Blogging · Me myself and I · Thoughts

I knew it! (little cue for newer bloggers)

Cyranny

If you’ve been visiting The Cove for a while, you know I care more about my collection of flags than I ever will for my actual statistics and numbers.

Which doesn’t mean I never check my views, likes and followings.

Another thing I don’t do often, is being pretentious enough to give advice to other bloggers, unless asked for. But something happened to me twice (I think) since I started my blog, and I think it is worth sharing with new(er) bloggers who might follow their statistics closely.

A while back, I remember seeing my number of readers dropping drastically one particular day. I mean, I get and lose a couple readers every now and then, but back then, I lost five or six all of a sudden, which made me worried.

Had I written something that had offended many readers to the point of “unfollowing”? It seemed to me that The Cove was not a very controversial site, and I was a little puzzled, but hey! What was I to do??

Recently, the opposite happened. I started having more and more readers hopping in my little blogging train, and I got suspicious too. I was glad to notice that my total of readers was increasing a lot faster than usual, but I thought it was odd.

Until I noticed they were, in general, email-follows.

You can check these out by clicking on “insights” at the top of your statistics page, and then in the “Followers totals” clicking on “email”.

I have only a few “email followers” myself, and when my total of readers started skyrocketing suddenly (only a figure of speech, LOL but it was unusual) I checked, to find out that most of my new “followers” were email ones, and that they all had suspicious email adresses. (all @outlook.com adresses, with usernames looking as if the actual user had given a punch on the keyboard)

This morning, when I sat back to check what was going on in the Bloggosphere, I noticed that my fellow readers had tropped by an alarming fourteen of them. Overnight. Aouch!

And that’s when I made the link. I checked, and the mysterious recent email followers were all gone… All 14 of them! Bye bye!

So, I am guessing that some automated system hooked false adresses to The Cove  (I will check my spam file,I’ll probably find a lot to catch up to from these “followers”) and then just abandonned my blog to go “bug” somebody else’s…

I just wanted to flag it out, in case someone would be going through the same sudden gain/loss of readers, and wondering what the dang is happening! Hehehehehe

 

Yet just another good reason to stick to flags, and not numbers if you ask me…

Anyway, none of you is a number to me!!

Muahh!

 

 

46 thoughts on “I knew it! (little cue for newer bloggers)”

  3. Well this is strange.
    This week I have had 3 differnt “people” follow me on email only, since I changed the name of my blog (Scottish legend’s blog is no more) and did a complete overhaul of the layout and changed it all.
    After reading this post I went to have a look at them and they are gone. I’m back to the two that I already had.
    Very strange

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    1. Yeah, I had noticed the changes in your blog 🙂

      Well, I guess you’ve been visited by the same clones I have… Oh well! I just don’t know what they do that for…. Mystery!

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    1. I agree, Tony! But since I know that a lot of people, especially new bloggers pay a lot of attention to their stats, I wanted to share that information I found out 🙂 Of course, the bonds we build are more precious than mere numbers 🙂 🙂 🙂

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  5. Interesting… I have recently gotten some of those “@outlook” email followers, too. I thought it was weird as I’ve not seen a bunch of those show up like that before… but I just sort of ignored it and moved on… 😀

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  6. i had 93 readers Wednesday, for no reason I can think of, I didn’t promote my blog in anyway, then yesterday my readership dropped back down to the teens, which is what i normally register, when i don’t push the blog. I thought it was rather strange myself

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  7. I have recently had a massive influx of followers that do internet marketing, or publish loans type blogs. If they want to follow me, they are most welcome, but I am having to be very selective on who I follow, my basic rule is if you look like spam, then nop. But it is making my stats look very healthy

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    1. LOL I know… Ok, now you’ll have to excuse my crazy brains (once again) but I HAVE to share this… When I read your comment, the comparison that came to my mind was “Yeah, a little like a guy whose girlfriend stuffed her bra… She doesn’t actually have really big breats, but it looks good in the meanwhile!”

      Sorry!

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  8. spamalot…………spamalot…….you tend to give a person pause……………spamalot……..spamalot…..how creepy are your claws……….yea, I know. stupid.
    let me start over……..
    Hiya! I didn’t even know I had a for real spam folder till you wrote this, then I looked and I have 423046@outlook and a few others..that one got me though as they are the measurements of Mae West and old movie star with big ….ummmmm…….bazoombas.

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    1. My pleasure, Rachel 🙂 I was asked some questions about how to attract more readers… And I thought about them when I noticed this glitch!

      I wouldn’t want new(er) bloggers to get discouraged because of something like this… 🙂

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  10. I’ve certainly noticed some ‘padding’ with email followers with non-existent email addresses but don’t bother to keep a track if they drop off … it’s the regular readers and comments that I enjoy 🙂

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  12. If I see a new icon on the likes I ck it out, and sometimes there’s no site there. Is that what you mean? I only email about 3 followers, so I don’t check blog emails. The stats thing I don’t get wrapped up in. I ck spam rarely. Is that what you mean? Spam I find is misspelled, stupid or saying I need their help. And th r results always the followers who are just promoting businesses and that’s fine? I just don’t read them again. Too many blogs I really want to read instead. Gone all day yesterday so mussed this thread.

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    1. I think you are referring to some comments I’ve had too. They don’t really have anything to do with the post, and there is no way to trace back the person behind the comment.

      I just delete them, like spam comments.

      Don’t worry for the delay, I totally understand you, I’ve barely come online myself this weekend. *Hugs*

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  13. Yeah I had that happening too, or I get the speed readers that like 14 posts within ten seconds or so. It’s a slap in the face to a writer as this is not really the reason as to why any of us are on here who have something to say or want our voices to be heard. It’s not a statistic’s competition and these followers usually drop off in a short time. I’m into building real relationships instead of the ones that give you a like for a like.

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    1. ah, rhapsody…does that mean i should not click all your post likes really really really fast? You could then click mine really really fast. can I borrow some words? perhaps a dollar or too? spam you say? where? (sorry, I walked all day and my brain was left behind somewhere)

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    2. I totally agree… I had a conversation with a friend-blogger about those quick-likers. I must say that I don’t get those as much as I used to… But I did notice people that “liked” almost before I hit the “publish” button.

      That’s why I prefer a comment, even if it just says “Good work!” At least it gives me the impression that the person took the time to read my post!

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      3. I don’t get them often either, but it just defeats the purpose of why we write. You got a good point and a comment of some sort is always a sign that somebody might have connected, not on,y with your words but perhaps your soul. Xoxo hugs dear.

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Thanks for clearing that up, Cyranny! For the past week or two I have been getting email notices that I had a new follower, but then when I would go into WP to look there was nothing there. I noticed they all had outlook.com addresses. I assumed they were spam, but at least now I know for sure.

    I hope you’re having an awesome weekend! *hugs!*

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    1. Hehehe… I now have a new kind of invasion going on… Weird comments that don’t have anything to do with my posts. I never had those outside my spam-file in the past, but for the past 2 days, I get litterally bombed.

      I just delete them, but I am expecting the next WordPress “glitch”… Who knows, a troll, maybe?

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    1. LOOOOOOL So, you know Alex too uh? I should have known, if he hung out around the Cove, he must have been talking to you too 😛

      Alex is pretty amazed at how fast my page loads up… I wanted to help, but I have no clue as to how or why I am so lucky!! Mouahahahahaha

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  17. I’m getting spam mail..not in my inbox..but my post box. At least it is spam I can share with the world through a forwarding address! I wonder what could be floating it’s way thru the ether to freezingland?????

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