Rant #2,079: Do You Want To Know a Secret?

Listen ... do dah do.

Do you want to know a secret?

Do dah do.

Do you promise not to tell?

Do dah do--

Okay, enough of that.

Let me tell you something that you probably already know, and that is that I know how many people click onto this site each and every day.

I don't necessarily know who they are, specifically, but I do know what systems they use to mosey on down to this site, and I know roughly the geographic area that they are in when they come here.

Those are the analytics that Google provides me, and it is pretty interesting what stories stir people, and what stories don't.

Again, I put up my full Rants on two of my Facebook sites, so many people don't even have to come here to read what I have to say each day, so the interest in the Rants is kind of less than it actually is, which has never concerned me.

You come here, you come here. You read it on Facebook, that is fine too, since I put this up for my specialized audience there, directed to my sites because they live or once lived in my old community of Rochdale Village, South Jamaica, Queens, New York.

You don't have any interest, that is fine too. Although the site is monetized, I don't make one red cent off of this site, not a penny.

Whatever the case, I have found that the thing that gets people reading here is my coverage of news stories, such as that horrific California case of those 13 kids who were abused by their parents.

That gets people reading.

What doesn't get people reading are stories on sports and maladies.

Yes, people who come here do not like to read about sports, generally, but my Super Bowl non-coverage did get people reading, more than normal for sports stories.

And maladies ... forget about it.

Yesterday, when I talked about that problem I am having with growths on my nose, that didn't make too many people sniff around here. That Rant received the lowest amount of hits in recent times, even though it was a somewhat important story; not only did it tell my own personal travails, but it was something of a warning to everyone to get such spots checked out by a dermatologist.

I guess people come here to be riled up, not to be told that they should seek medical attention.

That is fine with me; as long as someone reads what I have to say, I am happy, and again, many others read what I write on Facebook, so there is no need to come here.

And the "Bits and Pieces" entries that I do on occasion--where I talk about a variety of subjects, none of which I have decided needed a full column to discuss--often get the highest number of hits, because I guess that everyone can find something in at least one of the stories covered to interest them.

When you get an opportunity to pick and choose what you are interested in, people evidently like that ability to do so, so those Rants are pretty popular.

Sometimes, when I am on Facebook and see a conversation that mirrors what I am talking about at the Blog on a particular day, I will put up a post that says, "Please see my blog at ... ," directing those on that thread to this site.

Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't.

And just so you know another little secret, the most popular entries I have entered in the recent past are 1) the Bits and Pieces of December 21, 2017, when I spoke about such topics as the "United Nations Security Council To Vote On the U.S. Decision on Jerusalem"; "Winter Rolls Into Town Today"; and "TVOD At My House"; and 2) "Pride (In the Name of Love)," where on Jan. 15, 2018, I posted about Martin Luther King and Keith Jackson.

Like I said, yesterday's post, "Enough Is Enough," was a dud, a blemish pretty much as big as the one that was removed from my nose.

I have learned that you cannot hit a home run every time, and who knows, today's Blog entry might either eclipse the most popular ones I have just named or maybe even post worse numbers than yesterday's entry.

It is a real crapshoot on what is popular and what is not here, but at least I know that people are reading what I write, for better (hopefully) or worse.

Now, how about a story about how the Knicks are done this season, and probably into next season, without Kristaps Porzingis, or maybe one about how melanoma can kill?

Now, I won't lay that on you, at least not right now ... .