A Warm Greeting To My Hundreds Of New Readers from China

I launched this blog in February of 2019 with the tiniest of expectations. I just wanted to promote books I’ve written, share other works of fiction, chronicle my life as an American expat living in London, and release whatever thoughts needed to escape from my head.

I had no idea it would eventually become a sensation in a land half a world away. But that’s exactly what is happening.

First, some background:

Since the blog debuted, each post has drawn about 50 readers. You could set your clock by it – 50 readers per blog.

But that’s no longer the case. Lately, the number of visitors to this blog has more than doubled. I now average about 125 readers per post – and that number continues to surge at breakneck speed. It’s only a matter of time before I get thousands of readers per post.

And why is this, you ask?

Because I have suddenly become a blogging sensation in China.

Chinese readers have flocked to this blog like seagulls to a sunny beach. They have discovered the genius of Vance Cariaga that other, lesser countries have too long ignored.

Between June 13 and December 9 this year, I had about 5,300 views spanning 53 different countries. Of those, two-thirds originated from China. The U.S. — my home country these days — ranked a distant second at 21%.

It seems the Chinese can’t get enough of my blog. They keep pouring into it and pouring into it, in accelerating numbers, as if this blog is opium, and they are my star-struck junkies.

The Chinese simply love me — and who can blame them? China is a wise and ancient civilization, with a rich culture, amazing food, and a long history of changing the way the world looks at everything from agriculture and mathematics to technology and the arts.

They are a very smart people, the Chinese. Is it any wonder that they have embraced this very smart blog?

I am conquering China. And when you conquer China, the world soon follows.

Meanwhile, back in reality…….

*****

There are certain things you don’t want to happen as a blogger. One of them is getting a sudden spike in readers from China.

I started noticing it around early summer. My readership numbers began to surge. One good thing about WordPress is that it has all this readership data you can access. The analytics are pretty cool, letting you know who’s accessing your blog, and when, and where, in real time.

When my numbers shot up, I wasn’t sure what to think. But since I am a normal human with the normal ego, I figured maybe I was drawing in more readers due to the brilliance of my work.

I gave myself a pat on the back.

But then I noticed that the vast majority of new readers were from China. Since I don’t know a single person who lives in China, a red flag sprouted up and bashed me in the head.

Let me just say this about China: It’s an amazing country that does amazing things. It’s also the heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to online scams. This is mainly because it’s Ground Zero of the next wave of technological innovation and leadership — and all the good and bad that comes with it. Read this.

The good is that technology can do everything from curing diseases and feeding the hungry to simplifying your life so much that there’s probably an app for figuring out how to breathe.

The bad is that right now, this very second, somebody is probably trying to steal your identity and money.

It’s happening all over the world — from a whole shitload of countries.

The difference is, China has a lot of wealth at its disposal that most others don’t. It boasts the second-largest economy in the world behind the USA — and China is gaining ground quickly, thanks to the dumbass policies of the dumbass U.S. president and his dumbass lackeys.

The combination of wealth, brains and cutting-edge technology make China an A-lister when it comes to online scams.

So no, as a blogger, you don’t really want to see a sudden spike in readers from China.

*****

Not that you asked, but here’s a look at some of my WordPress blog stats….

From 2020-2024, this was my yearly average as a blogger:

• Posts published: 49
• Visitors: 2,511
• Visitors per post: 51.25

Here’s what’s happened so far in 2025:

• Posts published: 39
• Visitors: 4,787
• Visitors per post: 122.7

That’s quite a step up, yes? Quite an improvement in the space of a year!

Quite a lot of readers came aboard who wanted to dive into the magic of Vance Cariaga — and not because they are bots or scammers, trying to tunnel their way into my bank account and haul some cash away.

*****

It’s surely a coincidence that my spike in blog fans from China also happens to coincide with a spike in emails from people I’ve never heard of offering to take my books to the next level – as long as I hit the link they’ve conveniently provided.

Some of these emails are truly heartwarming:

“Your book touched something deep inside me, and all I can think about is getting it to a wider audience…Hit the link and find out how.”

“I found your book inspirational on so many levels. Please reach out by hitting the link below.”

“I want to marry your book and bear its children…Hit the link.”

Okay, I made up that last one. But the others are real. And there are dozens and dozens just like them invading my inbox every…..f***king…..day.

This is not just a me problem, either. It’s happening to a lot of folks. When I noticed how many new views originated from China, I did a Google search. One of the first things I found was this blog from Electric Music Lover, who experienced something similar.

Another thing I came across was this forum on WordPress.com, which began thusly:

“Hi, how are you all dealing with sudden abnormally large spikes of views from China? This doesn’t feel normal.”

No, no — it surely doesn’t feel normal. If you’re a blogger, maybe you’ve noticed it, too.

Here’s how many readers I really think I have in China:

Zero.

Nothing against China, mind you. I love China, and its food, and its culture and history, and all it has bequeathed to the world.

But I seriously doubt this many Chinese folks really give a crap about what some random dude in New Jersey has to say about anything. They want to rip me off.

But guess what, suckas: You ain’t gettin’ shit from me. So just move your asses along….

The worst part is, I’ll probably never again know how many people actually show up on this blog to read what I write.

Or come to think of it, maybe that’s the best part…

Image: AI generated (this helps me avoid all the copyright infringement hoo-ha).