It’s the beginning of the month, so I’m looking at my web stats for the various websites I have a hand in. The results are amazing …
I write a blog on the metal stamping industry called Stamping Out A Living. In 2006, the local transit authority had a problem with fake tokens. I made what I thought was a fairly obvious comment on the blog referring to that case and a similar case in 2004. I said it wouldn’t be hard to make fake transit tokens, because the bus drivers never really look at them. The drivers don’t have time to inspect coins, the coins don’t go through any sort of automatic machinery, and every fledgling tool and die maker knows enough to make a rough coin. As a result of my “expertise” (huh?), I was interviewed on television and made it onto the evening news (I’m told – I didn’t try to watch myself).
3 years later, that article is still one of the most searched in my blog. In both April and May, that article was in the top 20. In previous months, not so much. I guess, in spring, idle minds turn to skullduggery.
Another thing my blog stats told me this month. My name is popular. Google thinks that, if you plug in Michael Wagner in the search engines, my blog “about” page comes in 6th. I don’t know in what alternate universe this is true, but it doesn’t seem to happen when I try it on the global google website. If I go to Google Canada, it does seem to be true.
But it brings up a few interesting points. About 10 years ago, when the internet was quite new, another Michael Wagner noticed that there were a lot of us, and tried to create a directory of us all, so we could find each other. I guess the point was to redirect misdirected mail (not such a far-fetched idea, as it turns out. I get a few emails a year intended for other Michael Wagners that I know). There are now so many that the directory has been abandonned. But why is Michael Wagner such a popular name?
Last week a friend from university days sent me this amusing name popularity tracker. The data source is baby naming data in the US. I have no idea how accurate it is, but even if it’s only close, it does show some amazing things. Stick Michael in there for a first name, and see how popular the name was in the post-war era. It takes a moment to load, it’s got a large Java program to run. You need to hit return after Michael to keep out other names that start with Michael (like Michaela). If I understand what the chart is telling me, Michael wasn’t a very popular name (ranking 50th or so) until the end of the second world war, but then became very popular, peaking in the ’60s when it was a very popular boys name.
My final question for the day. If my name comes up so quickly in Google Canada, why couldn’t my high school buddies find me for the 50th reunion 3 years ago?