I’m going to make a confession, and it won’t be the first time I’ve admitted this: I’m a ClustrMap whore. I get great pleasure from that little map with all those lovely red dots that represent places where people are checking out my blog. Last time I counted, I had visitors from 71 countries. I know many (most?) of them probably googled Laos or Vientiane or some other common topic and didn’t really intend to visit The Guide Hog. But I don’t care.

Recently I got an email from ClustrMap telling me they were going to archive my map and put a new one on my blog. They do this because some people’s maps turn in to one big red blob over time. Makes sense. Still … my new map looks so naked. Is my ClustrMap the blog equivalent of sitting at the cool kids’ lunch table at school or wearing the latest style of sneakers? Am I that desperate to be popular?

Unequivocally, yes.

So I’m posting my old map to prevent an inferiority complex. Isn’t it pretty?

Oh, and please refer your friends (especially those in South America, Africa and Russia) to my blog, and let’s all work together to make that map into one big red blob before ClustrMap strikes again!