A few years ago, in 2020, I wrote an article for my blog discussing a statistical observation. During that time, I noticed a significant decline in the number of clicks on the article titled “Where to buy and develop film in Taipei.” Interestingly, this decline coincided with the implementation of anti-Covid measures in Taiwan as the Covid-19 pandemic began to unfold globally. I concluded that the drop in visitors was due to travel restrictions preventing tourists from coming to Taiwan, thereby reducing interest in reading about where to buy film and film cameras in Taipei. I knew this article was popular among tourists planning their trips to Taiwan.
When I published the blog article in August 2020, I did not have sufficient data to conclusively prove my point. My only evidence was another unrelated blog article about the photographic film Kodak Vision 3, which did not show a decline in visitor numbers.
New data proves my previous assumption
Now, in 2023, the Covid-19 pandemic is over, providing an opportunity to reexamine the data. Interestingly, the number of visitors to the article “Where to buy and develop film in Taipei” has started to increase since the end of 2022, precisely when Taiwan reopened its borders to tourists. On October 13, 2022, Taiwan lifted all travel restrictions, allowing tourists to visit the country again. Therefore, my previous theory was correct—there is a clear correlation between the travel restrictions during the Covid-19 pandemic and the interest in this specific blog article. This observation is quite remarkable.
Regarding the other article that displayed consistent behavior during the pandemic, there is another peculiar finding. Since April 2021, there has been a significant drop in the number of visitors, and this decline has persisted. It seems as though there has been a sudden loss of interest in this particular film, but I am unsure of the reason behind this drop. Other factors, such as changes in data collection or how search engines index these articles, might be responsible. However, exploring these factors could be the subject of another blog article.
Title image by Mikael Blomkvist
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