On May 31, 2015, 11 years ago, I first registered my blog with WordPress.

Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!

You registered on WordPress.com 11 years ago.

Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.

I thought I would celebrate by looking back at some of my previous posts from May 31. On May 31, 2017, I Posted A Beautiful Monday, a post that has been viewed only 54 times over the years and likely at least half of those views have not been real people.

Earlier this year I noticed that something seemed off with my stats. My blog, which throughout the years has averaged less than 30 views per day, is now averaging over 300 views per day. While I would like to believe the popularity of my blog suddenly exploded, I am not that that naïve, especially since the ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ have not increased. It seems that bots have been visiting my blog. I find that a little unsettling. I wonder what they are doing with my content. It also means that my stats, at least the number of views and visitors are no longer reliable. Disappointing? Yes, but it is what it is. There is one thing that could help me distinguish real visitors from bots and you can help if you would like to. If you read a post, hit the ‘like’ button or leave a comment so I will know that a real person has been here. I understand that life is busy and you may not have the time. I do, however, appreciate you taking the time to read my posts, even if you don’t have time to leave a comment.

All of that leads to my post from May 31, 2018, I‘m Not Gonna Wait To Tell You. According to my stats this post has been viewed 258 times. Interestingly more than 150 of those views have been in 2026. (Bots! GRRR!) Though the numbers have changed, since I first wrote this, my thoughts have not.

Before I go I just want to let all my readers know that although WordPress now has and AI feature all of the writing and photos on my blog are and will continue to be my own. I have not and will not use AI.

As always, thanks for visiting!