How It Feels To Become a Millionaire

Today is one of the happiest days of my life.  I got out of bed this morning and dashed to my home office and checked my computer screen.  I knew there was something special waiting for me.  Very special indeed.  Today Lingua Franca reached the landmark of 1,000,088 page views.  This remarkable task was accomplished in five years and eleven days to be exact.  I’m feeling so happy, I’m jumping out of my skin.  Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen), in the film Wall Street, replied to the receptionist at work while he was coming in one morning this way:

—“How are you today, Bud?”

—I’m feeling fine, if I felt any better it would be a sin!”

After blogging for about eight years, I finally reached the Finish Line and entered into the one million page hits territory.  It’s difficult to describe what this means to me for several reasons.  First, I’m not a writer.  Second, I’m not a photographer.  And third, I’m not a native English-speaking person.  However, with all these limitations. I became a millionaire.  I’m absolutely feeling over the moon today, January 11, 2013.

Never did I ever dream that a country boy from a banana plantation in Changuinola, Bocas del Toro, would start a blog in English and reach out and touch thousands and thousands of people around the world and accumulating one million page hits in the process.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are several names I would like to acknowledge who helped me make this dream come true. Don Ray, the author of Chiriqui Chatter in David, gave me the idea of opening a blogging account and write about events that happened  in Panama City.  His blog posts were full of useful information, and his photographs of David added pizazz to his work.   After reading his blog, I knew I had a task to carry out.

Abraham Lincoln in Brookville, Ohio also contributed considerably to my work.  He impressed me with gorgeous photographs of animals and flowers taken in his backyard.  His pictures were so well taken, that it induced me to buy a camera and learn how to take pictures and insert them in my blog.  That’s how I got involved in photography.  Abe is a consummate and professional photographer and a dedicated blogger as well.

Linda, Jim and Nena, Hilda, Richard, Marjorie and Jaime encouraged me to keep on going with their continued comments.  I appreciate their dedicating part of their valuable time reading and commenting on Lingua Franca.  And last but certainly not least, I am grateful to the thousands and thousands of people around the world who have read Lingua Franca for over five years.  I can’t thank you enough for your encouragement and support.  Reaching this goal was only possible because of you.

GLOBAL COVERAGE

 According to the elves of WordPress, Lingua Franca is mostly read from citizens of the following countries since February 25, 2012; (Figures are expressed in Page Views)

1. United States:  110,480
2. Panama:  19,444
3. United Kingdom:  17,605
4. Canada:  12,435
5. India:  9,287
6. Australia:  7,332
7. Philippines:  5,143
8. Germany:  2,566
9. Malaysia:  2,036
10. Brazil:  1,974

As you can see, the leading page hits originated from countries of the American Continent (40 percent), Europe (20 percent) and Asia (40 percent).

Lingua Franca was read in almost every country in the world with the exception of eight countries in Africa and two countries in Asia.  With these exception, the whole globe was covered by the blog.  Kindly click here to view the countries covered by Lingua Franca.  It’s impressive how far a blog can reach out using today’s technology.

STATISTICS

Below are the Lingua Franca’s page views provided by WordPress for the last five years:

1. 2008:  67,131
2. 2009:  193,340
3. 2010:  245,319
4. 2011:  218,395
5. 2012:  268,154

The average page hit per day in 2012 was 733, which in my opinion, is amazing.

Yep, today is one of the happiest days in my life.  I feel like a million bucks thanks to you my dear readers.  All of this was accomplished because you made it happen by taking the time to read Lingua Franca.  I am most grateful for your support.  What else can I say?  I’m still in a state of shock.

Today I’ll take it easy and assimilate the news together with my wife.  I feel as if I’m walking on water.  Thank you so much and Good Day.

Suggested Reading:  Lingua Franca’s Annual Report 2012