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I also love to defrag my hard drive and watch the little fragmented squares move around as they become de-fragmented. That's part of the OCD thing. It's also because watching dots and squares change colours while moving into a neatly formed lump of dots/squares after their previous scatterings, gives me the feeling of Nerdy Accomplishment. So, despite the fact that it was a "working" day yesterday, I realized that it might be a good idea to conduct a Hard Drive Wipe – which takes hours and hours and hours.
So, there you have it. Somewhat.
In addition, I would like to thank TDFB readers from two specific Huge Countries for apparently taking my advice (from the other day) for all readers to leave this blog ASAP if they enjoyed real life bloody gun fights and "Killing Sprees." One country in particular that has been in the Top 3 on TDFB's Numerical Feedback of what is called a "Pageview" count on the "traffic" a website/blog will receive, had been reaching approx. 200 readers a day for the past few months. And that was just ONE country! Nice! However, following my Gun Takedown post, maybe 30 people from THAT country have checked-in. Curious, eh?
Does the Seeming Mass Exodus tell me something about what that particular country is really interested in, or was it just another one of those time periods when the food/dishes the un-named country provides caused their readers to remain hungry enough for a few tastes of American cuisine filled with fat and GMO's, and now they've had their fill? Or, was just one compulsive person clicking-in hundreds of times a day and has now been placed in a proper mental facility? Who really knows? All I will say is thanks to those who hang in and can handle my often perverse/silly/pissy comments…and, apparently, do not care for Killing Sprees. Good for you!
What is my point? Well, first, anyone with a blog or website may understand my initial surprise to see such an abrupt drop-off of viewers-readers from specific areas in the world. Odd, isn't it? Last year another country brought a reliable readership for six months and then – in less than two days - almost all but a few were gone! At first it felt like a personal loss…until I realized that the readership came from Americans in the military on duty in that mysterious country who were eventually sent to other locations. Following a brief sense of disappointment over losing what I had believed was a solid reader-base beyond the U.S., within a very short time this blog managed to build an even larger International Audience. Cool.
The ups and downs of any project which depend on ratings/numbers and feedback is important: note how quickly low-rated TV shows are kicked-off the air…how fast films without great Box Office Numbers are sent to the DVD Grave. No patience. No time for failure when millions of dollars are involved. With small blogs that do not want advertisements/sponsors cluttering their pages or calling "the shots", it's not that important to have a large audience. Some of us write for a variety of reasons without compensation. It's sometimes an Ego Thing or a desire to share thoughts, opinions and whatever else, with both friends and strangers in a longer form than what most Social Media Sites provide and nothing more – other than curbing boredom or testing one's abilities in writing or art or music – whatever the blog/website's focus may be.
So, why do I care to write about the recent change when TDFB continues to draw new readers from the U.S. and elsewhere?? Because, in truth, two of the Top 3 have been and/or are our so-called "enemies." Why would they bother reading a small blog like this in fairly large numbers for lengthy periods of time and then – BAM – go away like ants in a rainstorm? Curiosity? Class studies on American Blogs & Websites that focus on politics more often than not?
Anyone have an idea? If so, let me know through a Comment or private email. I'm curious if other bloggers have noticed a similar pattern with various countries.
Have a great day/afternoon and every other time of day or night!
Image via: http://assets.paleoplan.com
Shauna, my blog goes through cycles in readership as you have experienced. The difference is the blog I write is US-oriented with minor viewing by other countries. I use Google A for my numbers which provide the cities and states of my audience. The spikes rise and fall depending on the time of year.
ReplyDeleteTo have a big drop from a country could be from where your readers live, and what is blocked from their view. It could be your large audience from a hostile nation is government imposed on a broad scale when they determine a site is not on their agenda for their people's use.
I love your blog. I'll send a link to mine to your email. Bloggers unite!
I thank you.
ReplyDelete