20010 and counting

My sitemeter clocked its 20,000th hit today and I'm delighted. Moreover, the stats are showing that more and more readers are visiting from all over the world, not just the UK. Taking part in international Flashmeetings and Tapped-in sessions has definitely helped and the contacts I've made through the blog since May have mushroomed exponentially.

I wonder what the meter will say when the blog reaches its first birthday in three months time?

Comments

[Adam Sutcliffe]

Well done Joe. Keep up the good work. My blogs were hit quite well after our interview. It gives you a nice feeling inside doesn't it.

[Joe Dale]

Cheers Adam,

I'm delighted lots of people are looking at your work. It is inspiring and creative. Blogging is definitely a great way to reach a global audience.

[Kerenan]

Well deserved popularity. As I have told you before, your blog is a mine of very useful information but it is not the only reason why I keep on having a look there! The information is always thorough, well-researched and accessible for non-IT people. Your approach is friendly, encouraging and supportive. If it weren't for you and your blog, I probably would not have started my own blog! Thanks again!

[Joe Dale]

Cheers Kerenan,

What a lovely comment! I'm delighted the blog is proving useful. I try to make my posts thorough so teachers like yourself can check out all the various links for extra information. It's also a way of grouping related ideas in the same place for my own reference later.

Keep up the good work with your blog. I've noticed you've started podcasting now. Cool!

[Miss Profe]

Congrats, Joe! I really like your blog. I visit regularly, and get lots of great ideas for my Spanish classes.

[Graham Davies]

I don’t get too excited about hit counters. My personal website is supposedly clocking up nearly 5000 hits per day according to one of the counters that I consult. Another (more reliable) counter puts the figure at 300-400 per day. The one that I pay for (The Counter) is even more honest, clocking up 40-60 visits per day:
http://www.thecounter.com

The ICT for Language Teachers (ICT4LT) site, which I edit, clocks up 1000-1500 “real” visits per day. Feedback, however, has been minimal, amounting to only a dozen or so comments per month ever since the site opened in 1999. I’m getting more feedback now – and better-quality feedback – since I started the associated ICT for Language Teachers blog. See:
http://www.ict4lt.org
http://www.ictforlanguageteachers.blogspot.com

Many hits that sites receive are from search engines, spam robots, etc. The Counter only logs “real” visitors, and I can tell where most of them come from. If your counter shows a lot of visitors from the Far East or the former Soviet Union countries you can probably assume that most of these are search engines and spam robots.

There’s a lot of talk about blogs and podcasts motivating students because they are writing for an audience. True, but how can you tell how many “real” members of this audience are actually reading the blog? The only reliable measure is the amount of feedback you get from “real” people.

This is not to say that I don't appreciate your blog, Joe. Keep up the good work!

[Joe Dale]

Hi Graham,

I agree that hit counters can vary hugely and are greatly influenced by search engines like Google. Nonetheless, knowing that your readership is unquestionably growing is very motivating in itself.

Receiving comments from real visitors either on the blog or talking to colleagues face to face is even more motivating.

I'm delighted to see you've joined the blogosphere yourself Graham.
http://ictforlanguageteachers.blogspot.com/

I look forward to reading more of your thoughts on the potential of ICT and language learning.

Best wishes

Joe

[Graham Davies]

I actually joined the blogosphere in 1986 - but we didn't call it blogging then. It went under various names, listserv (sic) being the earliest type of discussion forum that I recall.

Listservs offered a good deal of what modern blogs offer. They were text-only, but they did offer us the potential of sharing our thoughts with anyone in the world - mainly university teachers, however, as few schools had access to the Internet in those days, and the Web didn't go public until 1993.

I participated in my first videoconference in 1991. It's a lot easier and cheaper now.

I'm off to Coleraine tomorrow, 8 March. We're talking about EUROCALL 2007, University of Ulster, 5-8 September. The university is situated just a few miles from one of the most beautiful coastlines in the British Isles - and Bushmills Whiskey distillery, of course. See:
http://www.eurocall2007.com
The 2007 conference will include an online "virtual strand" - as it did experimentally last year.