By: Chris “Topher” Aderhold

This past Friday, December 6th, the current edition of the Camp Gray website celebrated it’s 2nd birthday!

The 2013 Summer Camp Staff was comprised of folks from sixteen (16!) different states! Awesome!

The 2013 Summer Camp Staff was comprised of folks from sixteen (16!) different states! Awesome!

A year ago, when the website celebrated it’s 1st birthday, I wrote the inaugural “By the Numbers” post. You see, while Camp Gray is located here in the Diocese of Madison, and while a large number of our campers come from this Diocese, we do attract campers from many of the surrounding dioceses, states, and beyond. Additionally, Camp Gray attracts Summer Staffers from all corners of the United States – in 2013, our 50 person staff came from 16 different states. On top of all that, with 60 years under our belt, we have camper and staff alums scattered near and far.

This Camp Gray place is special, and it’s humbling to be a part of such a beacon of hope for so many around the world.

Around the world? Yes indeed. With the powers of Google Analytics, we’re able to see just how large and far-reaching the Camp Gray web presence is stretched. We’re able to see how many visitors our website had in the past year (54,151 – a 7,030 visitor increase from year one), how many page views our site enjoyed (169,360 – 8,740 more than last year), from where people are viewing the website (all 50 states and 108 different countries – 18 more countries than last year), and we can look to see which pages are the most popular (the “Off at Camp” page was far and away the most popular page).

At this point, you might be thinking to yourself, “Self, this is boring already. Tuesdays with Topher should be filled with stories of adventure, history, and inspiration – not numbers and analytics”

Friend, I couldn’t agree more, so please don’t give up on me, yet! I am writing about the numbers because you’re a part of the numbers, BUT you’re more to us than just a number. You play an integral role in keeping the mission and spirit of Camp Gray alive. I want to thank you. Yes, YOU. Thank you for visiting our website, for registering your campers, for reading our blogs, and for stopping by the wishlist page. (Also, beyond visits to the website, thanks for talking to your family and friends about Summer Camp, for sharing our blogs and videos on your facebook page, for following Camp on instagram, and for clicking that little ‘favorite’ and ‘retweet’ button on Camp’s tweets!)

I cannot stress it enough – it is because of you – because you help us to spread the word about Camp Gray, that we continue to thrive! Whether you’re from Madison (the city that had the most visits to the Camp website), or you’re the one fellow that visited our website this past year from Qatar, we thank you!

So my friends, if you’re still with me, you’ll be glad you stuck around, because I give you some fun and interesting tidbits regarding the 2nd year of the Camp Gray website!

Five Most Visited Pages:
1. Off at Camp – 28,349 views
2. Session Chart – 9,703 views
3. Summer Camp – 7,704 views
4. Registration – 6,425 views
5. Summer Programs – 3,834 views

The five most visited pages list stays the same compared to last year, and each of the pages had an increase in number of views… THANKS!

The darker the blue, the more visits! The U.S. no doubt had the most visits to the CG website -

The darker the blue, the more visits! The U.S. obviously had the most visits. Look at that worldwide smattering of blue, though! Come on Greenland! Come on Middle East!

Five Most Popular Viewing Locations (Domestic):
1. Wisconsin – 35,165 (64.9% of all visits)
2. Illinois – 4,577 (8.4% of all visits)
3. New York – 1,277 (2.3% of all visits)
4. Minnesota – 1,088 (2.0% of all visits)
5. Michigan – 888 visits (1.6% of all visits)

The top four states on this list remained the same compared to last year. Congrats to Michigan (ranked 6th last year) for leap-frogging California to crack the top 5! MICHIGAN!

Five Least Popular Viewing Locations (Domestic):
1. Idaho – 10 total visits
2. Hawaii – 11 total visits
3. Wyoming – 21 total visits
4. Vermont – 22 total visits
5. Rhode Island – 25 total visits

Hawaii and Vermont made this list last year – help us spread the word about Camp Gray to our friends in Hawaii and Vermont so we can remedy their low numbers!

Five Most Popular Viewing Locations (International):
1. Canada – 151 visits
2. UK – 149 visits
3. Ireland – 133 visits
4. Italy – 125 visits (Francis is checking in on us!)
5. Germany – 115 visits

Kudos to Ireland! Last year Ireland ranked 8th. This year they rallied back to take the bronze! Keep up the good work, Ireland!

The number of visitors to the website (and the overall Camp Gray awareness) is climbing higher and higher! Way up there! Thanks for your support of Camp Gray!

The number of visitors to the website (and the overall Camp Gray awareness) is climbing higher and higher! Way up there! Thanks for your support of Camp Gray!

Five Most Interesting International Viewing Locations (IMHO)
1. Australia – 61 visits
2. Japan – 27 visits
3. United Arab Emirates – 11 visits
4. Egypt – 2 visits
5. Rwanda – 1 visit

I can’t stop at five! Here are a few more interesting international visits: South Africa (16), Brazil (13), Thailand (4), Uganda (1), Tanzania (1), Isle of Man (1), U.S. Virgin Islands (1).  If you’re one of the fine folks visiting from another country, we’d love to hear from you – please tell us how you learned of Camp Gray!

Top 5 Most Popular BLOGS
1. Music for the Journey – 618 views
2. A Story from the Trees – 511 views
3. I’ll Be Gone Soon – 370 views
4. All Dressed Up – 363 views
5. The Odyssey to 500 – 328 views
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Again, we thank you for visiting the Camp Gray website. We also thank you immensely for helping to spread the word about Camp Gray (to all 50 states and 108 countries!).  It’s because of you that Summer Camp registrations are up 169% compared to last year at this time!

Lastly, be sure to come on back next week to read the final Tuesdays with Topher post of 2013. 2013 has been an incredibly awesome year at Camp Gray, and it’ll be my honor to spend some time writing 400-4,000 words summarizing and celebrating the greatness that was 2013.

Peace!