Category: Panbo & misc.

Five years ago today my first Panbo entry entered cyberspace, and some 1,300 entries later I could hardly be more pleased about how the site has evolved.  It arguably has become “The” marine electronics blog that founder Yme Bosma envisioned, and that’s largely because such a boat load of readers visit on a regular basis.  According to StatCounter, Panbo topped 90,000 unique visitors in March, and according to Google Analytics about 27,000 of those visited more than 25 times during that month.  Wow, and thank you, thank you, thank you all!  And now, thanks to the MTA Survey, here’s a bit about who you are…

Navagear had a good idea…use Google Analytics to create a year-end post of reader stats and most-read entries.  Actually Panbo has used Stat Counter since before I came aboard almost five years ago, and the graph I like to ponder is above (it clicks bigger, per usual).  If Panbo had a board room, or a staff, we could all sit around smoking large cigars…business is good, with SC reporting almost 852,000 unique visitors last year, averaging nearly 71,000 per month.  But I’ve also had Google Analytics at least partially installed on the site for the last year, and some of its deeper analysis is sort of mind blowing…

An experiment in mini blogging the big show, via iPhone and netbook. (If you don’t see a Twitter window below, it’s probably because you don’t have Flash running right.)

The above screenshot is from the online version of my first Yachting column.  I wasn’t tickled that the print title, The Gizmo Manifesto, got changed (to better attract search engines, supposedly), but the text is all there as written, and I hope you’ll check it out.  I turned it in before actually taking possession of Gizmo the vessel, but my notions of what’s possible for her electronics, and fears of the complications I might run into, are materializing.  My June column on Monitoring is also online, and overall I’m getting in a happy groove with Yachting and the other Bonnier marine pubs I work with.  But perhaps you can help make these magazines better…

Hey, look at the menu bar up to the right: now there’s a Forum link, and it works! Of course there’s hardly anything there yet, and I’m still struggling with the issue of categories, but the possibilities are terrific…

I jetted away from the Miami Boat Show (on a half-empty plane!) with loads of coming Panbo electronics material, but first I’ll discuss the behind-the-booth question of the show: How bad will 2009 be?

Funny, I joke referenced mom in my first Panbo entry nearly four years ago. I’ve become a blogging fool since, but still don’t know how personal is too personal. Many of you have become friends, which is wonderful, while others are passing through in search of marine electronics nuggets, which is fine too. But if you’re in that latter category, you might just want to come back in a couple days, when Panbo will be fully back in action, and on topic.