Readers had their own opinions about what interested them most in 2023. One indication of that is what you “clicked” in 2023. We looked at your response to stories on addisonindependent.com and on our Facebook and Instagram pages. 

On the Addy Indy website, people sometimes wanted the same thing that we thought was most important — news on the floods. Plus, sadly, news on crime was always very click-worthy for our online readers (like web surfers everywhere). And, of course, there were the nice stories about local people doing interesting things that drew a lot of online attention.

Here’s how it stacked up.

1. Middlebury police respond to gunfire near train station (June 3) — 17,101 views

2. Letter to the editor: Middlebury’s downtown businesses are under siege (Oct. 12) — 14,369 views

3. College student dies in dorm room (Sept 21) — 10,431 views

4. Rising waters begin to close area roads (July 10) — 8,712 views

5. Middlebury police looking for missing teen (March 30) — 7,824

6. Woman killed in Waltham; police investigate (Sept. 19) — 6,695 views

7. Couple thinks big on mansion restoration (Oct. 5) — 6,627 views

8. Castleton homicide victim had Middlebury ties (Oct. 7) — 6,559 views

9. College firefighter sets world record in Middlebury (Apr. 10) — 5,761 views

10. Zeno takes a spin on Wheel of Fortune (Nov. 2) — 5.084 views

Facebook is a different beast. Consumers clicked on a few of the same feature stories that made the top 10 on our website. But there was definitely a different tone to the Facebook favorites. Here is the top 10 on the Addy Indy’s Facebook page:

1. MUHS Principal Justin Campbell abruptly resigns less than three years on the job (Jan. 23) — 125.1k reach

2. Middlebury College student Emily Jones sets world record for running mile in firefighter gear (Apr. 8) — 120.6k reach

3. Shoreham couple to restore Means mansion (Oct. 5) — 95.7k reach

4. “Mom & Pot Shop” receives warm welcome in Vergennes (Aug. 31) — 56.2k reach

5. Zeno competes on Wheel of Fortune (Nov. 2) — 55.2k reach

6. John Bratko resigns as Bristol Elementary principal (March 23) — 48.7k reach

7. Bristol haunted forest offers scares and fun (Oct. 19) — 47.5 reach

8. Longtime paraeducator Diane Bolduc retires from Mary Hogan (June 15) — 46.9k reach

9. Raging otter creek (video) after the July floods (July 10) — 39.3k reach

10. Barber Joe DeGray retires after decades cutting hair in Middlebury (June 1) — 33k reach

You will notice the metric this platform uses to track reader activity is “reach.” This is not the same as “views” on addisonindependent.com. “Reach,” in Facebook terms, technically means it appeared in that many people’s feeds; whether or not they stopped to read it, or clicked on it is a whole different thing.

We get less traffic on our Instagram page, but there’s definitely a constituency for it. Here is the 2023 top 10 on Instagram:

1. Protestors support trans rights outside anti-trans talk at VUHS (421 hearts)

2. Addison County Fair & Field Days photos (334 hearts)

3. Video of raging Otter Creek after July deluge (314 hearts)

4. Middlebury pedestrian bridge closed to public due to flooding (265 hearts)

5. Randall and Kathleen Brisson of Shoreham to restore Means Mansion (252 likes)

6. Tribute to Victor Nuovo (245 hearts)

7. Pics from Great Bristol Outhouse Race (241 hearts)

8. Juvenile moose spotted around Middlebury (218 hearts)

9. Outtakes from high school team photos (217 hearts)

10. Otter Creek still rising after deluge, pic of Vergennes (208 hearts)