For a very long time I had a consistent number of around 1500 visits a day.
Then the number jumped up to around 2000.
A week or so I checked again and I was hitting 2700 visits a day.
But the weirdest part of it all....the pages that were being visited were not recent ones. The pages were the same old posts, over and over.
They are random.
I can only guess some computer robot....thing... is automatically visiting my website.
One post had so many that I just deleted it. It had over 29,000 visits.
Isn't that creepy?
So yeah. Some machine is visiting and I know not why.
I don't really know how many people visit the blog.
I do know the numbers are way out of wack.
There is really no point asking Blogger about it.
It's just creepy and weird.
And I have one more creepy weird thing.
On Monday Katie and I picked up some items at Target. I bought some Honest Co. dish soap.
I have never bought it before. I have never seen an ad for it. But I think it is Jessica Alba's company.
When I got home and opened up Facebook the first sponsored Ad in my stream was for Honest Co.
This is no coincidence.
Facebook knows what I bought. I have no doubt.
Target has a app called Cartwheel for coupons. I DID NOT get Cartwheel on purpose because you have to sign up thru Facebook. I thought...I don't want Facebook to have all my purchasing information.
Well. Seems they have it already.
Now. I have nothing to hide.
But one day it could be a problem.
Read any Dystopian novel.
It could get dangerous.
Hide yo kids.
Hide yo wife,
Donna
Same thing here. And it's because target has spent money so that Facebook can know. It's super Creepsville.
ReplyDeleteI do read your posts almost daily - but seldom go back to older posts. You seem very wise and honest and I appreciate your points of view. I do not have a blog or facebook account but I would think it was odd that they knew what I purchased too :/ I find that when I look at things on my work computer (dreaming about a cruise or items for my son's up coming wedding) that later on it is popping up ads trying to sell my a cruise or wedding items. I don't like being tracked for that either!
ReplyDeleteJust wanted you to know that I am one of many that reads your blog and I'm not creepy :) Just a 44 year old wife and mom in Ohio.
Thanks for all of the smiles and laughs through your thoughts and words.
Bridget
I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with "robots". I don't get the number of visits as you, but have noticed a lot of spam comments this past week, and odd traffic sources (I don't dare click the traffic source to find out what it is). Hopefully Blogger will get it figured out and slow the traffic....lol, how often is it that bloggers wish for lower stats? Happy Wednesday from a real life person, Darcy (not a robot), in Oregon. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Darcy! Maybe we should ask blogger what going on.
DeleteThank you for leaving a real live comment!
Agreed! I Googled it yesterday...because I figure Google knows everything, especially about it's own blogging platform (*wink*) but no luck. You know the robots are really bad when Google doesn't even know about them. :)
DeleteHi Bridget! Thank you for the sweet comment!
ReplyDeleteIf I look at a purse on Nordstrom or shoes at zappos... They always show up as ads wherever I go. I saw a 60 minutes story on this. It's huge business. I wish I could think of what it's called.
Is it 'conversion tracking'? I've heard that bandied about...
DeleteI'll try to find the story.
DeleteThey are called Data Brokers. CBS. Here is the link.
Deletehttp://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-data-brokers-selling-your-personal-information/
Like Bridget, I promise you that I am not creepy either- just a wife, mother, and grandma in Washington. I don't do Facebook and I think I am pretty glad about that. An older lady in our church was creeped out because she has a granddaughter who is a missionary, in Malaysia I think, and she will send her grandma personal emails from time to time saying how things are going. One day she sent her a long one, and then suddenly Janet had ads popping up on the sidebars of her email advertising travel trips to Malaysia. She was very disturbed that someone was tracking the content of her emails and then trying to sell her something. It is an age where it is very hard to live a private life.
ReplyDeleteDebbie Z.
Super freak. Super freaky. It creeps me out that FB seems to know what we are doing. But then I still get on there. Its a love/hate relationship for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you deleted that one post. That is creepy.
