Back-Blogged Turns Two

At the outset of August in 2009, Sween and I decided to create a blog. We each owned plenty of video games we'd never beaten and books we'd never read. In addition, I had quite a few unwatched movies and TV seasons. So we figured we'd each make it a goal to finish them all and to post about each item as we ventured forth through our respective backlogs. We figured some of our friends would find the blog entertaining enough to give us at least a minuscule audience. And off we went.

Eventually, that minuscule audience became five additional bloggers. More and more frequently, posts weren't about items we owned, but instead were about items we'd downloaded, borrowed, rented, or streamed on the Internet. The original focus of the blog gave way to more of a "book club" type of feel. But at the blog's heart and serving as its backbone, that goal of finishing off every last backlogged item remains alive and well. But just how well is it going? Two years in, I feel the need to evaluate things.

My own backlog has been broken down by media type (book/movie/television/video game) and posted for the world to see just under the title banner. So I won't repeat myself by posting it here as well. But I will look at some raw numbers and statistics.

When the blog began there were 29 books in my backlog.

One year ago there were 42 books in my backlog.

Today there are 32 books in my backlog.

Of the 42 books in my backlog one year ago, 22 remain, with 10 new additions. This means I was able to finish off 48% of last year's backlog and that I shrank my overall backlog by 24%.

When the blog began there were 31 movies in my backlog.

One year ago there were 11 movies in my backlog.

Today there are 7 movies in my backlog.

Of the 11 movies in my backlog one year ago, 2 remain, with 5 new additions. This means I was able to finish off 82% of last year's backlog and that I shrank my overall backlog by 36%.

When the blog began there were 11 TV seasons in my backlog.

One year ago there were 5 TV seasons in my backlog.

Today there are 23 TV seasons in my backlog.

Of the 5 TV seasons in my backlog one year ago, 1 remains, with 18 new additions. This means I was able to finish off 80% of last year's backlog and that I expanded my overall backlog by 360%.

When the blog began there were 77 video games in my backlog.

One year ago there were 66 video games in my backlog.

Today there are 61 video games in my backlog.

Of the 66 video games in my backlog one year ago, 49 remain, with 12 new additions. This means I was able to finish off 26% of last year's backlog and that I shrank my overall backlog by 8%.

The overall final number is a bit depressing. It's one. The sum total of items on my backlog one year ago was one more than the sum total of items on my backlog today. Oh well. Through seven months of 2011, I'm at a net reduction of 49. So, I was at a net increase of 48 in those final five months of 2010. December alone set me back 46 when I went balls to the wall on a bunch of bargains on Amazon and elsewhere with Christmas gift cards. Never again! Quality, not quantity!

In closing, I'll share one final statistic. Collectively, we logged 402 items in the blog's first year. In this past year, we've logged just 322. But that's still an average of nearly a post a day. I think the blog is going strong after two years. Here's hoping for however many more it takes for me to finish off my backlog!

Happy anniversary, everybody.