Monday, May 18, 2009

Vanity and Lurking

Yesterday while I was semi-comatose I sat in front of the computer and fiddled. I went to my "stats counter" homepage and looked at the graphs and other details, something I had never done or even thought of doing before. Originally I had put the stats counter up just out of curiosity, to see if anyone else in the world wanted to hear what I had to say. I thought it would give me a giggle or two. But the tracking by the stats counter company is interesting, to say the least. I can see that I've had visitors from Thailand, Pakistan, Belgium, Norway and Japan, just to name some of the more obscure countries. Visitors who came, saw and left without a comment. Recently Sherry Lee gave them the moniker of lurkers. I try to leave a comment when I drop in at other blogs, even if it's just a "howdy". But when we blog, it's out there for all to see. And obviously there are a lot of visitors who feel like they can't or don't want to leave a comment. It's sad, in a way, I would love to have heard from some of those lurkers.

5 comments:

Kim Mailhot said...

Hey there Kim ! I hope you are feeling better today in spite of it being Monday !
I often wonder about those lurkers out there too. I have lots of visits and comments from people I "know" but I wonder what those just dropping by for a peek think or find when they visit. What keeps them from commenting a little something ? Maybe they didn't see anything that they were interested in ? Or maybe they don't want to connect and only read what is posted out here in Blogland ? As an avid commenter and a lover of the lovely connections I have made through blogging, I don't quite understand it but I have just accepted it as part of blogging life. I put it out there and just love what comes back !
Happy Monday !

Snap said...

Maybe the lurkers were like me ... new to blogging and it took awhile before I was willing to leave a comment??!! Now, I HAVE to comment. Re: Pam's classes ... they now have them so you can sign up anytime and there is no *deadline* for seeing the videos ... handy. I, too, have my eye on shades of gray and several others ... TIME! Joy to You!

Xavier Macia said...

Hi there, it is interesting how lurking works. There are some blogs I plain old lurk on. They are interesting to read but I don't feel compelled to comment, either because their readership is huge (ie over 30 comments) or their lives are so different that I don't feel totally comfy...

There are some blogs that I read and comment on very very rarely, mostly when I feel very compelled, and when I feel very strongly that I have to comment.

There are some blogs where I blog most of the time, but sometimes find myself tired, weary, or just cranky and best if I don't.

Then there are some blogs where I virtually always comment, they are friends, or certainly very good blog buddies.

I also read a LOT of blogs, and if I felt compelled to comment on all of them every time, it would simply eat my life.....

That's my story anyway....it would be neat to see who some of those folks who visit are....

Anonymous said...

Hello Kim,
I am sorry to hear you have been ill, I hope you are better today. Thank you very much for visiting and commenting, it makes me feel great when I know you've been to my blog.
When I discovered blogs I felt weird about leaving comments - I guess I was like: I don't know this person how can I comment on something she is saying. Little did I know how appreciated commments are! :)
I will check on you tomorrow to see how you are doing.
Hugs,
S

Beth said...

Along with the usual lurker drop-ins, I have some who’ve been with me for almost two years. I think I’d miss them if they stopped visiting. ;)