Cluster maps are cool!

I’m new to this blogging game and don’t know everything I think I need to know in order to write this blog effectively. I’ve been looking at other people’s blogs and am really impressed with the Cluster Maps appearing on pages indicating where visitors to their blog are from. A cluster map is not one of the available widgets that you can select for your sidebar on a wordpress blog, so I typed ‘Cluster map widget’ into Google and found the site ClustrMaps. You register for a map and the site provides you with HTML code that you can put into your blog to enable the Cluster Map to appear. That’s all well and good, but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out where to put the code! Back to the Google drawing board.

I did a natural language search through Google by typing in ‘How do I embed a cluster map into a wordpress blog?’ (Google is getting so much better at finding what you need through a natural language search – no wonder they’re blitzing all other search engines) One of the results was Dianne Clancy’s Art Blog which contained very specific instructions about how to set it up. Here’s what Dianne had to say;

If you use widgets, login to your admin panel. Then go to “Presentation” to “Widgets.” Widgets will be on the line underneath Presentations after you choose Presentations.

Look to see if you have a “text” widget under “Available Widgets.” If you do not see a text widget that is there, go further down the page to “Text Widgets” and choose one or more text widgets. Then click “save.”

Grab one of the “text” widgets under “Widgets Available.” Drag it to the “Sidebar.” Double click the little icon on the top right with a blue bar and a couple of black lines underneath it. It will open into a box that you can put the info into. If you want, there is a place for a title – like “Cluster Map” or “Stats.” Then in the larger box underneath the title, paste the code for you Cluster Map. Then close the box with a click onto the “X” on the upper right.

To the right of the “Sidebar,” across the work space, there is Save Changes” – click on that. Alternatively, underneath “Available Widgets”, on the the right, is “Save Changes” – click on that.

Then … ta da!!! Go the “View Site” (next to the name of your blog) and see how gorgeous your map looks.  It will be empty for now, but soon your little red dots will start to show up as we all coming visiting you!!

I followed Dianne’s instructions and now have a natty little cluster map on my blog. I just need lots of visitors now to fill it up with little red dots! Thanks Dianne. Another wonderful thing about the world of blogging – the sharing nature of the network.