Blog Traffic

Each day I post to my blog. Each day I review traffic to the site. It is not a total view because I also share my posts to Facebook. Readership there is not counted in blogsite stats. So I don’t know the full number of followers, readers.

I do know the blog is read internationally. Although USA numbers usually top the list, French and Italian readership is almost as high as American readership. From time to time Russian readership surpasses all the others.

The Russia count varies all over the board. Sometimes no connection for weeks, then a surge. We are talking about 6 readers on one day, and 158 the next. Sometimes over 200. Are these students in high school or university classes reading what is on the mind of Americans? Or might this be Russian bureaucrats examining American public opinions on a global issues? I think some of this is the latter. But I always hope that these are private citizens engaged in learning more about the world they, and we, share with one another.

French followers numbered several hundred at one time in 2016 as their national elections catapulted toward a showdown with conservative and centrist political thought. The centrists won, and French minds calmed. They still read the blog, about 200 weekly.

For some reason the same is happening in Italy – 185 readers weekly. Classroom readers? I can’t think of any other reason.

A smattering of other countries is always present – Germany, England, Canada, Brazil, and many points in Asia. Not so much China or Africa. Except Mauritius; for some reason readership blossomed there for a month or so once. Just that once. 250 readers for a month. Then that statistic disappeared.

What does this traffic mean? I have no idea. All I know is readers exist and they seem to find me. The numbers are not great: 208,000 readers in 6 years have connected with me. It took five years to collect 100,000 readers; just one year for the second 100,000. But now the readership has slumped back to an annual rate of 30,000. Is that good? Or poor?

I don’t have an answer for that. I write for myself, not them. If they have an interest in the meanderings of an older man’s mind, so be it. I kind of like that idea. Others interested in what someone else thinks and writes. Outside their country, too. The global community living its expansive life?

One can only hope.

February 27, 2018