Though I’m no “techxpert,” I do like to play around with various tools and gizmos online, and I thought maybe some of you would have fun with the same…
I’m a stats-girl, and a maps-girl, so the new statistics counter released this week by WordPress tickled me greatly! It’s a flag-by-flag breakdown of where my readers have been when they’ve read this blog, and a map to match. How cool is that?
I had fun playing with it for a few minutes, but pretty quickly I wished that I could put it among the “widgets” on the side of my blog (so sad, no can do)… A little hunting around online, though, and I just found an alternative that does the same… These are the stats since I started up the count this afternoon (sadly, it doesn’t work retroactively), but it’s an interactive picture that will keep changing as readers come by–what fun!
For anyone else who would get a kick out of “collecting flags” and seeing where in the world your words have been read, simply visit FlagCounter.com and choose what kind of display you’d like–a map (as above) or columns of flags (as below)–as well some choices about display information and a header…
When you’ve selected all your options, click the “Get Your Flag Counter” button on the screen:
Next thing, the page will give you some coding which you can use on your blog. There’s a “quick post” option (for all kinds of formats, including WordPress, Blogger, Twitter, Facebook, and a host of others) which will ask for your login information, and automatically post to your site. (In WordPress, it creates a new post containing the map or graphic you’ve chosen.) OR you can copy the URL and paste that into a “text” widget (that’s what I did to add it to the Notebook Stats in my side-bar), or into the body of a post you create yourself (as I’ve done here).
To add it to a post, click the “HTML” tab at the top right corner of your add-a-post text box, and paste the URL information while you’re in the HTML view. When you click back to the “Visual” editor, ta-da, there it is!
And what do you know–Ireland has joined in just since I started typing! Maybe I’d better apply for a passport for my blog…
Kana's Chronicles 
That is pretty nifty. I’ll have to check it out. Thanks for trying it out and sharing.
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hey, thanks Kana. continue…
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Hi Kana,
Thanks for the helpful info on flag counters. I discovered them back in November (you are a much nicer person because you posted about it to let others know) and I like it very much. It’s free and it gives you a nice sense of the global aspect of blogging. :)
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old “teaching-habits” die hard, I guess… ;) Well put, though, about the “global aspect of blogging”–I was purely stunned to see some of the places where the blog has been read…
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Very cool fun tool, and thanks, especially for sharing the “how to” in plain English version that even a “no technical ability or skill” person like me can understand … sounds like fun!
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okay, you really ARE good … I added it to my sidebar, all by myself (by following your easy step-by-step instructions). I’ve had ONE whole visitor already! Whee! LOL
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Yippee! ;)
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thanks again … not only am I being able to enjoy the flag counter, but I’ve pointed a couple of other people over here so they can follow the step-by-step instructions that you so graciously shared. Love it when we all get to share the wealth … and it started with you!
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Thanks so much, Kana. This could be fun!
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Thanks. Can’t wait to check it out.
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Meeting other people from other parts of the world is one of the coolest things about blogging! Thanks for the tips!
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What would people like me do without people like you? Going to trial it later, thank you!
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I’ve seen this on some blogs that I follow but haven’t thought about adding it to mine. Will rethink. Thanks.
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Kana–as always, you inspire, you teach, you reach out and give. I am giving you a blog award today http://believeanyway.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/keeping-the-blogosphere-a-beautiful-place/
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I love the new features! :)
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Will bookmark this post and come back to it after we move – 5 days to go. I’m so looking forward to being on the other side of it!
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Right there with you–I HATE moving! Doesn’t help that I’ve had to do it five times in the last four years… (Leaving first husband for an apartment, then buying a house, then renting out the house and moving smaller when I lost my job, then moving BACK into the house when the renters broke their contract, then moving out again when the house went into foreclosure…) I’m REALLY hoping we can just stay put for some years now. ;) Good luck with your move, and settling in!
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Okay, Kana, how did you get your map to spill over the edge? I’m spending my entire morning playing with this fun thing!
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Glad you’re enjoying! ;) I actually just pasted in the URL & coding directly from the FlagCounter site, and it added the size of graphic I”d selected on that site (which, in the case of my blog, extends past the edge)… I’m not sure if different WordPress themes might handle it differently?? You’ll have to let me know! ;)
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I should also add that you can “start over” and create more than one version of your map… (I believe it’s a “regenerate” button once you’ve made your first map, meaning it will generate a new code for your same blog…) I was playing around to make a map, to make the flag-columns, to make a different-sized map–I just have a slightly different code for each version. :)
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Wow, Kana, this is really cool–especially for someone who loves to travel internationally. This is that kind of in reverse–the world visiting us–if that makes sense. I will check this out. Thanks for sharing the info.
Hope you have having a wonderful weekend!
Hugs,
Kathy
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It makes perfect sense! :) I’m happy when I’M the one who’s traveling, but for now while I’m home, my WORDS can still be traveling… :)
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Oooo kewl!
Its nice to see how far my words can travel since I certainly can’t go that far. Though most of mine seem to be centred in the USA according to the pretty pictures WordPress gives me. Oh and a surprising amount from the Philippines. Who knew? o.O
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Nice! Thanks for pointing this out to us, I too was excited when they added the country info to the stats (something they could have done before) but it is too bad that there isn’t a widget.
This looks like a nice option.
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Great to have this explained. Now all I have to do is make the time to play with it to see if I can do. thank you.
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Kana, you really tickle me at how much you enjoy all the widgets and woozies of blogging! You go, girl! I am sure this post reveals a lot about how well you work on free-lance assignments! Being a poet,musician, and painter, and having finally escaped being locked in techie geekdom for many years to make a living and raise a family, I am just celebrating leaving a lot of that stuff alone! But I am truly pleased to see how much fun you are getting out of the mapping widget stuff!
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Thanx for the tip Kana. I have followed instructions up to posting on my blog……here’s hoping. x x x
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I really like the new WordPress country stat on my dashboard. But I agree, it is nice to show our readers the same kind of information. So, thanks for the how to for FlagCounter.
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Thank you so much Kana! I’ve been seeing the maps on other sites and wondered how to get one. Reblogging . . . thanks!
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Reblogged this on Simply Charming and commented:
Thanks Kana!
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I’m also into “flag-stats”. it’s fun to see where in the world the visitors come from :)
I have one from http://www.revolvermaps.com
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Hi Kana- non techie me has finally got around to doing this. Yeeha! Thanks for the help.
All I need now are a few visitors or it could potentially be very disappointing. I can always delete it if need be. Is that negative thinking, or what!
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