Blogiversary #3 – Finding the Balance

September marked the 3 year birthday for my blog. It is times like this that I like to reflect upon the past year and see what I have learned.

Read on to hear about my last year in blogging!

Recapping the Year In Blogging

Over the past year I wrote 37 posts about the topics that interest me – SQL Server / Databases, InfoSec, Privacy, and whatever else technology related that excites me.

Blog Statistics

Over the years my blog has been read more and more. I don’t really know what tiny tech blog authors typically get for page views and visitors; but in an effort to be transparent, here are my statistics since inception.

As you can see above, I have averaged between 5,000 – 6,000 page views per month consistently for a while.

Speaking (and Listening)

I enjoy speaking at events – and I think there is good evidence that people who attend my talks like it. When you “teach” you also “learn”. Getting direct feedback leads to improvement.

Listening to your attendees and knowing how to engage them it key. There are a LOT of technology blogs around. Some are engaging to read but offer little good content. Others have high quality content but have no appeal.

When I write or speak, I strive to be in the upper left quadrant and stay as far away from the bottom right square as I can.

Here are the SQL Saturday events I attended:

Charlotte 2018
Raleigh 2019
Phoenix 2019
Sacramento 2019

Additionally, I joined a few T-SQL Tuesday blog party posts.

T-SQL Tuesday #107 – My Death March Project – I had the honor to host #107 with the topic of Death March projects.
T-SQL Tuesday #107 Round Up: Death March Project – the roundup where I compile everyone’s horror stories. I make references to some gothic horror stories that I like so it is an entertaining read. This was also linked by SQL Server Central – thanks!
T-SQL Tuesday #108 – Penguins and Snakes – talking about expanding my skill sets – there is just too much to learn!
T-SQL Tuesday #112 – Facing the Unknown With Confidence
T-SQL Tuesday #113 – What Do You Use a Database For?

Volunteering

Also, I volunteered for the Hour of Code 2018. Teaching the youth about computer programming…feels good man.

Breakdown of Posts

Below is an overview by category of the posts.

SQL Server
Security
- National Cyber Security Awareness Month – Low Hanging Fruit
- The Security Theater of Chip Cards
- Security Principles – Time Tested and Immutable
- Marriott and Equifax – A Tale of Two Breaches – it was a hard fought battle between Marriott and Equifax to see who will win the championship of bad security.
- Why You Should Use a Password Manager – The Pros and Cons of Password Management Systems – you are using a password manager, right?
- InfoSec Design Principles – 8 Security Principles To Implement
- Encryption Bans – Efforts to Ban Encryption – everytime I read this topic I shake my head…
Privacy
- Considerations of Measuring the Impact of GDPR
- Data Privacy Day 2019 – Respect Privacy / Safeguard Data / Enable Trust
- Location Services and Your Privacy – Hide Yo Kids Hide Yo Wife – this is one of my favorite posts. It amazes me just how powerful knowing 1 data point about someone – their location – can be.
- Why You Need a VPN – Protect Yourself Online
- Surveillance in the Workplace – Care or Coercion?
- The Worsening of WhatsApp – Signal for Privacy – please recruit your friends to stop using WhatsApp and instead use Signal
Technology
- The Cyber Tussles Between the Layers of the Internet
- My Amateur Backyard Fireworks Show – 2019 – if you like amateur backyard fireworks shows then you will want to watch this video!
- The Fake News of Big Data – another post that doesn’t get read much but I am proud of. TLDR; choose science over pseudoscience and junk science

Why Am I Still Blogging?

Year 2019 has been very busy for me. At times, uncomfortably busy. That’s why you see a dry spell over the summer months for my posts. As much as I enjoy writing, I must sometimes tend to more important matters – especially involving money (i.e. my job) and relationships.

Same goes for speaking. I love flying to different cities, meeting new people, and presenting; however, it comes at a cost. I have to be prudent about how often I go to keep a good balance.

Once again, I don’t have a paywall nor do I use advertising. I don’t have a Patreon or GoFundMe. I don’t accept sponsored content – and I get asked frequently especially for some highly read posts. The only exception is the few VPN banners I post but that’s because I personally use and see value in them and I think you would too. I do not write clickbait.

Instead of soliciting money, I would prefer if YOU would share my posts that you like, write comments to spur a discussion, link me, and otherwise apply anything useful here. If you do something really cool from that please share it with me!

Thanks to all of my readers!

If you liked this post then you might also like my recent post about The Fake News of Big Data

Do you care about InfoSec and Privacy? Then YOU need to use a VPN.