The casual surfer may not realize that a lot of us keep track of our visitors. Yep, that kind of record-keeping happens not just at the sites that are trying to earn money, but even with us poor shlebs who are only trying to say "hi!" to the world. We all like to know if anyone is paying attention.
And a few of you are, so here's some attention back at'cha:
Hi, Slough!
I once spent a night in Slough.
(Please do not enquire more closely.)
Hi, Leiden!
I've never been to Leiden.
But I do know a native of your fair city...
Hi, St. Johns!
Why do you never say howdy?
Is it because I've never slept there, even by extension?
It's not rejection, the opportunity just never arose.
And the same for you, Portland and Prague.
It's nothing personal, I swear! Say hi once in a while, would ya?
Before you go into a full-blown Big Brother paranoia attack, let me reassure you.
We really can't see anything more personal than what town your ISP is calling home at the moment. (Unless you're sufficiently ballsy to return visit by accessing a file stored in your user profile -- in which case, I applaud your courage but might recommend bookmarking none the less. Or cutting and pasting, at the very least. )
And truthfully, I don't want to find out more than that about my readers, because I cherish my own privacy. I will actually avoid sites that use any widget that broadcasts to all and sundry where the latest visitors have come from. Sure, it sounds like a fun idea. But I live in a small town, hello. You have no idea how off-putting it is to go to a site that announces to the world that West Hiccup (pop. 743) has a kinkster lurking behind the picket fences.
Let me visit discreetly or I will visit not at all.
This is also, by extension, why I neither follow nor show followers. Since I like my privacy, I'm not going to encourage others to invade yours.
Although I suppose you wouldn't put yourself out there if you minded...
But still, it's the principle of the thing.
Do unto others and all that.
9 comments:
Ohh, I feel that way too, about that thing that shows the world where the latest visitors came from. Eeek.
I'm liking these every morning visits to your corner!
And I so feel you on those gadgets--if I arrive somewhere and see the name of my tiny town plastered across it, I'm outta there immediately lol.
We used to pay attention. But dunno it's been well over a year since mouse looked. That said it was interesting to see where people are from. But then when saw hits rom Oral Roberts University -- well it gave mouse pause. Obviously they were looking for information about submitting their partner...right?
Hugs,
mouse
s-
yeah, I snap that window shut right quick...
l-
and I'm liking seeing you, chica!
And personally, I blame widget poisoning. It's like a tech version of "more money than sense"...
m-
My favorites are usually the ones that come from law firms.
Research, right?
But yes, Oral Roberts would indeed give a person pause...
Haha! I don't pay attention much, except to see how many visits I'm getting. But I do pay close attention on my business sites. It's pretty interesting.
Oh and if you see mine, it shows up as Melbourne, VIC, but I'm quite honestly nowhere near there. I'm talking at least a three hour flight away. LOL
*hugs*
Turiya
I'm with you on sites that show so-and-so visited at such-and-such time. I hate that!
stat counters serve their purpose - sometimes - jus sayin!
I love learning new things. I openly follow who I follow. I have found the majority of the blogs that I visit almost daily by seeing who someone else I find entertaining reads. But I have always felt slighted and sometimes downright bummed out that I don't have many followers (at least publically). And since I was cyber stalked and created my new blog only a few (four) that follow me. Now I realize maybe more do, they just don't do it out in the open. And now I am freeing myself of such worries and deleting that portion of my blog that shows who follows me. I love looking at my stats, but only because I need to know someone, anyone reads what I write. If not, I think I'd just take to scribbling in my Tinkerbell journal and call it a night.
T-
at least yours shows a big place.
Mine doesn't.
H-
Welcome to the We Like Our Privacy club
gg-
word!
;-)
girl-
I won't deny, it does feel warm and fuzzy to have followers, so I understand my stance can be disappointing. But I'm glad I was able to help you see that those numbers aren't the whole picture.
There are a lot of us who just have extensive bookmark folders! ;-)
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