Thanks for sharing.
Sarah P. from Iowa
The adds on Facebook bother me ... but not enough to make me drop my account. However, if they are really tracking what we are purchasing -- in stores and not just online! -- that would make me seriously think about quitting.
ReplyDeletehello, sometimes when I type in your site, the computer jumps back to a "previous episode" and I'm back about 4 or 5 days. But only sometimes. Sometimes I get bored (remember, I haven't met a whole lot of people here in Munich yet!) and look at previous posts photos.
ReplyDeleteBut not that much! crazy robots.
I know what you mean about the computer knowing everything. I booked a small hotel through booking.com for a recent road trip, and the name of that little out of the way place popped up as an ad on Facebook or somewhere. I can't remember where exactly, but it gave me the heebs.
Susan in Munich
The other Bridget, here. The one from Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteMy kids might call me creepy but, most assuredly, I am not.
I have looked at back posts, but not hundreds of times.
Once I heard Oprah say that we should all behave as though we are being videotaped. Not such a far-out thought!
Have a great day!
Bridget in Minnesota
Was it a post with pictures of me that got 29,000 views? Ahem, just sayin...
ReplyDeleteKidding. Lol.
Creepy Facebook, creepy Target. I hope I'm not alive to see Robots actually exist. That scaaaaares me.
Oh! Funny girl. I will show you some time. All of them innocuous. One of the most favorite post is about the book Pink and Yellow. Another is me making fun of my new hairdo.
DeleteI went to target for a bag of cat litter on Sunday night with the kids. Our bill was $201. I just can not go to that store. I spend too much! I bought a lot of things that night but no soap from the Honest company. I wish we could go to Target together so you could tell me to put some items in the cart back! : )
ReplyDeleteEmma is funny. Internet purchasing/advertising is creepy. I have nothing to hide but I don't like the control it potentially offers. I use Adblock which helps. Give it a google. But I don't think it protects my privacy.
ReplyDeleteOf all this, I'm most happy to hear that Target is carrying Honest Co dish soap!! I love it and up until now I've been ordering it!!! Thx for the info. Don't the the creepy guys scare ya. They don't want the ordinary folk. You are much too sweet for them!
ReplyDeleteHi Donna! Faithful reader here from Florida. Not a bot. Wonder if it has anything to do with reader feeds? I have no idea, but I read your blog in Feedly. ;-) We're in a brave new world that keeps changing all the time. Also I wonder if your posts keep getting hit as a result of a google search for whatever the topic was. So much to wonder about..... ;-)
ReplyDeleteThat is creepy. I don't have Facebook, but it probably doesn't matter. Hide everything! ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm so clueless that it took some time for me to catch on that it wasn't just a really weird coincidence that Facebook ads were mirroring what I had been shopping for. Duh. I love Facebook for how easy it is to stay in touch with people and to see pictures of my nieces and nephews and friends, etc. I wouldn't want to quit it, so it better behave.
ReplyDeleteMary Z
I read your blog too. I don't think I'm a creep. ;) I actually found your blog by clicking on your name on someone else's blog comments. So maybe I am a creep? I don't think I am though. :) I think I was bored that day and looking for something to do. But I keep reading. You have fun things, comments, and nice pictures.
ReplyDeleteRebecca
Thank you Rebecca! I have been so blessed by the lovely people who come to my blog. I am never wary of my human visitors ... Just the robots :)
ReplyDeleteJust a 34 year old teacher and mama of three here. I do lurk, but don't creep ;)
ReplyDeleteTry putting an image bug on posts getting a spike in views. This way you can at least find out the IP and get more information on origin. Might provide info for you to block access instead of having to delete posts.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteYou can have Cartwheel without signing in through Facebook. You'll just have to use an email address. Also, Target tracks your purchases whether or not you use Cartwheel - did you hear about the teenager who was pregnant and they sent her baby coupons and her unknowing dad went berserk? They've got some really brilliant statisticians over there.
ReplyDelete