Eleven months after launching our blog we have reached over 50,000 visits. That is an average of nearly 5,000 monthly visits. Although the numbers of visitors vary day to day, they tend to be higher during workdays than on weekends. On a daily basis I look at the subjects viewed, terms searched and referral sites and have not been able to find a pattern, meaning that our audience interests vary widely. Although I am happy about these statistics, we now need our visitors to shed away their shyness and start contributing. AJNRBLOG is the “living room” of our journal and society, allowing us interaction of ideas and opinions. Talking about ideas, here are some that may increase participation:
1. Book reviews: These will appear exclusively on the blog starting January 2010. They are visited much more often than they are hit/downloaded from AJNR.ORG. If you have read the reviewed book, feel free to add your comments (a la Amazon). If you are an author and not happy with review your book received, the blog gives you an opportunity to respond, otherwise not afforded by the journal.
2. Cases: AJNR accepts less than 10% of case reports submitted. Starting next year the journal will carry only 3 case reports per issue and in 2011 this number will further reduced and they will appear only online. I recognize that this impacts small projects that our fellows like to do and have time to complete now that most programs last only one year. The blog is not peer reviewed but allows fellows and residents to post interesting cases and gain some name recognition. If you need cases to finish a project, the blog is an excellent manner to let colleagues know this.
3. Meeting information: Let your colleagues and the public know about your meeting through the blog; it is free!
4. Educational presentations: I have started posting older educational exhibits and some conferences which our fellows prepare weekly. I am sure that many of you have old exhibits that were not selected for Neurographics but are nice and informative. Download one of the free file minimizers from the Web, crunch your presentation and upload it here for all to see. Why have it “sitting” in your computer?
5. Protocols: Our string dealing with imaging protocols has been the most widely read. If you would like to share what you do at your institution, post it here. If you are doing something special to control radiation exposure, this is where you should place it.
6. Podcasts: Comment on the contents of AJNR podcasts here or let our podcast editor know which topics you want to hear.
7. Aunt Mickey: Have a cool case that fooled everyone? This is a fun activity and all are welcome to contribute to it.
These are some ideas of how you can contribute to the exchange of ideas and opinions here. We hope to see many more of you participating in the months to come!
