WordPress sent me a lovely summary of everything I ever needed to know about my 2014 blogging statistics: total views, top posts, top commenters, and so on. But I won’t bore you with the numbers.
Instead, I want to send a great big “Thank you” to all the people from 117 countries around the world who visited my blog in 2014. I am curious to know who the visitor from Mauritius is who stopped by several times. And I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I am still learning world geography: I didn’t know that Guernsey counted as a country, and I had to look up Brunei.
I am deeply grateful to everyone who left comments and engaged in conversations, often expanding and deepening my own thoughts on a particular topic. According to WordPress stats, the top 5 commenters on my blog were:
1. Sylvia of Travels in Paradise who is a world traveler with a wonderful sense of humor.
2. Barbara of Silver in the Barn who writes about all kinds of quirky topics, always laced with wit and intelligence.
3. Cathy of Catbird in China who currently teaches English to college students in China. I discovered Cathy’s blog while she taught in Oman. She is quite the adventurer and a keen observer of culture.
4. Debbie of Rewired and Retired in Nicaragua who shares her expat experiences of life and people in Nicaragua with a strong sense of respect and compassion.
5. Seonaid of A Breath of Green Air who posts beautiful images of her life in Scotland augmented by her poetic and philosophical contemplations.
I am drawn to the travelers, poets, photographers, philosophers, nature lovers – and the occasional social critic. What does that say about me?
My most popular posts so far, according to the stats monkeys, were:
1. Angel Oak Tree – an ancient, mystical live oak tree on Johns Island in South Carolina.
2. Morning Light – a picture and poem greeting the morning.
3. Canyon Memories: The Lost Art of Storytelling – a tribute to a Navajo woman.
4. Death as a New Beginning – a memorial to a red-tailed hawk.
5. Three Weeks in Bali: Coffee Plantation and Naked Children – Chapter 3 of my travel memoir (first 6 chapters have been posted so far).
Check them out, if you haven’t seen them, and let me know what you think. I love to read your comments.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year – may the Muses dance and play with you often.
The Beauty Along the Road 
Congratulations Annette! I am so grateful to have found you as a blogging friend. Now, I’m curious about the countries you mentioned. I’m going to look them up. One thing I wonder about is people who use VPNs. My VPN makes it look like I am from Miami. If the WordPress statistics use IP addresses, you may have to add Nicaragua to your list of countries. 🙂
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I have noticed that when you visit, Nicaragua doesn’t show up as a country. However, in the total count, the country did show up, so maybe someone else from Nicaragua visits? Now this makes me sound like a tech idiot (not entirely unfounded) – but what does VPN mean? Are you still on line with internet addresses generated in the US?
I am also happy to have found you and have great interest in your experiences there. And I am hoping to visit Nicaragua at some point. I’ll send you a PM with some questions.
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I love the way you shared your stats and your community. You always add just that little bit of beauty into the world. Even if I don’t read every post, I love the images and the way it tucks a little beauty into my day.
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Thank you, Laura, always love to see you visiting.
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Oh, wow, I really do have a big mouth, don’t I, Annette? Well, I am just so happy that I discovered your beautiful blog and even got to meet you this summer! Sitting on the porch and visiting a bit before you had to leave was a real treat. Here’s to more of that in 2015! Happy New Year!
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It was such a pleasure to meet you, Barbara, and I hope that you and hubby can make it out here sometime this year (spring?). Happy New Year to you and your fam!
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I think the beauty along the road is YOU! Because you are, from the little I’ve seen in the short time I’ve “known” you, seem to be so genuine and true. How lovely for you to share with us other top comments with a link to their blog. Once again, showing your true nature. Happy New Year to you and your loved ones. PS I hope WP sends me my results! 🙂
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Hi Cathy – yup, that’s me alright 🙂 I think the stats are somewhat spread out because I have seen others make reference to them before I received my own. I guess millions of websites take a while, even for the stats monkeys…
Happy New Year to you and your family.
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Oh Cathy, I just re-read your comment and realized what you really meant. At first I thought you just recognized that my FB name and my blog name coincide but now I realize that you gave me a beautiful compliment with your first sentence. You are so sweet, thank you.
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Thank you Annette for being part of my WordPress world. I am grateful to have met you through our in common passions. Wish you a grand New Year of 2015.
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And I am grateful for you and your talents, Cornelia. May the new year treat you richly with what you most desire….
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i am not the visitor from Mauritius, but i found the report prepared by WordPress quite interesting, too. some folks post theirs – i have been doing so annually since 2011, however there is no pressure to do so. it’s fascinating to see where all those visitors come from, isn’t it?
in any case, do keep blogging on. and thank you for sharing the beauty along the road. happy new year and all the best to you for 2015!
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Yes, so true. I wonder who the lone visitor from Khazakstan or the Syrian Republic might be and how many other people in their country have blogs. Always curious about the rest of the world….
Thanks for your comment and I fully intend to keep on blogging 🙂 Happy New Year to you as well.
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