Cycling in Chch has been running for over 7 years now; it’s been a fun ride. Over that time we’ve delivered 838 posts to you, but blogs should be a two-way process with the reader. So it is gratifying that we have received over 2500 comments from you over that time. That’s an average of three per post, but the numbers are fairly imbalanced; while about 50-odd posts have garnered at least 10 comments; one third haven’t even generated one response… Back in the early days, you were an even quieter bunch and I wasn’t sure how much traction we were getting; hence this post originally from Sep 2012. The dozen or so responses at the time were certainly gratifying, so here’s another little reminder that we love to get feedback…
Sometimes it can be a thankless job trying to be a blogger. You put your ideas, experiences, frustrations, etc out there for the world to see and… nothing. Not a peep of response, whether to say “hey, I agree!”, “that is completely wrong…”, “have you thought about…”, “I noticed that too!” or whatever.
From the 58 published posts to date on Cycling in Christchurch, I can tell you that we have had a grand total of 53 approved comments to date (I say “approved” because the spammers love us even more – we’ve had >500 posts so far trying to sell us shoes, handbags, watches, and, rather bizarrely, wedding dresses…). To those who’ve taken the time to provide some feedback – thanks! To those who’ve stopped by without leaving a calling card – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Perhaps this blog isn’t covering the things you’d like it to. So what would you like to see more of? What kind of topics would get the conversations flowing?
- More discussion about what the new “cycle-friendly Chch” could look like?
- Info about inspiring/clever cycling ideas from elsewhere that would be great here in Chch?
- News about great cycling events coming up around Chch (and reports afterwards too)?
- A place to air grievances about things in the current cycling environment that you’d really like to see fixed?
- Up-to-date info about the latest relevant newspaper reports or Council submission/plans?
- Thoughts/advice on how people can practically get around by bike in Chch (e.g. clothing, equipment, routes)?
- Perhaps just more inspiring pictures of really cool bikes or riders around town just getting from A to B?
- Something else…?
Post your ideas here and we’ll see what we can do. Or if you think you can help to tap the pent-up need to blab about cycling in our fair city, we’d still welcome more bloggers.
Are you happy with what Cycling in Christchurch is providing?
I love reading your blogs, it makes me feel like I am part of a bigger community who cares about cycling safely around town. I am sorry for not leaving comments in the past . Please keep going!
Is there a way to capture the comments from the FB links? There may be far more engagement from the FB channel?
Yes facebook is completely trustworthy, honest!
Encourage those posters to post here instead, out of the FB ecosystem? NOOOoooOOo!
Agree with Darren, FB gets comments that are just as relevant as the comments directly on the blog.
Good point; I haven’t included the number of comments on FB when the auto-post notifications go up there (or on Twitter for that matter either). Just glancing back over the stats on recent FB posts, it’s a similar story of many with 0-2 comments and a few with more discussion (especially when the post gets shared by multiple people or groups), e.g. the post earlier this week about the election results got 5 shares and 34 subsequent comments to date.
I don’t know if there is an easy way to also capture/sync the FB comments on here as well; if anyone has any expertise or suggestions on this, feel free to drop me a line.
how is this blog promoted? perhaps a note in a city council or ecan publication might help get some more followers.
Other than the auto-post notifications via FaceBook and Twitter, CiC occasionally gets a plug from Chch City Council (e.g. in their cycling newsletter; also on their “New to cycling” webpage) and via other cycling groups like the monthly Spokes Canterbury newsletter. I will also link to a relevant CiC article when replying to some related issue on FB (and it’s pleasing to see many others doing so too).
I’m open to other suggestions on how to get the word out there (must admit I haven’t pushed it hard lately). And please feel free to put in a good word yourself to your friends and colleagues – probably sounds more genuine than coming from me! 🙂
Love the blog. Most of the posts I read and it’s great to feel like there is a community of us. Great to hear of what is being planned.
I’m always looking for new/better ideas to increase cycling amenities and cycle use.
I enjoy the blog, and appreciate the effort you take to keep it going
I read them all but don’t always comment. I do a have a blog post idea so I will email you about it. Keep up the good work!
I enjoy reading the blogs and really appreciate feeling there is a community of fellow Chch cyclists out there, (even if I am only a fair-weather, non-Lycra wearing commuter-cyclist !)
Same same!!
Thanks everyone for the feedback to date! Puts me in my happy space again…
Mate, I live in Paris and I read it. A nice taste of home, and good to know that we all have the same frustrations and optimism about cycling in cities, even if some of our cities come with a bit more cheese than others. Some of your posts have really influenced my own thinking about urban cycling. I’d say “keep it up!” But that’s pretty selfish as I say that because I benefit from your hard work but don’t give you anything in return (although, I can give you something in kind of you jump on over to http://www.thousandthfastest.wordpress.com. Next time I’m back in Chch I’ll shout you a beer/wine/coffee/Aperol spritz/Chouffe or whatever.
I’ll happily take you up on that offer! (my local at Pomeroys has plenty of options…) Nice blog site BTW; I quite liked that Paris Fashion Week article for starters…
I almost never comment but I check for new posts pretty much daily. I don’t currently ride a bike but I support the infrastructure and cycling in general so I love seeing updates about the network and people’s experiences riding in Christchurch.
Love your blog Glen!
I read most of your posts but only comment if I feel I have stuff to add/ask/share. Like others have said, it’s great to feel part of a community of cycling enthusiasts 🙂