So, if I’d started college at the same time I started this blog, I’d be done (at least with a bachelor’s degree — luckily I’ve already got one!). Well, that certainly puts things into perspective. But hey, happy anniversary anyway. I doubt I’ve had as much time to devote to the site in 2011 as in years past but I hope it’s been valuable or helpful to you in some way. Regardless, thanks for reading.

On average, the site gets about 1,000 visits and about 1,500 page views per week. In all, there have been almost 181,000 visits, more than 284,000 page views, and 57,500 visitors. Some other statistics about the blog:
– 380 Facebook friends
– 247 Facebook fans
– 161 Twitter followers
– 302 e-mail subscribers

People seem to have really gathered on Facebook in the past year, while email subscribers fluctuated, strangely, between 300 to as many as 330. Facebook and Twitter have been used to sprinkle in some related or interesting development-type stories that might be linked to at the end of an original blot post. Whether it’s a story from a Jersey media source or maybe something in New York or nationally-focused, there’s always something interesting going on elsewhere that provides perspective (or a good idea to steal) for local issues. Let me know if it’s worth continuing, or if you hate it.

Some ideas for the coming year, if I can keep it up, are doing a blog poll more often, and since we’ve got four years worth of writing, maybe a “retro blog post” occasionally, to revisit certain places or projects. Perhaps you have some other ideas for the future? Of course, I know we’re long overdue for another Rahway Rising happy hour.

And of course, here’s how it all started, with the very first blog post.

It may not be specifically about a Rahway business, but this nj.com story from last week got me thinking about what it takes to start a small business and keep it going: “NJ Couple’s dream of owning business ends in disappointment.”