I suppose I'm not alone in this, but I am a stat-watcher. It is a way for me to learn about you -- the reader: about what topics you're interested in and which ones you don't bother to investigate ("you" in the broad sense). I love to get into all the statistical details, and sincerely believe that a fella cannot be presented with too many informational statistics -- and I always want more.
I am fascinated by "keywords" that catch your eye: a great 'for instance' is that this blog is for the most part a 'how to' and is almost always posted in that "category", and yet only one "view", so far, has been linked from there. (What is that telling me???)
It surprises me sometimes that my "catchiest" titles have the lowest number of views, and that I would get a lot more Google Search "hits" if I simply titled a post "System Restore"...as an example. (Now I don't want you to think I'm 'hit-desperate', and would start resorting to such tricks. I'm not. Honest. But it does make one think...)
I am fascinated by which of my "Today's free links" get used and which one's don't so much. It says nothing about which one is more useful than another, but it does tell me some things. For instance, apparently my readers already have anti-spyware tools or just aren't concerned about malware, yet a large number just as apparently delete files they'd like to get back. Curious. At least to me it is.
But the most interesting statistic is the Search Engine Links, which shows not only how many people found my article via a search on Google (Yes. I know. There are more engines than just Google.) but what words they used in their searches. These "search terms" have been the source of ideas for posts I've written, and will continue to be so. There is one inescapable factoid that becomes quickly obvious when reading these search terms, and that is: I am not as poor of a speller as I thought I was...by comparison. Of the many people who googled 'system restore', not one spelled it correctly. The folks at that outfit are doing a terrific job of not only deciphering our gibberish, but doing it in micro-seconds, and I for one am grateful for it. They sent me one spelled "sistim restro"...amazing!
Tip of the day: If you are like me and need a helping hand spelling a word every now and then you probably (like me) hailed the "built-in Spell Check utility" as the greatest thing since sliced bread. And you've probably learned over time (like me) that they miss far more than they catch, and cannot see the difference between they're, there, and their, and generally aren't much help at all. You simply won't be doing yourself any favors if you rely on spell-check, and I don't care whose it is.
Instead, bookmark an online dictionary like Merriam-Webster and enter your word into their search box. Unlike a real dictionary, you don't have to know how to spell the word to find out how to spell it. Enter "sistim" and the top choice of spellings/words is "system". It gives definitions, so you can make sure it is the word you're thinking of. And it has a thesaurus so you can find words with the same or similar meanings. Online dictionaries are great resources, and I hope you will find them as useful and handy as I have. I couldn't write this post without one...
Let's just have some fun with Today's free link: Thinks.com offers free puzzles of all sorts (crosswords, sudoku, jigsaw, etc.) and games like checkers and chess. Fit for the whole family.
*Original posting: 6/24/07
Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved.
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