InvestorBlogger is now celebrating one year as this blog, focusing on tech, blogging, and money. It’s quite a celebration as during that year, we passed a number of thresholds… and I’d just like to share them with you.

1. We broke through 100K Alexa for the first time (it’s now about 130K since then, because of a soft summer season). I’m not sure how reliable Alexa really is, because it’s been declining while my real traffic has been rising. Google has recorded an increase in traffic. So…

2. We broke through 100K Technorati Ranking (it’s 95K or so!).

3. We are just this month recording 1,250 Uniques according to Analytics, despite a period of five days where the code on the site was broken!

4. The non-salary money that I have saved since August 26th last year is now just over $5,000 (before any taxes) during that time. I’m sure that blogging helped to put away a considerable amount of that (approx. 50%), but the focus it brought on my finances also paid off.

5. The post count is approximately:

= 176,235 total all words from 1,028 posts
= 171 average words per post
217 (21.1089%) posts contain 300+ words

6. As seen in 105 Countries and Territories worldwide!

7. It’s odd that 54% of my visitors who use Windows actually prefer to visit my blog with Firefox! And only 5% use Vista!

The last few months have been less exciting, perhaps. But when you look back and evaluate the last year, it’s amazing to see how much the blog has grown since then. I’ll have to think of a suitable way to celebrate!

We’ve been watching our local Broadband TV for more than a year now. One of the channels I really enjoy is ABC Australia Pacific or Australia Network as it is now called. There is one program that is particularly good and that is 4 Corners, which is a public affairs program that investigates economic matters, politics, religion, and business.

http://abc.net.au/4corners/specials.htm

Eyes Wide Open – Quentin McDermott reports on the high cost to society when we no longer value sleep. Also available in Windows Media video format.

*The Home Front – Jonathan Holmes explores practical, achievable ways for Australians to cut energy consumption. How do we improve the design of our homes and the products that we put inside them?

*You Only Live Twice – Four Corners takes you on an unusual trip – and asks, just how far can we all go in virtual worlds like Second Life?

*Peak Oil? – Jonathan Holmes investigates why oil prices are high and asks how long the world has left to prepare for a day when there is not enough oil to go around. This edition provides extended interviews and interactives exploring both sides of the peak oil debate.

*Who’s Afraid of Nuclear Power? – Is Australia’s aversion to nuclear power soundly based? Or are there lessons to be learned from other countries’ experience?

*The Kilwa Incident – Four Corners presents an online edition of “The Kilwa Incident” first broadcast on 20 June 2005, examing how an Australian mining company became implicated in a massacre.

*The High Frontier – Four Corners presents an extended edition of our program The High Frontier, we explore this little-known but booming industry high above our heads.

I’ve marked good programs for those interested in business news as well as financial issues! Happy viewing. BTW, some of the programs are deemed unsafe for U.S. Republicans who support Pat Robertson, and those on the right! Those on the other side might find the programs enlightening.

Watch them, and share which one you find interesting in the comments!

I was checking my personal finances this past evening when I noticed that my total income since last August 26th had reached $5,000! While some people make more than that in one month, I was pleased because that amount was despite quite a difficult year in my business, and despite the time constraints placed on my involvement in this blogging endeavor.

Ok, how does the amount breakdown. Well, my blog generated a total of $2,501 through links, posts, and other deals that were offered; my stocks brought in about $1,031 again during a difficult year; hosting brought in approximately $530 from clients; my bank account generated about $187 in interest payments (in a low interest environment averaging 2%); and my business generated several sources of income – interest on an outstanding loan, and profits for last year, which totaled $751.

Overall, this income was generated from five different sources, though I’m well away from my goal of earning $1500 (approx. 27% of my target!), and increasing the number of sources of income (only 50% of the total!). It’s a tremendous achievement in its own way, but as things stand, there are a considerable number of avenues to explore.

Though I have done this much, I wonder what is ahead. Where can I go from here? Options that I am exploring are:

• Linkworth’s system of advertising for the blog, as a supplement or even replacement for my other text link sales;
• I no longer use Blogitive, Blogvertiser or Smorty. I’ve considered giving up on Payperpost and on Sponsored Reviews, too. Mostly because payments are low, and getting lower, while opps are getting much more demanding. It’s not that I’m afraid to do demanding opps. It’s just I’d rather write a great post for myself than for $5. So I’m considering going solo soon, but we’ll see;
• I’m also looking at expanding my blogs and creating a mini-network. It will require much more time and effort to maintain these, but there is good potential for extra income;
• and I’m looking at offline opportunities, too, after being considerably inspired by GeniusTypes’ blog and success with candy machines.

There are always going to be opportunities out there for observant and wily entrepreneurial types to make some additional or even residual income; the challenge is finding the opportunities. Often the opportunities are hardly labeled as such. Often on the Internet, you’ll come across great and wonderful websites promising you the earth and the heavens, too, if you buy their system. Too often it’s pie in the sky. Great opportunities are more likely covered in crap: the English have a saying “Where there’s muck (dirt), there’s brass.”

Perhaps this blogging adventure has been as much about increasing my own awareness of being ‘entrepreneurial’ as it was about creating/finding entrepreneurial opportunities. Some of the money I made this year was from seeds planted much longer ago than last August. Let’s see what I can plant or harvest in the second year of blogging.