June 8, 2006
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Big Brother’s New Toy
I’m not sure if the “footprints” section of Xanga is new or not, but I certainly only just noticed it this week. For those of you who are not hip to the “footprints” function, it is basically a Big Brother-type gismo that appears for the Xanga account-holder on the left-hand side of your Xanga page. I do not think it appears for the public at large. The footprints gismo allows the Xanga author who holds the account to see who is looking at their site. In a very exacting way, it lists where people are checking from, the time they went on your site, and how they got to your site.
People can access Xanga sites three ways:
1.) Readers can go straight to your blog by typing in your Xanga web address (in my case www.xanga.com/chicagoartgirl23).
2.) Fellow Xanga authors can get to your blog through their blog (this is the case with subscriptions and blog rings and all that geekdom that is so fun).
3.) An internet user can stumble onto a blog while searching for a phrase/word that the Xanga author has presumably written in their blog.
Most people looking at my site are either fellow Xanga peeps or friends and family who live far from me and who I share my blog with to keep in touch: a nice, friendly readership.
However, some people who find themselves on my blog stumble upon it from searching phrases that may (and in many cases may NOT) appear in my blog entries. For example, in the dank and musty hours of last Thursday night, a heavy-breathing Texan found themselves scouring Yahoo for the phrase: “sexxy teens eating out other girls.” Just imagine how disappointed they were to click on the #2 Yahoo listing (my Xanga site) for that search and find themselves in the midst of a tame blog entry about a regular old camp trip with my pals. Sure my friends and I called our trip “sexy camping” as a joke, but only because camping has got to be the least sexiest thing a person can do. Unless they’ve got some freak fetish for pit toilets and bug spray, that is.
Below, I’ve included a list horrifying/funny phrases that, according to “footprints,” weirdo’s typed into search engines and had my blog pop up as a result. The really nutty thing is, that this blog entry will undoubtedly strengthen the likelihood of my blog being the result of some pimply Texan with keyboard lust finding my blog (seriously—all the horn-dog phrases come from users in Texas). These are listed chronologically, starting from 9 days ago today.
1. rabbits thumping in the night
2. can inner ear infection go unseen by doctor
3. thumping noise in my eardrum
4. nick sutt
5. “pool water” belch
6. masterbation “campfire”
7. sexxy teens eating out other girls
8. food dine ass teensWho is Nick Sutt? What on earth is a masturbation campfire? What are food dine ass teens? And most importantly, what on earth is wrong with people? I mean, we’ve all had a pool water belch here and there and certainly we sometimes wonder if ear infections can go unseen by the doctor, but where are these rabbits and why do they thump in the night?
Humans are strange animals, ladies and gents, even when they are in the zoo, with big brother watching. And Big Brother, the jerk that he is, is pointing, laughing, and taking detailed, sinister notes.
______________________________________________________________________How did you find this blog?
Comments (15)
Actually, I believe you can opt out of the footprints so no one can find you … but that means disabling you ability to read footprints on your end. What’s interesting is that many of the footprints hits don’t show up on sitemeter. So my readership is bigger than I thought. Oh great … more pressure.
As you’ve noticed, I have enough odd Google-induced visits that I can usually easily fill a Strange Hit of the Week feature on the Thursday Tipsheet. Sometimes I have more bizarre ones than I can list (though this week’s was boring). I laugh about the ones who come there under search terms about hooking up at a wedding, because I’m the absolute last person to give that advice.
I found you through a plug by Laura (mydogischelsea) during my early days on Xanga. That, for me, is a good recommendation. And I’ve read ever since!
I found you through TimsHead when I was just a Xanga rookie. Ignorance really is bliss eh? I’d rather not know these freaks find my site.
I found you through a blogring… but I don’t remember which one. I really like your posts though!
I found you either through TimsHead or mydogischelsea – I can’t remember now. I did not, however, try googling “masturbation campfire,” although now I’m sure you’ll get lots of hits that way. I’ve only had a few fun google hits, like “embarrassing poop stories” and “wholesale ‘roach clip’”. Maybe I should spice up my posts?
I found you through? I’m not sure but i always enjoyed reading your entries
I, of course, found you through my wife, bastetmax.
