This update is quite an exciting one for me, since my last update on July 28, 2007.
As I write this, my neocounter notes almost 3600 visitors from 63 (out of 194) countries. It amazes me that my blog is so far reaching. Thank you all for visiting and spending time here and sending on articles to your friends. In honor of the neocounter, I will dedicate the third Friday every month to a county of interest on the neocounter.
Visitor Feedback:
On August 8, Prabhakar from Andhra Pradesh, India said he found my site through searching for sites about Diwali, and “found it to be one of the best.” Prabhakar “felt really happy that someone from another country has written about the importance of this festival.” He also said that the “maximum people in south [India] celebrate this festival in the same way that you have written in your site. Thanks for writing about our festival.”
Prabhakar is referring specifically about the page from my tripod site titled, More About Diwali.
Also, Nagarajan, a subscriber to my website update list, wrote expressing his sentiments. He stated, “It is like home coming when I see the messages on the group.” He and his wife recently moved from Tamil Nadu to Andhra Pradesh, where the Varalakshmi Vratham is popular. He wrote that when he read my entry on this festival, “he was astonished that a person from so far away writes about this festival.” He also shared his feedback on my 2001 India Diaries, “Though the experiences [you] described are common to middle class in Tamil Nadu, it created eagerness to read from foreigner’s view point.” Though it was written by a foreigner, Nagarajan felt connected to my writing as though he was experiencing it himself.
I have to say, when I receive feedback like Nagarajan’s I feel humbled and honored that I, as a person who did not grow up in those very different circumstances can write about them in a way that others relate so well to them. Thank you.
Top 5 links:
Corning, New York Says: “Happy 60th Independence, India!” (269)
Eggless Pancakes (203)
Welcome and New Beginnings (100)
108 Aspects of Wealth – Lakshmi’s Many Attributes (80)
Besan Pancakes for Breakfast! (78)
Total hits as of September 13, 2007- 202,738
Day with most visitors- September 12, 2007- 8,236 (beating past figures in the 5,000 range)
Most referrals from: stumbleupon.com – 2,631 since July 2007
Top 3 keywords in search engines: Kerala (88), Indian (63), Culture (55)
The most visitors come on Monday.
The time most visitors come is 10-11pm MST.
In celebration of this encouraging news, I will be posting two additional posts today to say THANK YOU to all of you! It is times that I review these kinds of statistics, that I remember what someone told me 5 years ago when I considered stopping my tripod site. “Don’t do it,” I was told, “you don’t know how many people out there enjoy reading your site. You have a lot of good information to share.”
These words of wisdom keep me moving along and growing in the blog and in other parts of my life.
Wishing you a restful and happy weekend. Come back soon!