I am always finding great features while visiting other sites. One that I added to my own journals a while back is a counter from www.SiteMeter.com I chose the free meter because it has more features than I could possibly use for my personal journals. Luckily, I am not trying to base marketing decisions on the patterns of my readers, but if this was a business site, the nominal fee required would be well worth the investment.
No, I just want to be able to see when and if people are stopping by and I did not know because they did not leave a comment. I'm needy like that. In a Sally Field-ish kind of way, I want to know if you like me, really like me!
One of the most fascinating features of this meter for me, is the world map where it shows the most recent visits to my journal by location on the globe. I enjoy popping in now and then to check out the activity. I realize my journal is new and has a limited viewing base at this time (note the optimistic attitude that my numbers will grow in time) so I am always thrilled to see multiple colored dots on the globe showing visits from coast to coast and an expanding number of international hits. I am read (or have been read at least once) by folks in England, India, UAE, Canada, Japan and recently, Australia. How cool is that??
When I click on the little colored dot, the details of the browser appear. Example: cox.net United States, Arizona, Mesa is a current dot that is full of details. Sometimes the dot just shows aol.com with no other notes. But the one that has caught my attention recently is the dot that said "gsa.gov".
Why is my Dust Bunny journal getting government scrutiny? I try to remain politically neutral here. I do not subscribe to any radical left or right wing groups or publications. I avoid TOS violations and I faithfully cleaned up after my dog back when I actually had a dog. So what have I done? Okay, there was that incident with jayveeconcerto's missing counter but the government helped me fund th ..... uh, never mind. And, I have even chosen patriotic colors for my journal's layout!
I am baffled. And, my mind is running wild with possible explanations. Subversive blogging individuals are leaving coded comments on my entries connecting me to international intrigue. Or perhaps, I'm being considered as a back-up nominee for the Supreme Court and this is part of the back-ground check. Probably, it is just someone who is cruising the internet while they are at work.
I just refuse to let this intimidate me into not posting any more! Dust Bunnies have rights! They have a voice that needs to be heard! I will bring this up at the next meeting of the Dust Bunny Club of North America. And, if this dot gov reader shows up again, I just hope I do not have to put my journal in the Dust Bunny Protection Program.
16 comments:
Well, I'll bake you a cake with a file in it, just in case. Great entry.
:)
andi
You go girl!! We do need someone to protect those Dust Bunnies. Heck, my house is a safe haven for a lot of them!
That's neat you can see where your readers have come from. I hope I'm not the only one reading it from Montana.
betty
Great entry :) i love reading from colorado
Deb
I have dust beagles.
I am also curious about the gsa.gov hit. Maybe you should write to them and ask them? That should be fun.
xoxo
GSA.gov is nothing too mysterious. Check'em out:
http://www.gsa.gov/Portal/gsa/ep/home.do?tabId=6
My last little bit of .gov strangeness was during Hurricane Rita. I was pulling up .gov weather related websites at a furious pace for days. Posted a lot of the websites to my Journal. I did a "routine" search for my Journal in Google and I was surprised to see my Journal address listed as one of the main sources of traffic to one .gov weather website. Strange that.
It's bizarre but some .gov websites place their traffic referral lists online for public viewing. I did not know that!
Oh, I definitely checked them out. I just found it interesting that someone from that location was reading my journal. It's not like my journal would draw interest from a government service. But, I know that at least one member of that branch of government stopped by my little piece of cyberspace!
Donna
Thanx for our chuckle of the day. We enjoy engaging in rampant paranoia and assuming that shadowy entities are constantly spying on our subversive little selves.
Bon & Mal
that site meter is pretty cool...i may have to check it out myself ; )
ttyl have a good night
<3, emily
I will check out your sites.
Gabreael
I use statcounter...why? Cause I am nosy like that...lol...I am also a member of blog explosion...for those moments I have nothing to do(ya okay..i can dream)it is a for every click I get a visit from someone else and so on...it is cool, when I have the time...had people from all over the world..it has a map too. Anywho...I like the statcounter as well...well its that need to know..ya know?
:o)
Jodi
I put the sitemeter on my TV blogs under the ETVJackie name. It's amazing how many government hits I get. I don't think they're spying. I think they're wasting time surfing the web -- our tax dollars at work! :-)
I love sitemeter ... it's amazing how many blurkers there are out there. So far no .gov ... but if MI5 want me I'm fluent in several languages and up to speed on middle eastern affairs ...!
Kath /:¬)
This is fascinating! I never considered for a moment that these AOL journals would get hits from anywhere outside of the US and the UK. I'm so useless at anything technical (took me all day to get my nominee icons up) that I probably won't have a clue what to do, but I'm going to visit sitemeter just as soon as I get a minute (at this rate sometime in 2007!)
Tilly xx
http://journals.aol.co.uk/tillysweetchops/Adventuresofadesperatelyfathouse/
Well I'm no government secret agent, but I do sneak in, read, and run out from time to time without leaving a mark...or I thought so until you caught me. Whatever am I to do? De ;0
If I ever stop laughing I will leave you a nice comment then. rofl
Dianne
Back in the days of Nixon (just pre-Watergate), it was said that if you asked the FBI whether they had a file on your and the answer was no, they would then start one. Imagine all the extra paperwork that probably generated. If nothig else, it would have a report in it stating that you asked whether they had a file on you!
Karen
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