Have I really been writing this blog for four years? Why, that’s an entire presidential term. In blog-years, it’s more like a geologic period, punctuated by occasional earthquakes in the form of TypePad upgrades. (I now compose posts in Windows LiveWriter and export the content to TypePad. More better. Thanks for the tip, AgateGal!) I’m somewhat stunned to report that the post you are reading is my 1,416th and that I’ve published 3,622 of your comments. (OK, so a few of the comments were my replies to your comments.)
A bit of history for those of you who have crashed the party just for the cake*:
In the beginning, the blog was called Away With Words. Here, from 2008, is my explanation of the name change.
Here’s the first blog post I wrote after the obligatory “is-this-thing-on” post. It’s about a nanoparticle that needed a name.**
I’ve written three Simpsons Brand-o-Rama posts—essentially lists of fictitious brands used on The Simpsons. It’s unlikely I’ll produce a fourth, so I recommend you take advantage of the close-out sale on existing inventory. Here’s the first Brand-o-Rama; links to the other two are at the bottom.
Most popular post of the last 12 months? That would likely be the November 2009 post about Droid’s “bare-knuckled bucket of does.” I followed up with two additional Droid posts, here and here.
Three posts account for the most traffic over all four years: How the Tiguan Got Its Name, The IKEA Naming System, and Put on a Suit and You’ll Look Cute, the last being my consideration of “bikini,” “skirtini,” and all the other aquatic -inis. (Most of the searchers who land on that last post aren’t interested in linguistics or women’s fashion; they’re looking for pictures of pubikinis. Sorry to disappoint, fellas.) For some reason, How to Name a Golf Course remains popular as well. Are that many golf courses actually being developed?
At the end of last year, I wrote about Words of the Year, Words of the Decade, Brands of the Year, and Brands of the Decade. And yes, the deadline for registering complaints has passed.
My favorite Word of the Week of the last year? So hard to choose, but I’m going to propose telepalmter. Just because.
For nostalgia buffs:
Bloggiversary 1 (2007).
Bloggiversary 2 (2008).
Bloggiversary 3 (2009).
Thanks to everyone who has read, linked, suggested, and commented. You are the wind beneath my wings. No, seriously.
__
* Cake illustration from here.
** The nanoparticle ended up being named Au16-. Booooring.
Congratulations, Nancy. I especially like finding gems from years past. I don't spend a lot of time reading blogs, but I don't think I've missed any of yours since I found you on Twitter and was instantly smitten. Thanks for the cake.
Posted by: Mark Allen | June 08, 2010 at 07:07 AM
Congratulations, Nancy! I don't comment often but I do enjoy reading all of your posts.
Posted by: deja pseu | June 08, 2010 at 09:51 AM
Happy Anniversary... er... blogiversary! Big fan, frequent reader!
Posted by: Derek Gordon | June 08, 2010 at 10:00 AM
My hat is off to you, Nancy! It is an achievement to keep us all entertained and informed for so long. And, by the way, I am still marveling over what I learned during Underwear Week.
Posted by: Laura Scheflow | June 08, 2010 at 11:19 AM
Happy 4th! Without you and your wit and wisdom I would be bored and unenlightened - not to mention that I'd have significantly less blog fodder. Thanks for being an inspiration!
Posted by: Jessica | June 08, 2010 at 12:34 PM
Happy blogiversary, Nancy! Thank you for this wonderful blog, I love reading it.
Posted by: Julia Sevyn | June 08, 2010 at 12:46 PM
What a fun post. Congratulations on your fourth anniversary (I'm very glad blogs don't have term limits) — a fine time was had by all!!
Posted by: twitter.com/hush6 | June 08, 2010 at 04:27 PM
My day isn't complete without your posts.
Happy Blogiversary!
Posted by: Nick | June 09, 2010 at 12:26 AM
Congratulations, Nancy! You've made our weird little topic into something interesting, funny, and revelatory. I hope you never have to make fun of a name I came up with!
It's a really great blog, topic notwithstanding, and I look forward to every new posting. Hard to believe it's been four years.
May you have four score more!
MG
Posted by: Mark Gunnion | June 09, 2010 at 04:57 PM
Yeah, yeah, congratulations, congratulations, great blog.
Now, can we get back to talking about underwear?
Namer X
Posted by: Namer X | June 09, 2010 at 05:11 PM