Friday 26 March 2010

Victorian Places (2)

Ok, not much interest in my quiz (ahem) but here's the answer ... the astonishingly brilliant Google Analytics (no, I have no business relationship with our Google overlords; all hail!). It's a tool for webmasters to measure website hits. I started running it a few days ago, and the list yesterday was the top 50 cities from which people look at www.victorianlondon.org. I guess professional web people have had this stuff for ages, but for the likes of me, it's astonishingly detailed ... and a reminder that nothing on the web is truly anonymous.

The mapping function, although only at country/US state level (I think) is brilliant too. I now know that - in the last five days - Wyoming is the US state least interested in Victorian London


whereas New Yorkers are (relatively) fascinated by Victorian history:


even if the resulting image looks unfortunately like a missile strike on New York state. Here's to you, Manhattan. (And yes, I know I'm ignoring the differential in their population; let me dream!).

The figures are still quite low - I have about 1500 visitors a day, so it will take a while to get the full pictutre, but I'm already spending too much time on this ... I'm not the first to point this out, but the internet is brilliant.

4 comments:

  1. Abracadabra! Suddenly a list of random place names is instantly shuffled into meaning - Google Analytics. Amazing - and give that Wyomerite a round of...

    What a tool for authors/musicians giving talks, lectures and book/gig tours? (Don't think we'll much again see Reading listed alongside Los Angeles - delicious).
    (cory t)

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  2. 'From Reading to Los Angeles' will undoubtedly be the time of my autobiography.

    Even though I don't come from Reading.

    Or Los Angeles.

    Lee

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  3. Ahh..'From Reading to Los Angeles' will bring in a wide readership. For the quirky, there's 'From Los Angeles to Reading'.
    (cory t)

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  4. I laugh out loud!

    Hmm. If only there were some convenient way to abbreviate this awkward phrase, which would both mark me out as tech-savvy and perplex my seniors.

    Ah well, back to work.

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