See the earlier posting.
Interesting findings, looking at readers from the most varied corners of the world. Top hits in pages viewed are by China, USA, Belgium and many European countries plus a variety of exotic locations. No details to protect confidentiality.
Some conclusions:
1. The power of Google is surprising. I hardly post an entry and it is already scanned by Google as I can see how people get to the blog.
2. People you expect (hope) to read the blog are less likely to read and even less likely to post a comment: family (worst) & friends – to keep in touch and give the latest news with pics; and business contacts (see further).
3. Readers seem reluctant (or just lazy?) to register and post a comment. As some went smoothly through the process it proves it is not that complicated.
4. Comments posted are subject to my approval. Really needed: spammers succeed in sending comments without registering (I still have to look into this, how one can avoid it). You will not find here unwanted ads for medicine and on-line casinos – they are promptly deleted. Genuine comments are normally checked within 24 hours.
5. Interesting to find out what surfers are looking for. The more spicy, the better, so I’ll omit the details. Middle Eastern countries have a weak spot for “sexy massage Beijing” but they are not alone. I learned a lot – how to include words that generate Google hits.
6. Most visitors are non-Chinese, confirming again how (Mainland) Chinese surf and what they are interested in. China has presently about 123 million people online (200 million expected by 2010) with close to 50 million broadband users. But when you closely look at their surfing behavior (there are some good surveys!), the potential of the Internet is poorly explored: most are young people interested in games, (Chinese) chat/blogs and some saucy pieces of news. Little of in-depth research. Not to be surprised then when it is hard to find staff here who can surf and search for business information: they all claim to be very good but most are poor in PC skills. So, the impact of the Internet in China somehow is still questionable when seen through western eyes. I cannot blame too much the authorities on clamping down on Internet cafe use by youngsters: they mostly play games till they drop. (And sometimes drop dead too). Internet addiction afflicts 2 million out of a total of 18.3 million kids under 18 – they represent 15% of the  123 million netizens (according to the China Communist Youth League).
7. Business executives surf much less than expected. Some even don’t know what is a blog and many never look up websites. Maybe some are simply too busy, others are not yet familiar with the Internet age. Pity because the Internet has really become an incredible tool.
It also raises the big question: what do people still read? Newspapers are becoming less popular. On the other hand, the quality of most newspapers has gone downhill – except for a few like the IHT. Who still reads books? How to reach the audience you target?
At least I know “my audience” a bit better and will adapt the blog. I am still not 100% happy with the layout but did not see much better in other blogs. Even the editor’s blog of the China Economic Review uses the same layout.
Suggestions are always welcome but I am not expecting too much here 😉