One year ago today was the debut of iPhone J.D. with the post "Why I use an iPhone." In the 250 posts to iPhone J.D. since then, I have reviewed 125 apps, posted countless tips and tricks on using the iPhone, analyzed lots of iPhone-related hardware including the current top-of-the-line iPhone 3GS, and written on topics as varied as cocktails, the New Yorker, and dragons and ninjas. (The significant posts are indexed at the iPhone J.D. Index link on the right.)
A lot has happened in the world of iPhone over the past year. We've gone from under 10,000 apps to over 100,000. A huge number of new features have been added to the iPhone, especially in iPhone Software 3.0. The 8 GB Phone 3G now sells for only $99, half of what it sold for a year ago, and the iPhone 3GS is the most impressive smartphone on the market. Over the past year, we have also seen a significant increase in the number of attorneys using iPhones, and unlike this time last year, a large number of law firms are now supporting the use of iPhones by their attorneys.
It's been a lot of fun writing about the world of iPhone over the last twelve months, both in general and focusing on what is especially relevant to attorneys. The most popular post on this website over the past year was actually one of the very first posts, a list of my favorite iPhone shortcuts, a page that has been viewed over 45,000 times. (Wow!) Other posts on iPhone shortcuts such as this one, this one and this one have been very popular. And in what I view as a testament to the fact that iPhone users (especially lawyers) are smart folks who pay attention to the niceties of grammar and punctuation, the second most popular post on iPhone J.D. over the past year was "The em and en of iPhone 3.0," a post about the ability to use the em dash—like this—on the iPhone keyboard.
But enough about me, let's talk about you. Naturally, there were not too many of you at the start, but readership started to grow after the first month and has grown steadily ever since. Thanks to Google Analytics, a tool that provides statistical information on websites, I can see some information about the visitors over the last year. There have been over 300,000 page views at iPhone J.D. from 130,000 different people. Or to use a point of reference, we've had more different people come to iPhone J.D. than there are apps in the App Store! (At least, so far....)
Most of the visitors to iPhone J.D. have just stopped in to read a few articles here and there. It's always fun to have visitors drop in for a quick visit, but I appreciate the many thousands of you who have become regular daily visitors to the site or who have added me to your RSS reader. I especially appreciate those of you who have taken the time to send an e-mail or post a comment. Countless articles on iPhone J.D. originated from reader feedback.
Want to know more about yourselves? 73% of you live in the U.S., followed by 5% from the UK, 4% from Canada, 3% from Germany, 2% from Australia, and the rest from 174 other countries. The following countries have had only one person visit iPhone J.D. in the past year: Solomon Islands, Congo, Laos, Zamba, Vanatu, Reunion, Cape Verde, Mauritania, Botswana, Martinique, Cuba, Ivory Coast, Armenia, Kyrgzstan, Palau and Togo. Whenever iPhone J.D. gets an infusion of cash from a rich venture capitalist, I'll know where to visit to increase site awareness. To focus on cities instead of countries, by far the largest number of readers are in New York, which makes up about 5% of visitors. The full top 10 list is as follows:
New York
- London
- San Francisco
- New Orleans
- Washington, D.C.
- Chicago
- Atlanta
- Houston
- Dallas
- Sydney
A special thanks to all of the readers here in New Orleans. We should all meet up for a crawfish boil or something.
And finally, what operating system are you using to view iPhone J.D.? Half of you use Windows, a third of you use a Mac, and just about all of the rest of you access iPhone J.D. on your iPhone.
It's been a great year at iPhone J.D., and I look forward to the next one. Please keep your e-mails, comments and suggestions coming! Or if you see something interesting on Twitter, pass it along to me at @jeffrichardson. I love hearing about how you use your iPhone and sharing your good advice with others.
Happy birthday! I consider iPhoneJD one of my daily reads. Jeff, Thanks for doing this! I have learned a lot. I recommend it to everyone I know who has an iPhone or is thinking about getting one.
Philippa (@PTLaw)
Posted by: Philippa (PTLaw) | November 17, 2009 at 01:43 PM
Congratulations on reaching this milestone. Many blogs bloom and fade quickly. Yours has legs. And it's a textbook example of how to succeed at blogging.
Posted by: Ray Ward | November 17, 2009 at 07:55 PM
I am a BB fan and due to a change in workplaces, find myself considering a BB versus iPhone - thanks for your efforts herein, I have comfortably made my decision. Im going iphone.
Mary from Toronto, Canada....who just married a lawyer in October :o)
[Jeff responds: Congrats, Mary! A new marriage and a new iPhone. Sounds like your life is getting much better!]
Posted by: Mary Ciufo | November 17, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Happy Belated Birthday Jeff. I really enjoy reading iPhoneJD. Great work.
Posted by: David Sparks | November 24, 2009 at 12:22 PM