Top ten friendship posts in 2011: The Friendship Doctor reflects on friendship and blogging

Tis the season for wrap-ups and top ten lists. Friendship expert Dr. Irene S. Levine discusses her blog, its visitors, and their  friendship concerns.

Since January, I’ve posted 202 times on this blog — that’s about four times a week — usually early in the morning or late at night. That’s a lot of time to spend in front of a computer screen (and thinking about what to say even takes longer) — but I’ve only been able to respond to a small proportion of all your questions and dilemmas. I consider myself fortunate that so many people have entrusted me with their personal stories and solicit my advice. I will continue to respond to as many as I can over the coming year.

There’s been a huge increase in traffic to The Friendship Blog this year. It’s particularly gratifying that almost one-third of new visitors  find the content valuable enough that they return multiple times.

Visitors to The Friendship Blog

People from 11,232 cities, in 199 countries, on five different continents visited The Friendship Blog this year alone, suggesting how universal is the yearning for healthy friendships. The top ten countries in 2011, in terms of numbers of visitors to the blog this year, were:  the U.S., the U.K, Canada, Australia, India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, New Zealand, and Ireland. About two out of three visitors found the blog through Google searches but a significant proportion of visitors found The Friendship Blog after reading my blog posts and articles on Facebook, Huffington Post, Psychology Today, or on Life Goes Strong.

Media Interest

Media interest in the topic of friendship in 2011 remained strong across all demographics: I was interviewed or cited by scores of media outlets this year, including TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, books, blogs, and websites. The fact that the topic of friendship is as germane to the readers of Pregnancy & Newborn as it is to readers of HerCampus.com and AARP suggest that friendship concerns aren’t limited to certain ages or stages of life. Among the other top media outlets where this blog or my book, Best Friends Forever: Surviving a Breakup with Your Best Friend was cited include: USA Today, AOL News, MSNBC, Real Simple, Self, Web MD, Inc. Magazine, Prevention, Woman’s Day, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Media interest not only came from journalists and reporters in the States but also from abroad, including Hong Kong, Ireland, the U.K., Mexico, and Canada.

Advent of The Friendship Forums

Since the Friendship Forums made their debut on this blog some eight months ago, you have contributed more than 2500 posts. (A shout-out to Sunny, the visitor who suggested the Forums.) Both on the blog and on the forums, one comment at a time, you’ve responded to and helped people who were so lonely that they felt like giving up—as well as people who were so shattered or angered by a lost friendship that they never thought they could recover. At the same time, you’ve alerted me to flamers and spammers, I guess that’s part of the cost of visiting and maintaining a blog. Luckily, this bad stuff has been minimal.

Top Ten Posts on the Friendship Blog in 2011

Now the drum roll: Based on number of hits, these were your favorite posts in 2011:

1.   Needy Friends: A Friend Indeed? (2008)

2.  Why Do Some Women Have Such a Hard Time Making Friends: Nature of Nurture? (2010)

3.  Why Would Someone Have No Friends? (2011)

4.   Achieving Closure After Being Dumped by a Friend at Work (2008)

5.    Making Friends after 60: I Don’t Want to Die Alone (2010)

6.    My Friend Suddenly Shut Me Out of Her Life (2010)

7.    Why Are Women So Mean to Each Other? (2010)

8.   Five Not-So-Simple Rules for Mending a Broken Friendship (2010)

9.   Five Ways to Unload a Toxic Friend (2008)

10.  What Do You Say to Someone who has Just Lost a Friend? (2010) 

Why People Visit The Friendship Blog

The top ten Friendship Blog posts (some new and others written years ago) were read over and over again during 2011. When I  reviewed the list, it suggested the reasons why people visit this blog: 1) To learn how to deal with negative friends, 2) To understand and find ways to address the loneliness of having no friends 3) To find ways to end toxic friendships, 4) To learn new strategies for making friends, and 5) To find ways to mend failed friendships, AND 6) To share what they’ve learned about friendship with others

My Wish for You The wisdom, kindness, understanding, and compassion of the readers of this blog — who come from all walks of life, from all around the globe, and who have had widely varying experiences – have truly enhanced my own life and that of others, as well to our shared understanding of friendship. Wishing everyone who reads this blog every good wish for the coming year: May your life be filled with happiness, peace, good health and rewarding friendships. 3

Things You Can Do to Nurture The Friendship Blog and Your Friendships: 

• Contribute your ideas and experiences.
• Share, tweet, retweet, and stumble links to posts – including this one.
• Subscribe to weekly blog updates and Follow me on Twitter.

Tags: 2011, advice, friendship, friendship doctor, friendship expert, Irene S. Levine, media, the friendship blog, the Friendship Doctor, top ten friendship posts, Top ten list, visitors

Category: OTHER ADVICE