Thursday, June 28, 2012

A Watched Pot

So, I have been very excited to see my blog and its readership grow.  And I must admit, it makes my little Borg head grow, and adds to my narcissim. 

Blogger has a built in stats tracker, and I know there are more sophisticated trackers I could program, but I have stuck with the basic built in stat tracker.  I admit I watch it.  And obsessively track on a regular basis (I have a huge screen shot collection that I am almost to embarassed to mention, but there it is, it's out (I'm too lazy to actually write in a notebook)).

And I have set goals for myself, too.  Of how many views I hope to have by what time. How many average views daily, etc.  I am intrigued and inspired.

Blogger's stats can show you your stats for the following time periods:
  • Now- the last 2 hours
  • Day - the last 24 hours
  • Week - the last (24x7 hours - you do the math, I already admitted above I'm lazy)
  • Month  (you get the idea)
  • And all time
It will also show you what search items brought people to your blog (three folks have actually found me by searching for borg blog!!  Another one found me, surprisingly (NOT!) in the UK on Yahoo for "Women who like breasts"  (Guess which post turned up #3?)

But I can't watch it all the time - which is probably good.  Because I have discovered, much like that watched pot that never boils, as soon as I "tune in" to see the numbers, they start going flat.  Every once in awhile, it would seem to be an anomaly, but it's happened quite a lot lately which leads me to only one conclusion.

A watched blog is never read.  :(

(So, I'm leaving now, so you can read in peace and privacy...)




2 comments:

  1. You have to be careful with bloggers stats counter too because they will often count your own clicks on your own blog (even after clicking ignore my own IP). Thats why I went and got feedjit live traffic feed. You can see when and where a person came from and also from what browser and from what website. Its more reliable than bloggers built in counter. And its free!!

    Happy spying! :)

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    Replies
    1. Frankly, that particular tracker really bugs me and concerns me as an anonymous blogger. I noticed it on your blog before you posted, and it's one of the reasons I won't leave a comment on it. I wrote a little about it here in "Anonymity" http://theborgblogger.blogspot.com/2012/06/anonymity.html

      On the other hand, I have used, in the past, more specific stat counters than Blogger's (before it came standard with Blogger pages) although less specific than yours. I admit, it is of interest to have more specific information about those who view, regionally. More specific than simply the WHOLE US, or even the WHOLE Russia (I apparently have a big following, or, er, redirecting, from there...). And nice to then, gauge repeats, or single viewers looking at multiple pages.

      In other words, I agree I enjoy watching, even if I don't want to be watched. But I would be more comfortable for both myself and others, if the level of detail was somewhat between yours and mine.

      I watch a lot of TV on Hulu, CBS.com, etc., and I remember getting freaked out by a Radio Shack commercial (or Home Depot?) where they then finished off the commercial with a Google map accurately showing me where the closest store was.

      Perhaps, one day, instead of being identified by our social security numbers, we'll instead be identified by our IP addresses...

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