Firstly, Happy New Year to all of you kind folk who read this. Thank you for being loyal and an all round good bunch! Secondly, here is what I hope to do, blog wise, in the coming year.
– Number one is reviews, reviews, reviews. I have plenty to catch up on so watch this space. I hope to make more time for Music reviews this year, as they have taken a back seat to the movies.
– One thing that I would like to do is ‘open the floor up’ to my fellow bloggers and loyal ‘fans’ and ask them if they would like to put up a review on my site of any film or album or song of their choosing. It is open to both seasoned Movie bloggers as well as you folk who blog about other interesting topics. Anyone can pitch in, the more the merrier. The reason I say this, is because with a second baby due in two months, I might find time hard to come by. If I can schedule in some reviews from you guys that would be amazing. And it would also allow me to see what kinds of films and music you guys love.
– I want to do more features and articles other than reviews. I have done a few which were well received, I just need to find the time to do some more! Again, watch this space!
– A big one for me this year is to hit X amount of followers. Once I hit my target I am going to seriously look into finally removing the ‘wordpress’ bit from the site address. I will then rechristen my URL as http://www.moviesandmusiccafe.com. I envisage all manner of headaches doing this, and seriously wonder if I will ever have some loose change to do this, but I can live in hope!
– Up my viewing figures. They shot up over December to record levels, my best now being 186 in one day (OK, so nothing spectacular but heh)! I think this was largely because of my Christmas Movie Advent Calendar series as my views have since dropped rather a lot!
– Really sit back and see what I need to do with my blog. Maybe change it up a bit, have a new layout and theme etc. Really make it professional and slick.
That’s all I can think of for now. The main thing is that I would love your input into my site. I would love to put some of your reviews about your favourite things on there, so feel free to contact me via twitter @thomasjford or email tomford50@hotmail.com and let me know of anything you want included.
On a personal level, things I want to achieve this year are try and write another film script, maybe learn some simple magic tricks, get fit again and learn the art of drawing and animation. Big list, not enough time I know! Maybe two of those things then 🙂
Have a great 2014 everyone!
Tom
MOVIES & MUSIC CAFE 
186 is nothing to sneeze at. My numbers go up — the record is 1400 and that happened just once and still reminds me of how randomly a post can become sort of viral — and they go down. When I went away for 1 week on vacation and didn’t have WiFi? Two days I got 0 hits. That’s right. Down from like 250 to zero overnight. Take a longer view. It will make you less anxious! I too am trying to enroll some other writers. I need a little time off now and again. Your site is fun!
Thank you! And 1400 views in a day, that is very impressive!
Hello my friend! and Happy New Year…read your resolutions, and I will take this one, maybe you might like it also 😉
https://www.coursera.org/course/livearthistory
Natalie my friend! Happy New Year to you to. I should also make sure I get on thisismyjam more!
Happy New Year to you too! Hope you reach those goals 😀
Thanks Davide! Any goals for you this year?
Read more books, watch better movies, stop being so lazy 🙂 I always say these, but never seem to improve much..
Touché!
Views, followers – we shouldn’t take numbers too seriously. I agree with Marilyn on this. I admit that I still look at trends. 😉
I might have some contributions (movie reviews like 1941 or Odd Thomas) for you in a few weeks.
That would be great Karen! And I agree about stats, but it’s always nice seeing people are reading your blog! The more the better!!
I couldn’t agree more, Thomas!
My stats have been all over the place too since Christmas. They’re always far too unstable to rely on any sort of bottom line! As for having a new theme spruce, I recommend it. When I put some work into how the Spew looked back in October I noticed a huge difference in how I looked at my blog and in how others looked at it too. Not that there’s anything wrong with the Cafe as it is, but sometimes it’s nice to play around with new looks, see if something fits the idea or image you have in your head.
Anyway, Happy New Year!
Thanks V, your advice is much appreciated and highly thought of! I intend to mess around with my theme etc at some point definitely. Keep evolving!
Another baby? Congrats! In the lead up to Christmas I babysat for my sister for four weeks, so know how hard it is to look after two little ones (two children under two!) Having said that, I did get to give them back at the end of each day, so my experience at actual parenthood is probably nil.
Having a .com site on wordpress isn’t as expensive as you think. I did http://www.giorgethomas.com through wordpress and it’s a yearly fee that is cheaper than you think.
Maybe when it’s out you can do a review on my book? Yes, it’s poetry, which isn’t for everyone, but I’d love for you to be the first review!
Wish you all the best for the new year. I hope that you achieve all the goals you have set for yourself.
Hi Giorge, I would be honoured and privileged to write a review on your poetry book of course! Like I said before, I don’t really ‘get’ poetry on any deep, emotional level so at least you know you will get an honest appraisal!
Let me know!
Sounds like a bunch of concrete and constructive goals for 2014! And congrats on the imminent new bub! 🙂
Thanks Anna!
Do you have any goals you want to achieve this year?
Good question! My life goal is to get started on my career as a counsellor for kids/adolescents who have experienced trauma. My blog goal is to keep going at a regular pace and keep having fun! 🙂
Wow, that sounds like a very noble profession, good for you!