The Reaction 10,000

Late yesterday evening, The Reaction passed 10,000 hits since its inception at the end of March. Obviously, success is relative, and I certainly have dreams of the heights to which this blog could go, but I must admit that I'm doing better than I ever could have predicted back when I ventured out into the blogosphere without much of a clue.

I would like to thank the many friends, acquaintances, and supporters I've met out here, especially those who have linked to me, included me in their blogrolls, and generally welcomed me into the community with open arms. Just check out my own blogroll over on the right sidebar and you'll find some truly wonderful blogs run by some truly wonderful people.

I'd like to thank Vivek Krishnamurthy and Ari Baum for helping me out with the technical side of blogging. The Reaction wouldn't look nearly as good had they not been there for me.

I'd like to thank my friends and family for being so supportive. A lot of hard work goes into blogging, and it's all come to seem like a full-time commitment, but I wouldn't be where I am today without that support.

And, of course, I'd like to thank all of my readers for checking me out, coming back, and, hopefully, enjoying what The Reaction has become. Some of you have been here since the beginning, others have become loyal readers along the way, and, of course, many of you are new. And I continue to welcome you all. Needless to say, there's more to come.

Is 10,000 a lot? I don't know. It certainly is to me. Every single new hit makes me happy, and I hope that everyone who stops by finds something of interest. Of course, the biggest political blogs get hundreds of thousands a day, and Skippy the Bush Kangaroo, which just passed the million mark after a few years in existence, now has its sights set on two million.

Sure, I want more hits -- who doesn't? -- but to me blogging is more about the writing -- about engaging myself and my readers, about addressing the world in an intelligent way, about encouraging thoughtful discussion of a wide range of issues and stories, about doing my bit to raise the level of public discourse -- than it is about popularity. Now, I'm a glutton for popularity, don't get me wrong, but I hope that whatever popularity (whatever success generally) I achieve out here (and thus far it's quite modest, let's be honest) comes as a result of these efforts.

Thanks again. On with The Reaction!