Earlier this week the ol' blog rolled over 50k hits. Apparently this means something to me, or I wouldn't mention it at all, but really - what that number represents really doesn't mean much to me. Why, you ask?

Because the largest share of hits are people following a search for an image, a specific search string, or a link from a forum about some post I put up some time ago. The posts that drive the most traffic to this site are the ones I've labeled "email." They are usually a bunch of pictures about some particular subject someone emailed to me. The three such posts that really draw the traffic at this time are World Harvest For Kids, Oldest Boeing Airliner In Flying Condition, and the latest major traffic draw - How To Cook A Deere. Someone on a farm forum linked that post and for several days, traffic was high - almost to 500 hits one day. For this blog, that's a lot. The other post that still brings 'em in is my directions on how to remove the blower motor in a Chevy pickup. For a while there, Sitemeter showed I was averaging several hundred hits a day, thanks to the roasting John Deere traffic.

But, to me, that's all rather empty. Rarely do any of those folks ever look around. They just see that page, and that's it. Comment? Forget it. Now, I dunno about the rest of you who read here regularly, but I like to check out what other bloggers have to say once I'm there. I'm in their house - I'm gonna look around and see if I like the place or not.

Which is what I suspect most of y'all who blog do as well. I've said it before how bloggers are kinda incestuous - we supply a lot of traffic and feedback to other bloggers who do the same for us. We're a very small subset of the surfing public. Most casual surfers just don't get blogging - the idea that they have to come back to check for fresh content does not register, and in fact, they don't care. Which is why blogging will always be a niche product in the larger scheme of things.

That doesn't really bother me, either. What I've come to enjoy is the social aspect of the whole experience. It's like we are all part of a Venn diagram with all sorts of interactions that spread across geographical, political and religious lines. When most of us (those of you who stop here regularly) expound on politics, we are preaching to the choir - but we do interact with those who disagree. It's not a total echo chamber.

No, it's the friendships that have been forged that mean something to me. This is strictly anecdotal - but whilst perusing other blogs I get nosy and see what sort of traffic they get (if their counter is open and not set privately). There are a ton of blogs out there who get a heck of a lot more traffic than this dump - but post after post after post shows zero comments. One or two posts on their front page might have a few comments.

That would drive me nuts - even further than I already am - heh. The reactions and ideas bounced off what I've put up makes the efforts worthwhile to me. I really appreciate everyone's comments. Y'all have no idea how much that meant to me while I was hospitalized, or if something has upset me. It's a comforting feeling to know there are a bunch of you who have my back, even if it is just in a world of electrons.

And there are other things I could do to drive more traffic. One thing right off would be to limit my feeds so that if you are checking this joint out on a reader - you'd actually have to come here to read the full post. Personally, I just don't care for that strategy being used on me, so that's one step I'll never take. Yeah, readers don't show up in traffic stats, but if what I say is important enough to ya, you'll stop in and say something. I use the Google reader, and it strikes me that the blogger who sets up their feed to preview looks at my actual presence on their site for pumping up their stats as more important than what they are posting. But maybe that's just me.

So, thanks to whomever drops in from Jeff Soyer's People of the Gun site! I've noticed you here before - but with Sitemeter, I have my doubts that you are actually from Savannah. Sitemeter still thinks I'm from Fort Lauderdale FL on SunBeach Networks, when I'm really on Ucom.net from Cimarron. So, until you're better paid, thanks is about all I can dish out!

And more importantly, thank you to all you "regulars." The idea that you actually come back to see what sort of drivel might drip from the ol' noggin really amazes me, and I'm forever grateful. Ya'll are a bunch of talented people, so attracting your attention means something to me. I hope y'all can count on me if ya need it.