Best of the Blog: 2013
A week or two back, I was reading a complaint about how I was “constantly” going on about sexual harassment and sexism and so on. I checked the blog archives and found that out of just over 1000 blog posts, there are 18 tagged “sexual harassment,” and 14 tagged “sexism.” That’s a whopping 3% of the blog. (Compare that to the 50 blog posts tagged “LEGO.”)
However, when I pull up the most popular blog posts — the posts from 2013 that attracted the most traffic — those 3% take up most of the top spots for the year. Interesting.
- Sexual Harassment Conversations in Comic Form. I’m very happy with how this comic has spread.
- Group Cover Pose Reveal. Honestly, I’m surprised this didn’t make #1. Me, Scalzi, Rothfuss, Stross, and Kowal, and we lost out to stick figures? Oh, the shame.
- How to Report Sexual Harassment, by Elise Matthesen. I believe this is the first time I’ve had a guest post earn one of the top spots for the year. Thanks again to Elise for speaking up.
- Roundup of Some “Anonymous Protesters” (SFWA Bulletin Links). Three different SFWA-related posts on the list. Interesting.
- One Consequence of Creeping.
- Fake Writer Girls.
- Racist Takes Dump in SFWA Twitter Stream: News at 11.
- SFWA Presidential Election Thoughts.
- What is Rape Culture?
- Cover Art – So Where’s the Problem?
- 2012 Writing Income. I’ve got to start getting the 2013 update put together soon.
Google Analytics says I had 263K unique visitors this year, which means … heck if I know. Especially with the blog content distributed to LiveJournal, Goodreads, RSS feeds, and more. Social media is such a broadly distributed thing these days. Very different from when I first started blogging at http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Library/4119/ (I don’t know how to feel about the fact that I still remember my Geocities web address.)
But I’m still enjoying it, and that means the blog will continue for the foreseeable future. Which I’m sure comes as a TREMENDOUS relief to all of you!
Patti L.
December 26, 2013 @ 1:37 pm
Yes, as a matter of fact, it does, Mr. Hines. You remind me of Isaac Asimov to some degree. Not interested in the major portion of his fiction writing (sorry! Just my tastes, not your writing) although I enjoy some of it, but the side issues you address, particularly in the concrete world, those rivet me. He did science in a way that made it accessible in his magazine essays, and his introductions to things (especially in his editing capacity)were fun. You are both serious and engaging through humor as you bring Real Issues into the discussion. Without various tweets of them, I wouldn’t have ventured onto your blog. I don’t have you bookmarked (yet, although it might make an achievable New Year’s Resolution) but when you tweet a link to it, I’ll usually follow it. I comment, I believe, more on your blog than on any others I read. I’m looking forward to the day we get to meet. Dare say it will be unmemorable to you, but – after due caution – you may get a squishy hug from me.
Morgan Brilliant
December 26, 2013 @ 8:48 pm
I have now read, or at least looked at, these posts. I think my current favorite is “One Consequence of Creeping.” I like it. I like it a lot.
I also kind of like the cover poses post.
Mels
December 26, 2013 @ 9:08 pm
ugh, yeah, I totally hate how you stand up for other people who may not be in a position to do so for themselves out of fear for themselves because that’s terrible. Really. You are just the worst. Way worse than Hitler, even!
<3
Jim C. Hines
December 27, 2013 @ 7:44 am
I’m generally pro-hug, as long as I know it’s coming 🙂
Jim C. Hines
December 27, 2013 @ 7:44 am
Thank you!
Jim C. Hines
December 27, 2013 @ 7:45 am
I’M GHOST-BLOGGING FOR SATAN!
Evan
December 27, 2013 @ 2:59 pm
I’d say your math is somewhat underinclusive: I’d also add in the “rape,” “racism,” and “spork theory” tags for another 28+10+1 posts. A lot of your “rants” tag (25, but containing some duplicates) would probably also fit under that topic heading. Ignoring duplicates, that’d be 96 points for about 9% of the blog. What’s more, at least for me, a lot of the posts advertising your books or updating us on how your books are coming probably don’t register in the same part of my mind as your more expository posts.
But even ignoring that last effect… Given how studies show some people view a group as half female when there’re only 30% women, I’d see how some people would view 8-9% of the time as “constantly” going on about it.
(Of course, even if you were writing about it a full 50% of the time, that still wouldn’t be a problem!)
(And since this’s my first comment, let me add: I found your blog last spring through, IIRC, one of your posts on publishing; read your princess novels over the summer, and enjoyed every chapter of them!)
Pat Munson-Siter
December 27, 2013 @ 10:49 pm
Hmm. Seeing all the stuff about Pox Day, haven’t heard and was wondering: is he still a member of SFWA, or did they release his sorry b*** back into the wild?
Pat Munson-Siter
December 27, 2013 @ 10:49 pm
And yes, the “P” in “Pox” is on purpose….
Jim C. Hines
December 28, 2013 @ 10:26 am
He was expelled earlier this year.
http://www.locusmag.com/News/2013/08/beale-expelled-from-sfwa/