Nosdrovya

Much as it might surprise you, I don't dwell on the traffic numbers or the Google Analytics for this site. For one thing the accuracy is a bit questionable.

My Google Analytics chart shows traffic dating back as far as April 2007.

Which is curious, since I started this blog in March of 2009.

The other reason I don't trust the numbers is I don't have to.

It's only good if I were to sell R17 to some large media conglomerate and as of today I have fielded zero inquiries about that.

The numbers would also come into play if I were to start monetizing or putting up display advertising on the site. But I don't want to do that to my 13 faithful readers.

Plus it would only net me about 38 cents every week.

But upon further inspection, I did notice something very interesting about the data.

Ukraine, the scene of civil unrest and currently torn between its desire to enter NATO and its centuries old bonds to the Motherland, is one of the Top Ten Countries for Round Seventeen readership.

Even more surprising, Russia comes in at a shocking #2.

My ancestors come from all over Eastern Europe, they basically ran to where ever the Gestapo or the Cossacks weren't.

So I really don't have a dog in this fight. Though my sentiments are always with the underdog.

But I can't help wondering where all this Eastern readership stems from.

Either some long lost relatives who escaped the Nazi genocide have discovered their prodigious American cousin or these shtetl-dwelling, potato-eating, vodka-imbibers have a preternatural affinity for my particular brand of snark.



UPDATE: This morning I checked the analytics page again and found this gem worth sharing: