/TPB edition.

The longer a post has been, er, posted, the more opportunity it's had to attract eyeballs, so, at some level, expecting older posts to have accumulated the most visits makes sense. OTOH, older posts can become dated, ceasing to attract readers -- and many posts have, of course. Most entries on the above list clearly have staying power. Nine of ten, in fact, appeared last year, almost all with the same ranking. I attribute much of that continuity to the ongoing popularity of the Fleet of Worlds series ... and I'm okay with that :-)

How about recently? I'll give you the top ten posts for the past month, Blogger making that compilation easy. (Alas, Blogger doesn't offer visit stats between "all time" and "last month.") Not surprisingly, there's overlap with the all-time list -- but last month I was evidently on fire. Six of six March 2016 posts made the list!

1. Hacked off: a manifesto, 19 March 2016. Recent news of computer (in)security, with thoughts what to do about it.
2. Can't make this stuff up, 5 April 2016. Announcing my two-fer nonfiction appearances in the May 2016 issue of Analog.
3. There is no fate (of worlds) but what we make ours..., 21 August 2012. As above.
4. Freebie Tuesday, 22 March 2016. Announcing the publisher's one-day giveaway of my 2010 collection A Stranger in Paradise. (Did you miss it? That promo is over, but the ebook remains a bargain. Pick up the Kindle edition at Amazon for a mere $2.99).
5. Tiny slices of life, 29 March 2016. A round-up of recent biology news.
6. Cosmic!, 15 March, 2016. Announcing my March 22nd appearance at a fundraiser for the Arlington (Virginia) planetarium.
7. Of fleet Fleets and Known Space, 1 February 2011. As above.
8. Lies, all lies!, 8 March 2016. Revealing an ugly truth about astronaut ice cream
9. Greetings, Known Space fans!, 1 March 2016. Announcing the publisher's release of an interesting two-novels-in-one-book combo: Larry Niven's Ringworld's Children (the last solo installment of his Ringworld series) and Fleet of Worlds (Larry and my first collaboration, become the opening installment of a Ringworld companion series).
10. A Time Foreclosed, 18 June 2013. Announcement of my 2013 chapbook, and a bargain way to check out my fiction. (Really a bargain: a 99-cent Kindle edition at Amazon.)
    
    

    I'll be interested to see how many of the very recent favorites make the cut for next year's compendium.