From All Over

I have been writing this blog for 9.5 years now, starting in April of 2004. Blogger has changed a lot over that time, as has the Internet in general, but I'm comfortable here in my Omniverse talking blindly into the ether and wondering if anyone is listening.

Blogger has added some nice features over the last few years. One of my favorites is the Statistics page, which allows me to see who is reading my blog and what they are reading. What constantly surprises me is how often people read my old entries. In any given week, I'd say about half of my top ten entries are from 2004-2010. Seeing that a couple of people found those entries and read them makes me click them open and read them. It is a great way to remember and reminisce about those times and those issues.

For example, today's top ten posts break down to four from 2013 and six from 2012 or earlier (with the earliest written in 2006).

Another thing that surprises me is who is reading this blog. As I am American, it is not surprising to see that group leading the stats. And, of course, I have many Canadian friends and family now, too, so I expect that group to be right up there, as well. What continues to astound me, though, is the number of people from Russia, Ukraine, the Middle East, India, and other places around the world who also stumble on my little corner of the Internet.

For example, as of right now, Russia is tied with the US with 29 hits to my blog so far this week. The Ukraine is third with 20 hits. Canada is currently fourth. I have a few hits each from China, Great Britain, Egypt, Germany, and Israel.

It is pretty incredible for me to think that people from these disparate countries and ways of life are finding my blog and reading what I wrote. I hope they find it informative, interesting, or, at least, amusing.

On the Overview page of Statistics there is a graph that shows the number of hits per day over time. In general, I get a small but consistent number of hits, usually between about 5 and 10 per day. What surprises me are the days where I suddenly get 40, 50, or 60 hits, especially when it seems rarely to correspond with publishing a new post. Something triggers people to search for a topic that I have hit upon at some point and I get a swell in my hit numbers on that day, only to see it ebb back to my usual numbers.

I really enjoy blogging, and would continue to do it even if I had no hits. It is one of the ways in which I "get out" my pent up emotions about a topic, edify myself (and maybe others), or rant and rave about some topic of the moment (usually something in the realm of politics, media, or sports). But, knowing that such a diverse group of people actually click in and read what I have written pleases me. I just hope they get something out of it.

If you are one of my readers from Russia, China, Ukraine, or wherever... feel free to leave a Comment and let me know what brought you to my blog.