'Granny Effect' unpacked

Granny has an impact, but it isn't a 'Buttons Bonanza'.

8th January 2010

It is generally accepted that a mention on Andrew Denny's Granny Buttons blogsite will result in a marked increase in web traffic coming  your way.

Halfe and Waterlilly have been debating the scale of this impact and figured that it must be worth five or even ten places on the Waterways Ranking. Of course, that depends on your starting point and, as Captain Ahab was riding unusually high in the virtual water over the Christmas period, the extra hits merely served to maintain my position at 25 (ish).

I am currently coaching Jeff with his CGSE Maths so I find myself thinking mathematically most of the time. This train of thought prompted an attempt at a mathematical evlauation of the phenomenon known as the Buttons Bonanza.

Granny carried an item on my post about Aldborough Mill on the 5th Jan which he then very kindly followed up with a local reaction on the 6th. I have used these two days to measure the impact of referred traffic coming from Granny Buttons and correllated it to the number of hits on the Aldborough Mill item.

Referrals from Granny Buttons to Aldborough Mill post:

5th Jan 2010

14 attributable hits, resulting in an all time record of 74 in one day

6th Jan 2010

14 attributable hits resulting in a daily total of 71

Whilst the numbers are up, the normal average daily traffic is currently about 55 so it delivered a bonus, but no bonanza.

I would therefore suggest that the mathematical formulae for the Buttons Bonanza is (Л x D ∞) with D being the number of additional hits, pie being 3.142. When worked out in full it means that doing this sort of calculation takes one round in circles in an everlasting loop!

On a more sane note, this review of referrals to Captian Ahab's Watery Tales does substantiate Andrew's original observation that if you write stuff that interests a local population, they will come and take a look. My recent series on the lost Bentley Canal is a case in point, with my item being picked up by local interest groups and on line newsheets like Walsall's 'Yam Yam', which generated a substantial volume of traffic.

At the end of the day I write about the things that interest me, and sometimes these resonate with a wider readership, and sometimes they don't. Oddly, some of my favourite items have hardly been read at all, but that dosn't matter because the main purpose of the Blog is to serve as a record for myself.

Mind you, I have made an incredible number of friends along the way (Mr Denny included) which will have a more lasting impact on my life than a temporary Buttons Bonanza.