By Martie Hevia | Blue Beach Song™

One month ago, I signed up with a free service that tracks information about who visits your blog, what posts they read, and if they return to your site, among other things. Don’t worry, it doesn’t collect names and addresses, none of those stat services can do that, definitely not the free ones, but it does tell you the cities, states, and countries of your blog visitors. I have to admit I was curious, not just about which of my posts were popular or the rate of returning versus unique visitors, but mostly about how far my words were reaching beyond this house, beyond this room, beyond this screen I stare at as I write.

If you have read my posts, you have probably noticed that I write in a somewhat conversational tone, very much the way I talk. In my head, I am having a conversation with friends-I-have-not-yet-met and we are sitting in some cyber café kicking around ideas, and opinions, and thoughts, and topics of the day. For the most part, it is a one-way conversation until you guys comment on my posts or send me messages on Twitter or Facebook about the posts, which I love! I love to hear what you think, I really appreciate your kind words, and I truly value your feedback.

Writing or blogging is so much more fulfilling and meaningful when you know that your words have not silently evaporated into cyberspace, after all, if no one reads what you write, have you really said anything… or if a tree falls in the forest… well, you get the idea. So, somewhat reticently, I took a look at the stats today, wondering if anyone beyond my family reads my blog, and I was incredibly surprised and in awe. It turns out only a handful of my readers are family members, the overwhelming majority are friends-I-have-yet-to-meet, perfect strangers from amazing places.

The power of the Internet and of the World Wide Web is awe-inspiring just merely in the thought that we can connect with people from all over the globe, all over the country, most of whom we will never meet. But, for me, to imagine that my words, typed across this screen, have travelled around the world to so many in one month, read by people in England, France, Spain, Italy, the Russian Federation, Germany, South Africa, Philippines, Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Vietnam, Australia, Bulgaria, Singapore, and by people across these United States, not only in California, but in Virginia, West Virginia, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Arizona, Nebraska, Maryland, Colorado, Minnesota, Illinois, Missouri, Washington, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kansas, Tennessee, New Mexico, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, not to mention the others who have read my blog before this one month, but whose states and countries are not even on the list below, and to imagine that, as a result, your words, comments, and messages have reached and touched me… wow. It can blow your mind, if you really think about it.

Thank you does not begin to express how humbled I am that you take time out of your day to read my posts and to tell me what you think. It means more than I can say. I hope I continue to make this blog something you want to read, and I hope you continue to think I am worthy of your thoughts, comments, and feedback. All the best, Martie.

Martie Hevia © 2010 | All Rights Reserved

Blue Beach Song Visitors: March 3-April 3, 2010:

San Diego, California, United States
Plano Texas, United States
Yonkers, New York, United States
Los Angeles, California, United States
Miami, Florida, United States
Visalia, California, United States
New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States
Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
Beverly Hills, California, United States
Tucson, Arizona, United States
Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States
Chester, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Seattle, Washington, United States
Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain
Hialeah, Florida, United States
Apo, Armed Forces Europe, United States
Hollywood, Florida, United States
Nottingham, Maryland, United States
Sunnyvale, California, United States
Broomfield, Colorado, United States
Plainview, Minnesota, United States
Bronxville, New York, United States
West Hollywood, California, United States
Grayslake, Illinois, United States
Springfield, Missouri, United States
Austin, Texas, United States
Fresno, California, United States
Buckley, Washington, United States
Madisonville, Louisiana, United States
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk, Russian Federation
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Tarlac, Tarlac, Philippines
Redmond, Washington, United States
Keighley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Marble Falls, Texas, United States
Gilroy, California, United States
Geleen, Limburg, Netherlands
Mount Vernon, Ohio, United States
Shelby, North Carolina, United States
Lynnwood, Washington, United States
Saint Petersburg, Florida, United States
Modesto, California, United States
Lawrence, Kansas, United States
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
Westfield, New Jersey, United States
Summerville, South Carolina, United States
North Hollywood, California, United States
Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey
Howell, New Jersey, United States
Hai Phong, Hai Phong, Vietnam
Turin, Piemonte, Italy
Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
Sandy, Utah, United States
Plymouth, Plymouth, United Kingdom
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Singapore, Singapore
Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom
Pittsburg, Kansas, United States
Torrance, California, United States
London, London, United Kingdom
Knoxville, Tennessee, United States
Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Joplin, Missouri, United States
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Herndon, Virginia, United States
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Burgas, Burgas, Bulgaria
Port Jervis, New York, United States
Woodstock, New York, United States
Amherst, Ohio, United States
Encinitas, California, United States
Cypress, California, United States
Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, United States
Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Montmorency, Ile-de-france, France
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Armada, Michigan, United States
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Monterey, California, United States
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, United States
Unknown, New Jersey, United States
Unknown, Unknown, United Kingdom
Unknown, Unknown, Germany
Unknown, Unknown, China