The footprints is not so Big Brother as you might think. Every Web server (ths software that makes Web pages available to Web browsers) logs the following information for every request:
= Time of request (according to the machine receiving the request)
= IP address of requester (from which the requesting computer can be derived; if you know the requsting computer, you can generally find the location). You need this to return the file requested
= The file requested
= The result of the request (that is, a file was delivered, the file wasn’t found, the request was redirected elsewhere, the file was found but was protected, etc.)
= The “referrer” which is the URL of the page that contained the link that was clicked on, if the page was accessed by clicking on a link from another page (does that make sense?).
The only thing that is remotely Big Brother-ish is the last item, and that was originally put in there so that folks could fix broken links (or ask others to fix their broken links). The referrer URL from a search engine generally contains the search terms used.
Now, the combination of “magic cookies” (tokens left on the user’s machine via the browser), and advertising companies (like DoubleClick) lead to much more nefarious Web tracking. But footprints is relatively innocuous.
Thumping rabbit thumping rabbit thumping rabbit : – )
I found you through the writers’ blogring.
I kind of like Footprints. I’ve gotten traffic from the strangest areas, but I’m not sure where you click to see what words they were looking up when they found you. What part of the feature is that.
Like Tim, I have looked at referring words on Site Meter, but it tends to be pretty boring.
Saw your comment on TimsHead about glasses. me, too! I also was amazed to find that trees had individual leaves.
Lynn
I originally found you through a writers blogring. Today, I was going through all my subs. I kind of like footprints, it’s surprising to see how many people look at my site even when I only get a few comments. Though it does make me a lot more self-conscious of the rambling, pointless posts I put up thinking only my close friends are reading.
I found you through a TimsHead recommendation he made a while back. He’s full of useful tips and he was right as usual, you’re writing is worth the time to read!
I haven’t decided if I like the footprints or not. It has become disturbing. I used the word “nude” once and since then I have mysterious unknowns leaving odd footprints. I don’t mind it when the google or xanga search is innocent, but when something horrible comes up most of the information is marked “unknown” it bothers me to think that someone feels the need to go to extra lengths to hide and then they end up at my blog. I do not want to know if any dirty little footprints are left by these deviants so I’ve come to ignore most of them on the Xanga feature and on the sitemeter. A few have been a very ugly combination of words with which I would rather not be associated.
But it is kind of cool to know that my family members are reading even when they don’t comment. They tell me thay do but it’s still nice to see them drop by anyway.
I think you found me and that’s how I found you.
Your sitemeter account can tell you all about your search terms, too. I get some really fu!*ed up ones… like “i f*$% my dog” (i’ll spare you the hit and bleep out the expletives). Seriously. and more people than I ever imagined actually search that phrase. pretty disgusting shit… and it’s not like I’ve ever actually used that phrase! I just write “my dog” a lot, and I frequently use swear words. once someone arrived to my site by searching, “ways to call in sick to work.”
Lately my most interesting hits have been for “Al Scales Reynolds gay” or some variation – that would be Star Jones Reynolds’ gay husband, in case you are not familiar with him. Other popular ones are “Jake Shears nude” and “Romain Duris naked” – only one of which I have on my blog.
I found you because you commented on mydogischelsea‘s blog about wasting taxpayer money on The Gates, and I had to chase you down to tell you that The Gates were privately funded – I’m annoying that way.
Thanks for the tip about Footprints – I hadn’t noticed it!
Unfortunately, I didn’t type in any sort of odd combination of words to have your blog pop up on my screen. No, I found you the old fashion way. I was browsing the Autobiographical Fiction blogring, and hopped onto your site here. Lovely entry though. I’ve been watching my footprints lately as well. You’d be surprised (then again, maybe not) what sort of walks of life find their way to your page.
Anyway, have a good one!
RYC: It was “Gilead.” Couldn’t stand it, instantly.
Lynn
masturabation campfire… hmmm. I think I’ve seen that before. Cant be sure tho… could have been a food dine ass tean. You never know!
i know this was ages ago, but i really had to laugh at your commentary on the phrases! and since laughing is good…here i am commenting!
I have no idea how i got here. i tend to surf at midnight and jus go randomly reading and lcicking and end up in someone’s backyard.
: )