Looking At You Looking At Me

The internet is an interesting beast.  Thanks to the internet anyone can express how they feel about anything and their message isn’t filtered for space or content (yuk, that sounds like something Sarah Palin might say) and the audience for that message can number a few or into the millions. 

Even though I started writing this blog a long time ago, it’s only been the last six months or so that I have tried to disciplined myself to write in it with any kind of regularity.  If you think that it’s easy to write something – the next time you sit down at your computer try and write 800 to 1000 words about something that interest you…it’s not easy.

One of the interesting things that I have discovered since I began writing this blog is that I don’t know a lot of the people that read it.  Thanks to Google – I have been able to track a few things about the people who read this blog and some of the things that I have discovered even has me scratching my head saying, “What????”

Let’s just crunch some numbers.  I will admit that these numbers aren’t huge – but it’s pretty impressive when you consider that there are actually people who are reading what I have written from my home in a small rural town in southeastern Michigan.  Since January 6 – this blog has been host to 425 visitors who have visited some 724 times and have read over 1,223 total pages.  Those figures are minuscule compared to a blog like Flint Expatriates or one of the major newspapers’ blogs – but I think it’s pretty impressive for someone who really just started blogging.

Here’s some other interesting tidbits of information that I have been able to gather about the readership of this blog:  The 425 visitors come from 22 different countries and territories – with the United States leading the pack;  and all but five of the fifty states have visited this blog. 

The Google service that I use to track this blog can also tell me who the internet provider is for the people who click on this blog -- for example – of all of the internet providers the service being used by General Motors Corporation is the sixth most popular internet provider the readers of this blog.  There is someone at General Motors Corporation who reads this blog (and on a regular basis) and he/she must have the blog bookmarked on their computer – because they aren’t clicking on some link to get to this blog.  I have done some research and I have discovered that there is a person by the name of Rich Frost who works for GM and who knows – maybe some people are looking to this blog as something he wrote or whatever, but if it’s you, Rich Frost of GM fame, that is reading this blog – leave a little note and say “hi”.

This Thursday – only two people from Algeria and India clicked on to the blog and read it and you have to wonder why they chose to read what they read.  One of these two  countries read my recent blog about the Twitter page “Shit My dad Says” and the other country read my blog on the Anniversary of New Coke, The Bunless Sandwich at KFC and Kool-aid’s new Fizzies.  Why would be of interest in these two blog posts to the people of India or Algeria?  I dunno!

I only had two visitors to the blog on Friday, too, but it wasn’t what they read as to who they were:  There was a return visit from my friend at General Motors Corporation and (the real head scratcher – and maybe they know what I can do for that) was when someone clicked on my blog from a computer in Georgia at the United States Center For Disease Control.  I don’t know why they would be reading this blog – I haven’t talked about swine flu or an outbreak of cooties in the lower forty-eight states.  Why would they click on this blog?

I’m always amused when some places in Flint click on the blog – such as Hurley Medical Center, the C.S. Mott Foundation and even the Flint Public Library (which I’m assuming is some body using the computers at the library linking up the blog)….but I have had more than one visit from the Flint Chamber of Commerce.  Trust me – there isn’t a lot of “Come to Flint and Vacation” stuff in these pages….so why are they visiting this blog?

I was also surprised to see that the Associated Press actually paid a visit to my blog one day.  I hope they were pleased with what they found and were counting the few photos from them that I may have pilfered. 

I am enjoying writing this blog and I hope that there are one or two people out there who can find something of interest in all of this tossed together word salad of ideas and thoughts.  Hopefully, I can keep the thing a little interesting and you keep on coming back…and don’t be afraid to leave a message or two if you do find something that you like or want to comment on.

As my old friend Dave Barber would say, “I’m gonna count my tips” and get outta here…until we meet again via the written word – keep the grin above your chin and good thoughts in your head.