In 2013 I took on a slightly different approach to writing by putting more into each article with content, length and defining either what the topic was on or how the troubleshooting methods are taken. This, of course, meant my average blog count per month was way down in 2013 from 2012. In all, only 3.5 blogs per month. In 2012, I was averaging over 7. Value in the content does take more effort though. That is what I set out to manage and I feel the accomplishment was made. This seems to have shown in the number of unique visits and value the articles have provided as well. Just in the last few months, I had 10 articles that blew the 10,000 visit mark away. To me, the number of posts is a cool thing to have but if one article holds more value for a free technology resource over 15 that are so-so, I think I’ve helped just a little more.

Something that I noticed from this change in writing is the average views per visit going higher – 4248. That’s a great deal of people I’m reaching and helping. With that, I’ve reached out to just under 1.5 million people that are interested in SQL Server or needed a specific problem and fix. This is a far cry from some of the others in the SQL Server Community but a great accomplish for myself noentheless.

I had a great deal of focus in 2013 on the cloud. This shows in much writing as well as the work I’ve been managing. I made a tweet recently that stated, “I’m a cloud believer”. I wasn’t joking either. When I accomplished a full architecture in Windows Azure with near real-time availability and performing very well, I found the reasoning for the strength the cloud has much more. With that, 2014 will probably bring much more on the cloud and how SQL Server fits into it. SQL Server 2014 is also in the pipeline and over 20 articles are already in draft, waiting to be thrown out. Unlike many of my co-sql community writers, I like to wait and fully understand, break and fix, new releases of SQL Server. This means, I publish articles on the new versions a little later. Although late, I feel I can write a much fuller and valued article on the topics you will all be putting into production.

Here is a rundown of the numbers and my 2013 year in writing. I hope they have provided many of you with insight and assistance in either fixing unique problems or making critical decisions on how to manage your own database architectures.

I hope you enjoyed reading on LessThanDot.com in 2013.  We’re looking to meet and exceed all of this in 2014.