Mystery Reader
As I sat there and watched my StatCounter go through the roof while someone read virtually everything I had ever written over the past 2 years, I wondered who in the hell this person was? How did this reader find me? Was it a random connection?This is where a StatCounter becomes a valuable tool. I could tell that the person was in LA and that the search string was "Zelda Diskin Chicago," landing on a post I did at the beginning of this year. This level of knowledge would mean that this was a relative. I asked my husband who in his family lived in LA. "One of Uncle Herman's children," he said.
Never having met this person, I found myself saying, couldn't you first introduce yourself before looking through my photo albums, going through my dirty laundry? Then I remembered, this is the Internet. You put this stuff out there for EVERYONE to read – friend, foe, stranger, relative. Sure, there is a place to leave a calling card in the form of a comment. But it's optional.
So for 2 days now, I have seen more page loads than I normally get a in a week as my new-found LA connection reads all about my life and continues to try various search strings on other family members.
I would love to know for sure who this person is. I would love to have a phone conversation and find out what motivated the initial search. After all, Aunt Zelda is approaching 100 years old and is a feisty old lady who still lives independently despite deteriorating health, but not exactly one that a lot of people would be Googling on the Internet.
It will be interesting to see if LA sticks around, becomes a new devoted reader. Or was this just a quick (well, really not so quick) genealogical foray that netted my Blog. It remains to be seen...
posted by Barbara at 9:25 AM
7 Comments:
Yeah this happened to me once too and I know what you mean. I just took it as a compliment!
Very interesting to say the least! That's a lot of time invested in your blog...a compliment indeed!
Hope you find out who it is!
Hits are a great ego boost for a blogger - although, getting comments beats all else hands down (except for those anonymous robot ones that say something like: "Just checked through your blog. Very interesting stuff. You might want to check this out."
I am pretty sure if I noticed someone anonymous methodically trolling through my blog I would find it spooky. My privacy is important and having someone try to pry into it would not be welcome.
Hopefully it is just some old friend or family member who is just doing some research and doesn't realize that their actions are spooky.
I was worried at first that it could have been me trolling you! Luckily I'm nowhere near LA. I don't find it all that spooky. After all, we write these things so that people will read them. I understand the feeling of being unwittingly exposed, but if it's an interested relative who just discovered your work, he/she is probably just trying to catch up. You'll most likely receive more direct correspondence soon.
You know I read. :) Actually, a friend just told me that her mom had googled her sister's name and found a post I'd written about her when she passed away last year. She thanked me for writing it. You never know who's going to find you or how or why.
would you mind if i start reading your posts?
People -- Don't get me wrong! I am flattered by the attention. But I can't imagine sitting down to read anyone's Blog for multiple hours at a stretch! I am more amazed than anything else. I am happy for anyone to read what I write. If this LA person is family, I would like for us to be able to introduce ourselves to one another.
So come one, come all -- READ, leave me a comment if something resonates with you, and let me know who you are so I can read your Blog if you write one. The exchange is what really makes this fun!
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