The visitor map

[naomikritzer]

Now I'm wondering about the accuracy of this thing.

Is there really someone reading this from Iceland? The middle east? Australia? I know I have a reader from Ireland, but there are a bunch of dots in Europe.

(I got e-mail from an old friend once who was sending me mail from the South Pole. In July. I don't see any Antarctic dots, though.)

Comments

[halspacejock.livejournal.com]

I'm in Western Australia, so that bit's accurate.

[naomikritzer]

Aha! Okay then. I also know who's reading from Japan. But Iceland? Who do I know in Iceland? And can they show me around if I come visit?

[sylvia-rachel.livejournal.com]

I've got someone in Japan, too. Weird.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_fakewings_/]

I got tons of dots in Europe. I don't really know anyone in Europe...

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

I'm one of the MA people, I expect. But anyway, a) it tracks by IP, not actual location, and b) I bet it gets people via friendsfriends as well as straight friends page.

But still, Iceland? The heck?

Spooky!

[muneraven.livejournal.com]

I'm half-Norwegian and I've always wanted to visit Iceland . . .maybe that made my dot end up in Iceland, lol. The weird magic of the Intranets!

[dtm]

Note that there are pages which show a bunch of random images recently posted to livejournal, such as this page, or this one.

(And many others - get a webhost that gives you access to the raw logs, and logs the Referrer header, and you can see this for yourself by putting an image on that host and linking to it from livejournal)

Given the way this image apparently works, posting this image on a non-friends-locked post will get a few spurious hits from those pages.

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

Is there a dot in SF? Because that would me. (And maybe a lot of other people too.)

[jimlawrence.livejournal.com]

As dtm noted, referrer logs can show you the location of the IP for each access, which may not be too close to the person's location (or it may be). For example, my location -- passing through my ISP's servers (Cox Cable) -- would probably show me as being located somewhere in Rhode Island (as, indeed, I am). But if I were to turn back to my corporate laptop on my other desk, which is connected to my employer's virtual private network, and accessed your livejournal from that machine, it would probably identify me as being located in Poughkeepsie, NY (or maybe Research Triangle Park, NC).

[katrineberg.livejournal.com]

I know it's not quite as exotic as Iceland, but I got a danish dot crated.

Saw the Freedom book in the book shop at Copenhagen airport last I was there, so they could be spreading to Europe from there.
All the books have been available in the major sci-fi and fantasy book shop in the city though, since Fires of the Faithfull. (Which led me to google and then here ;)

[lenora-rose.livejournal.com]

I got one in Moscow. :)

I would presume if it's a misplaced ISP, it would usually still be within the near vicinity. The wrong city, possibly state, but usually the right country (Or, if in Europe, probably no more than the next country over.) I could be wrong, but I do presume my mystery person in Moscow is someplace in eastern Europe.

There can definitely be surprises in who lurks (or who friends you), who are friends of friends, etc. Even on my official FL, I'm fairly surte there are people who don't read, and that there are people who at least stop by and look from friends of friends.

Another thing that happens is that there are people on LJ who do random browsing.

And you, of coruse, are more likely to get curious fen.