ClustrMaps is a hit counter map widget which allows showing the locations of the visitors of one specific site in a map. Geographer by education, I was interested to know, where the visitors of “Paysages” come from, so I installed the widget on 7 of April 2011. And since this date its running, providing me and the visitors of paysages nice maps with yellow and red dots.
More or less three years ago I published a first note about clustrmaps in paysages, – two years ago followed the second note, last year the third – and now here is fourth. In for years Clustrmaps counted about 56703 readers visiting paysages. In the last year, from 7 of April 2014 to 11 of April 2015 paysages received 15529 visitors
(12966 2013/14). In the same period (7.4.2014-11.4.2015) Google Analytics has counted 15.478 visitors, which visited (or read) 26.421 pages on paysages. If we believe the WordPress counter which I used until the 13.September 2013, and from then on Google Analytics paysages 152.765 pages were visited since its beginning in May 2009.
Most of the visitors of paysages come from France, followed by visitors from Germany and the U.S.A. About more than 86,65 % of the visitors come from France, Germany, the USA, Switzerland & Tunisia (Details see Tab 1.). Compared to the article of 2014, there were no
major changes. Google Analytics give us more or less the same results – with the exception that Tunisia has the fourth place and Switzerland the fifth place. Paysages is still a francophone blog, mostly read by person coming from francophone countries.
It can be suggested that most readers/visitors from other countries are French reading people. The most visited two articles visited since the start of paysages since May 2009 articles seemed to be still “1949 – l‘incendie meurtrier dans la Forêt des Landes” remembering the dramatic forest fire in the Landes in 1949[1]. The other article receiving a very great readership is Blognotice 12.2.2012: la banquise bloque le Port de Port Leucate which describes very exceptional climatological phenomena which occurred in February 2012. The cold blast of the Tramontane freezed parts of the Etang de Leucate and the harbor of Port Leucate to Sea ice . The harbor of Port Leucate has never been seen frozen before. In a region where normally frost is unknown, this is a very rare exceptional meteorological phenomenon. But in the wind shadows of buildings, dunes etc. the temperature never fall below 1 C., – and in this sheltered places the tropical vegetation survived. I think the article is mostly visited because of the pictures included showing the yachts trapped by the Sea ice. This is a very unusual image for a Mediterranean yacht haven.
Tab. 1: The geographical provenance of visitors of paysages from 7.4.2011 – 11.4.2015 (source Clustrmaps 11.5.2015)
| Country | Visitors absolute | Visitors%11-15 | Visitors %11-14 | Pos.11-14 |
| France | 30183 | 53,22% | 50,73% | 1 |
| Germany | 11112 | 19,59% | 21,56% | 2 |
| USA | 4192 | 7,39% | 7,88% | 3 |
| Switzerland | 2012 | 3,55 | 2,98 | 5 |
| Tunisia | 1645 | 2,90% | 3,34% | 4 |
| Belgium | 1475 | 2,60% | 2,95% | 6 |
| Canada | 960 | 1,69% | 1,92% | 7 |
| U.K | 664 | 1,17% | 0,65% | 10 |
| Algeria | 482 | 0,85% | 0,92% | 8 |
| Austria | 397 | 0,70% | 0,76% | 9 |
| total | 93,66% | 93,69% |
Tab 2: Articles visited in paysages from 07.04.2014 to 11.04.2015 (Source Google Analytics) (Basis 26.421 VP)
In Tab.2 I have listed the most visited articles for the period from 07.04.2014 to 11.04.2015 as shown by google analytics. Except some details it resemblance to the list presented in the article “Rétrospectives sur le blog paysages en 2014 – les billets les plus lus de paysages en 2014 ». People sometimes ask me why my blog is written in French. If it would be written in English, (some articles are sometimes written in German), most of my friends and even some of my students would read more in paysages. Even if French is still learned in German High-Schools, the knowledge of French is declining. And I would go much further, – even if some studies suggest that French will in one or two decades much more important as it currently is (for example see here) – in Germany French it is quite a dying language. But Le Monde where paysages is hosted is a French Newspaper, so it seems to be quite normal for me to write in French. Furthermore French is my mother tongue and German is my first language. So I still will mostly write in French, just for the fun of writing, – and at least in the French-speaking (native-speakers – and foreign/second language speakers) world there will be still enough readers for my “blognotices”.
I will end with a personal remark. I learned English in secondary school a very long time ago. I had the chance to learn English in the Gymnasium Schramberg in a very quiet and lovely Black Forest town called Schramberg, far away from any civil war violence. But not all pupils have the chance that I have had in this quite Black Forest High school to pass a school time far from any danger and massive violence. Just a little bit more than one year, exactly 372 days ago, on April 14th, 2014 270 School girls were kidnapped from the Chibok Government Secondary School by Boko Haram Terrorists in Nigeria – approximately 230 are still missing. We should not forget the #Chibokgirls[2]! #BringBackOurGirls now!
Pictures = screenshots from paysages-clustrmaps 11.4.2015
Christophe Neff, 21.04.2015
P.S.: Having so much wrote about “most visited articles in paysages” – currently as I write these words I think that “Villa Jasmin – quelques pensées personnelles en vagabondant sur le téléfilm de Férid Boughedir” is certainly one of my personally most favorite posts in paysages.
[1] I have also written an English article about this dramatic wildfire event in South West France „The Fatal Forest Fire – remembering the “1949 Mega fire” in the „Forêt des Landes” (South West France)”
[2] All post concerning the Chibokgirls in paysages can be found in the category “Chibokgirls/ lycéennes de Chibok”
paysages 