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And just like that, we’re at the end of 2024, a year that was quite eventful for me on various fronts. At the same time, I’ll discuss that in this post, this year’s Socialmaharaj’s 2024 wrapped isn’t quite how it should have been. But I’m happy I could dedicate the time to the blog, irrespective of what was happening in life.
Until last night, I hadn’t thought of publishing this post, the 2024 blogging report card, but since I’ve been doing it for nine years now, this being the tenth, I had to do it. So, without much ado, here’s the Socialmaharaj Blogging Report Card 2024.
But before I get into the Blogging Report Card 2024, I want you to have a look at the previous years’ Blogging Report Cards 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.
Blogging Report Card 2024
It’ll be a crime to talk about the numbers without thanking YOU, the reader of this blog. In this age when short-form videos are a rage, people like you have stumbled upon the blog, spent time reading my experiences, and planned your trips.
Most recently, a few people from the tech community contacted me because they found my blog posts on Modhera Sun Temple and Ahmedabad Heritage Walk to plan their itinerary to the state. Trust me, no amount of subscribers or views can beat the satisfaction of people reaching out to you after reading your blog post.
Apart from that, I’ve had tons of interaction on Instagram with people planning their Chikmagalur road trip and Hampi road trip, and I was more than happy to help them.
So all in all, it was a good year, which wouldn’t have been possible without your support. THANK YOU!
I’ll keep the commentary short and crisp on the blogging report card 2024.
- We’re still going strong regarding overall views and search results. With almost 17 million search impressions, we clocked more than 1 million per month in 2024! That’s insane for a personal blog like mine.
- The overall number of unique visitors has come down quite a bit, and that’s because of two reasons. The first one would be my not being consistent this year regarding posting. Second, the Google search algorithms have affected websites all across the globe, and the blog got affected by that too.
- The total number of blog posts also came down considerably. I managed to write only 60 blog posts this year (which is very good), but compared to the 95 last year, this isn’t good. It was all because of my work and travel that I didn’t have time to write blog posts.
2024 could have been better for the blog, but as they say, it is what it is. I’m glad that I still managed to write and publish a post every week (except in November), and the blog isn’t dead.
Further, while I shared a lof of stories on Instagram, reels were something that didn’t work. I put in quite some time to make some reels but they didn’t get any traction compared to the effort put it. So that’s something I may not focus more on, atleast not on the numbers for sure.
While my LinkedIn has grown 5x this year, Instagram was 0.1x and that’s why the brand collaborations have reduced considerably, also the fact that I’m not staying in Hyderabad city, I’m unable to attend a lot of events on weekdays due to work. This was concerning during the early part of the year, but it doesn’t bother me much now.
For 2025, I plan to be more consistent, maybe block my calendar and create a dedicated slot for writing blog posts. Also, I was fixated on completing a series of posts for a particular topic/place, which I felt took a lot of time and affected the blog. I’ll improve that, so if you see a south Indian restaurant review post after a Switzerland post, don’t be surprised.
2024 – A Dream
I’ve been traveling since I was a kid, shuttling cities due to my dad’s work and later my work and blogging. And hence I enjoy traveling. Having said that, traveling internationally was something I never considered, mainly because of finances.
I always thought (and still think) that one needs to have a lot of money to travel internationally. So going abroad was never on my todo, except that I wanted to visit Paris someday and speak in French; that probably was the only thing on my mind until 2024 happened.
I’m getting goosebumps as I write this, 2024 was very very kind and rewarding to me. I got opportunities to travel to France and the USA in 2024 to attend KubeCon Paris and KubeCon Salt Lake City and speak – yes I can label myself as an international speaker!
Europe Sojourn
Earlier in April, I spent a week in Paris, tried out my French, and figured out that learning French in school or Duolingo is nowhere close to how the French speak. I got to see the Eiffel Tower, visit the Louvre and Roland Garros Stadium, and eat Croissants! Because this was a work trip, my flights and stay for the conference were taken care of.
I gathered courage, took some money out of my savings, and planned my short Europe vacation! I visited Switzerland and explored the towns of Lucerne, Zurich, and Chur. I took a train on the famous Bernina Pass route and experienced snow for the first time in my life! But as my Instagram DMs said, “You’re doing all of this solo; this should have been with a partner!” Well, I hope I get to recreate this with someone soon 🤞🏼
I also visited Rome, explored the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and had Gelato, Tiramisu, Pasta and Pizza (Not to be confused with Piazza like I did 🤣) and Vatican City on the same trip – it was surreal!
Exploring The East Coast
While that happened in April, I visited the USA again for KubeCon Salt Lake City where I had not one but 4 talks! Apart from networking and learning at the conference, I explored Salt Lake City, visited Las Vegas and experienced the vibes of Sin City. I also visited the Grand Canyon, which was massive!
I ended that trip with a visit to Los Angeles, visited WB studios to witness the sets of my favorite sitcoms, FRIENDS and The Big Bang Theory, and the icing on the cake, I got to ride a driverless cab! Also, seeing the sunset in the Pacific Ocean from Santa Monica Pier was beautiful!
Being my third international trip in 12 months, I had gathered the confidence to travel aboard, understood the process, and planned my investments and finances well to fund my travel. I planned the above trips to have longer layovers to explore cities like Doha and Frankfurt.
What’s in store for 2025?
That’s pretty much about the Blogging Report Card 2024. With the way the year was, I’m hoping it’s even more exciting and happening. I look forward to learning more at work, attending meetups, and speaking at conferences. (Hopefully internationally).
I’m also planning to take my parents on an international trip – my dad has traveled a bit during his prime, but my mom hasn’t, so I want to take them(mom) to someplace nearby where food wouldn’t be an issue. So that would be a great personal achievement.
Apart from that, I want to be more consistent with the blog, write more, share more experiences, and maybe write them fresh. A lot of posts this year weren’t timed well – like I haven’t written about my Switzerland or Rome trip, and I already visited the US again. So I want to avoid that; how will I do that? I don’t have an answer now.
Thanks again for being supportive in this journey, looking forward to your continued support in the coming year as well. Wishing you and your family a very happy and prosperous new year.
Let me know if you have anything to share. Drop your thoughts in the comments below, tweet to me at @Atulmaharaj, DM on Atulmaharaj on Instagram, or Get In Touch.
