Saturday, July 4, 2009

Nerd Alert!

First of all, technology is amazing. When I started Cliterature three years ago, I had no idea how long it would last, or if there would even be enough interest for a second or third issue. As the word spread, I've tried to add things to it to make it more fun and interesting for readers. After Cliterature went solely online in 2008, it took me a while to figure out how much more I could do with an online journal that a print version can't. Archives are available starting with the very first issue, so that anyone can read not only the current issue, but any contributor from any previous issue. With RULES, there's a new option for people to e-mail feedback about the individual works and have it posted up alongside the work itself. Facebook has been incredibly helpful in connecting with people who like Cliterature, whether they are submitting, contributing or just fans of the journal. 

What I'm getting to is something I only learned about recently but am already very exited about. Have you heard about Google Analytics? It gives you an HTML code which you paste into each page of a website, and then in 24-48 hours you can start looking at reports about visitors, content, traffic, etc. Two of my favorite reports are which pages are looked at most frequently, and a map that shows you where people are visiting Cliterature from. I knew it was being read all over the United States and maybe in Canada. Imagine my surprise when I saw visitors from Ireland, South Korea, Italy, Algeria, Germany, and South Africa! Not to mention the most visits from a single city came from London! I can't wait to see what other information this service produces. It's just amazing.