EU Referendum


Brexit: year of the blog


24/06/2017




It's been a year since we voted to leave the EU. And, on every day since, with just a tiny number of exceptions, we've published a blogpost on Brexit- related issues, including some guest posts from Pete.

Now, I've been working on an experiment, collating the whole output in the year since the referendum, all into one file. I've lightly edited the posts. Reformatted them and converted the html links into active footnotes. Altogether, the file runs to nearly 440,000 words in over 1,000 pages, with better than 2,200 footnotes. Altogether, topped and tailed, it becomes an e-book that's not very far short of half-a-million words.

I've converted this into a .pdf file using the latest software, which keeps the file-size to the minimum. From there, Pete has found a way of uploading the file onto a pay site, allowing us to sell copies for the modest price of £4. You can buy it here or by clicking the button on the sidebar.

This is the second part of the experiment. Since the dawn of time, bloggers (and indeed the legacy media) have been looking to monetise their product. If this works for us, then potentially it's another revenue stream that could keep the blog running – especially as we're trying to keep Pete employed, with limited sponsorship already supporting his blog.

At over 1,000 pages, the length of the e-book is exceptional. It's meant more for dipping into and reference than a straight read. And, using the ctrl F function, readers can do a word search on the whole year's in a matter of seconds. This is faster than can be done on-line.

And, although I say it myself, dipping into some of the old copy is a useful reminder of what went before. No single document can be a complete record, but we've covered a considerable amount of ground. Together with the 2,000-plus links, this is a major reference source.

Direct sales will help finance the next step in our development programme. That includes plans for a multi-author news site, possibly with EUReferendum.com folded into it. Additionally, the monograph series will continue and we are working on a number of new titles.

And, if all goes to plan, this time next year, we'll have another year of the blog for you. And you never know, we might even know where we're going by then. Miracles do occasionally happen.