Last May, this blog hit the 50 k point -- 50,000 hits since April of 2008.
Some time on Wednesday, the odometer rolled over to 100,000 hits since April of 2008.
If the blog was a car, I would be looking for a good trade-in value right now.
In May, I pointed out that unlike FaceBook -- where people you have never met in your life are called "friends" -- the new number does not mean that I now have 100,000 friends. It simply means that over the past eighteen months, 100,000 mouse clicks brought people to this blog -- if only for one brief shining moment.
The caveats I mentioned in May are still true. We bloggers know that the "hits" are not what they seem. But there are some facts:
Some time on Wednesday, the odometer rolled over to 100,000 hits since April of 2008.
If the blog was a car, I would be looking for a good trade-in value right now.
In May, I pointed out that unlike FaceBook -- where people you have never met in your life are called "friends" -- the new number does not mean that I now have 100,000 friends. It simply means that over the past eighteen months, 100,000 mouse clicks brought people to this blog -- if only for one brief shining moment.
The caveats I mentioned in May are still true. We bloggers know that the "hits" are not what they seem. But there are some facts:
- 93.7% of the "hits" are the result of Google searches ferreting out that post where I sprinkled the words "naked truth," "youthful indiscretion," and chicken breast" in the hopes of improving my statistics. (For any literalists in the crowd, I made up that number. It very well could be higher. And there is no such post. Don't bother looking. Literary license does not require renewal.)
- Most "hits" are simply fortuitous. Someone looks for a poem by Billie Collins. I like his poetry, and I have blogged about his work three or four times. But the searcher is looking for something academic, not necessarily the meanderings of a retired Oregonian in Mexico. But if they stayed a little longer, they could have heard about my mother's birthday party. Certainly, a poetic occasion.
- And, as some readers have commented, anyone who comes back to visit several times during the day (as at least one commenter confessed, perhaps in a fit of Calvinistic guilt) will leave another "hit" on the counter.
But I do know the numbers mean one thing. More people are visiting and more people are leaving comments.
My spurious election on where to move (a moving experience) is a good example. Fifty-two comments, and all of them well-spoken and full of wisdom. (I am certain that all is forgiven for those of you who wanted me to adopt a more obvious cultural footprint in my little fishing village -- not to mention the possibility of being my own headline in the local newspaper.)
The one hundred thousand number is a compliment to all of you, who take the time to share a bit of my life on the Mexican coast.
But it also makes me feel like the old guy who sits at the end of the bar in the local tavern. I am just happy to have people stop by and chat.
So, keep on visiting and commenting. Because I continue to love this adventure.
19 comments:
I hope you keep posting. I use google analytics, and the site reports that I get a high percentage of my viewers from your column. However, the number is dropping, which means I am widening my readership. I read many times that consistency is the key. You write daily whereas I can't seem to do that. Also, you know your audience whereas I think I meander a bit.
Happy 100k from a 40k!
I love your blog! I read it each day in the morning and enjoy the well written commentary which is very uplifting and positive. It keeps me in a Mexico frame of mind. I will be excited when you start to travel then I will be able to visit other parts of Mexico. Thanks
yours is the first blog i read every day. i really enjoy it and look forward to many more years of reading about your adventures.
i'm really happy that things are going so well for you.
have a great weekend!
teresa
Your blog gets checked before I check in on the news. Good with my first cup of coffee.
Larry
Something else to include in this 100k discussion. Comments are crucial. A common mistake of Honduran bloggers is to write but never read or comment on other people's blogs. Basic appeal to vanity: tell me that you like my blog, and I am more likely to visit your blog. I get a few emails here and there bemoaning the lack of readership from some of my cohorts in Honduras or the USA. Visit other blogs and forums and make comments.
I do think a post about the naked truth of your youthful indiscretion with chicken breasts would be an interesting read!
Seriously -- I have enjoyed running up the click counter over the last 6 or 8 months since I found your blog. Thanks for sharing!!
I'd like to buy the old guy sitting at the end of the bar a virtual beer. Here's to the next 100,000 hits on your blog.
:) Alright, you've ferreted me out of lurker-dom - to say YAY I'm so glad I'm not the only one who stalks their own site meter. :P I LOVE seeing where the people came from to get to me and all of the STRANGE google searches that show up. :) You've a well writen and thoughtful blog - you deserve your hits, congrats! :)
As long as you are writing, I'll be here reading!
And I for one am part of that count because....I like your blog so I visit. Have a great weekend.
I've got a line on Blog that an elderly woman in Pasedena barely wrote, just used it occasionally to find online coupons. I think I can get you a deal.
p.s. are you getting in the water at all?
Like all of your readers, I too thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. Congratulation on passing the 100,000 hits. Continue the good work.
Mom
Laurie -- You are correct. Consistency makes a difference. When I was gone for the two-weeks in Oregon, the numbers dropped and stayed down for a while even after I returned. We say we write for ourselves, but all of us are very aware there is an audience out there past the footlights. And I agree with your comment about comments. They are the life blood of blogs.
Karen -- Every time I have planned a trip around Mexico, something comes up. And I am about to get embroiled in another time issue.
Teresa -- It is always nice to have long-time, loyal readers -- all the way back to when Andee was with us.
Larry -- At least I hope I have not caused you to spew any coffee with any of these posts.
Julian -- Glad to have you amongst the clickers.
Irene -- Thanks. But a virtual agua mineral will suffice.
Gringa-n-Mexico -- Wow. Nice compliment. Another lurker outed.
Islagringo -- So, I will keep up my end.
Gloria -- Glad you like it. And it is always nice to have someone maintain Jiggs's memory.
Joe -- I am not in the water as much as I should be.
Mom -- It is always nice to get compliments from The Prime Complimenter.
Steve, a cold agua mineral on the rocks from all of us friends who know your name. Seen the postman around the friendly Boston Bar lately?
Old guy at the end of the bar?!!!
Have you been watching Wallace Beery movies again? Have you started to wipe your nose on your coat sleeve?
I'm sorry, Steve, but you are not an old guy on a bars-tool. I have been a frequent bar flyer in my day and have seen the real thing at the end of the bar. Usually it's a lump of something that looks vaguely humanlike, and if disturbed, may or may not move its lips.
Your lips, on the other hand, never stop moving. Or in the case of your blog, your fingers.
You are also too coherent to be the old buy on the bar-stool.
You'll just have to find a better metaphor.
I'm thinking the happy multi-personality fellow at the party piano, playing the olds songs, telling the old jokes, and letting far too many personal facts slip through the punch lines.
A. Nony Moose
Keep writing. It sounds like many of us start the day looking forward to reading your blog. You have many interesting topics as long as you don't get too intellectual! (my brain isn't as developed as yours) :) Your topics are interesting and one never knows what you might talk about next.
Truth is, Steve, I owe you lots and lots of comments. I have found many hours of enjoyable reading here. I follow maybe 25 blogs daily; I save yours for last. I think you have made many many new friends here. You just haven't met us all yet.
Carrie
Al -- Cheers to you, as well, pal.
ANM -- Ah, those compliments are tightly wrapped in the enigma of life. Can there be too many personal facts? I ask you, sir.
Poppin2 -- Glad to know I am your dessert.
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