Now that I have done so, I am amazed and intrigued and suspect it will become an almost daily habit from now on to check on my stats here.
Not that long ago, I wrote about why I so enjoy blogging here, and the enjoyment stems not only from writing, but also from reading AND being able to comment on what I read on other people's blogs, something I can not do when I am reading a book or a magazine, much as I'd sometimes like to voice my opinion on a certain paragraph or chapter.
So, yes, blogging seems to be ideal for the likes of me, and it would be dishonest to pretend I am only writing it for myself - I AM writing for myself, true, even if only to sort my head out or "outsource" something that is threatening to drive me mad otherwise, but of course I am striving for attention, I want comments, I appreciate comments, I need some kind of feedback from whoever happens to read my blog in order to keep it going.
If that wasn't the case, I suppose I'd simply put my thoughts, ideas and ramblings into a secret diary, and once that diary was filled, I'd lock it and throw away the key.
My blog is no comparison to what some of the blogs I am following have achieved in terms of popularity and distribution; I know that some of you have HUNDREDS of regular followers, whereas I have a tiny elite of twelve. Some of you I have known for a long time, some I have met in the offline world, too, but no matter where you are from and what motivated you originally to click the "Follow this blog" button when you read something on here, I hope you do know that I treasure each of you, and your comments and opinions are truly of high value for me.
Some big surprises were in store for me when I first looked at my stats: the total number of page views - more than 3.000 - was one, as was the origin of page views, not only sorted by countries (people living in almost every part of the globe have been looking at my blog, it seems; for instance, I have had views from Russia, South Korea, Japan, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, Malaysia, Poland, Belarus, Slovenia, France, Germany, UK, Netherlands, US, Turkey - to name but a few), and I only know for sure that some of my followers are from three or four countries listed here.
The most intriguing information, though, is the source - how did a reader of my blog end up on here? What were they originally looking for? Of course, this is not always clear, but there is a story behind every such source information, and if you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I love such miniature glimpses into people's lives, and the inspirational spark it can provide, setting my mental caleidoscope in motion, creating images of colour and beauty (some more so, some less), of symmetry or bewildering chaos.
One source link that I found most intriguing was this one:
So, someone must have been looking for something specific (what did they mean by "diek"?); the search results do not even show the link to my blog, and yet the person looking for "picture of a boy diek" by some meandering path landed on this blog post of mine. Were they disappointed, or did they like their find? I 'm afraid I will never find out, but you can see what I mean by there being a story behind every source information, can't you?
This mysterious blogger read my blog (or was at least long enough on my page to leave their mark in my stats) but I can not read theirs, which I think is a shame, as I'd really like to have a look (my curiosity is genetic, I can't help it):
There is a lot more similarly intriguing information to be found under my "Stats" button, and if you haven't looked at yours yet, there might be a few surprises in store for you!
Dear Meike,
ReplyDeleteWell you know what? I just found out about stats too, my sister told me. Views from the Netherlands, (I love it there) have eluded me, but its very exciting to get visits from Russia, Australia and other places which seem very exotic to me.
I like stats.
Its Thanksgiving here today, and my whole house smells like baking turkey and herbs. Very nice
Best,
Julie
Happy thanksgiving to you, Julie, and thank you for the kind comments you keep leaving here - and for keeping your own blog active!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the turkey and everything else you'll be having today :-)
- Meike.
Thanks to you and your friend!! I was very surprised to see some of that information! Especially whomever is following my blog from South Africa!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteI don't quite trust their stats because even though you can click the button that says not to count your own views of your own blog, I find it asks me to click it every time, and a few times I just know that the two views of say, my 'book reports' pages up under the blog header were ME!
ReplyDeleteI have learned over time that many people never 'follow' including yours truly. But I still come here, I still visit and comment on many blogs. There's just something about 'following' and 'friending' that puts me off. :<) And some of the 'followers' of my blog are very questionable. People who have no connection with anything I write about.
So there is my view of the whole thing. I don't read 'em and I don't trust 'em, though it is very fun to see some countries there I've never heard from.
I think you might be surprised, too, at how many people read you who don't have a blog themselves.
I see I still can't comment from firefox..
ReplyDeleteSo, stats. Odd really that we are so eager to look at them. I wonder why this is. I guess we all want to be well-regarded.
I too am suspicious of the numbers. There is something inconsistent between how many views you had in a certain period and what posts were viewed. Nevertheless, it is a reminder that there is a potential world-wide audience for our musings. I shall think carefully in future about what I post.
Now I am going to log out and view all my posts loads of times so I feel more interesting :-)
Mel, I know what you mean - I was surprised, too, of some of the finds :-)
ReplyDeleteNan, you are right about the questionable followers, and I am finding the same as you regarding the tracking (or not) of my own page views. Nonetheless, I assume that at least SOME of the stats are genuine, and there seems to be a certain interest in my blog.
Perl, of course I want to be well-regarded. I want to be popular, I want people to like me and think well of me. It would be a lie to pretend I didn't want all that. But I am only speaking for myself; there may be a lot of true "lone wolf" types out there who are so independent they just shrug at the thought of others reading (or not) what they have written.
Have your self-page-views made your stats go up? :-)
I found you from a different Blog (can't remember which one) and your title is what caught my attention. So I've been reading your older posts even looking for more books you have talked about. I'm so sorry about your husband but I think you're doing wonderful and I'm happy to have found your Blog. I'll be back!!!!
ReplyDeleteHello Judyk2310, and welcome to my library!
DeleteThank you for popping over and your kind words. I am going to have a look at your blog in a minute.
Many of the blogs I read now I have found like that, through the blogger's comments on someone else's blog :-)