What's Up With ClustrMaps?

Warning! Warning! Those of you whose eyes slam shut at the hint of computer talk or statistics feel free to skip this post!

In the past year, I've noticed that the ClustrMap seemed to be taking the place of the good ole hit counter on many homemade websites. So, I added the ClustrMap to both www.becgoteam.com and this blog. ClustrMap is an easy, free tool that let's you "see at a glance where your site's visitors are located" (visits are different than hits - I won't bore you with the details). Clustrmap tells me that becgoteam.com has received a total 127 visits, all from the US. The low number, and the cluster dot patterns, didn't make sense based on feedback I've received. I started wondering....what's up with these web stats?

Soooo, my next stop was my handy-dandy Verizon web hosting tools to see how many visits it recorded: 532! 532 vs 127. That can't be right!

Soooo, my next visit was back to ClustrMaps FAQ page to see if their clustering methodology could cause 405 visits to go unreported and found this:

Map updates seem 'stalled' or 'stuck' since early June 2007. Why?
During late May / early June 2007, we have been processing an exceptionally large number of map updates and re-clusterings and additionally we are commissioning new servers and upgrading some systems software, which will greatly alleviate the bottleneck. So, if it feels to you like 'a problem I have had before', please be assured that the new servers and software upgrades are designed to solve the earlier problems, but unfortunately involve a temporary delay in the updating cycle! We expect all this to be resolved during the first two weeks of June. All 'old hits' that are accumulated during this delay will still be counted correctly and added to your eventual total.

Ahhh, so, we shall see what happens to our number of visits as June goes by.

Delving further into the Verizon web stats - for which there are a zillion ways to view and analyze more data than you can shake a stick at - the Hourly Statistics reveal the shocking truth - most people visit the website before work, during lunch and after work! Wow! With this knowledge, I see that we have yet to attract the Midnight to 6 AM crowd. How to do that and stay remotely on track, I wonder? My current outreach to that population consists of a myspace page http://www.myspace.com/egr2058. It doesn't have much on it that you can't find here, but there is a lovely picture of my garden.

A final note....according to ClustrMap, this blog has received 462 visits, originating from all over the world. Knowing how many times I myself have clicked the "Next Blog" button, I am not letting this go to my head. Really. Hmmm, wonder what it takes to get noticed by The Huffington Post? Off to my daydreams...ladeedadeeda!

Thanks for reading my Blog!
~ Elizabeth
www.becgoteam.com!