My Little Dish

A Great Tool for Websites

I use a tool called Statcounter on my website, it is a great little tool that lets you peek at who is visiting your websites or blogs and find out where (location) they are coming from, what they are searching for and what they have looked at. I’ve used the tool for as long as I’ve had my website. The only thing that bugs me about it as a website owner, is not knowing WHO these people are – like if they are competition or WHY they are on my site….all the time. Now, don’t get me wrong, 99% of the time I don’t even care WHO these people are, I don’t need to know their names, or why they want information.

My Little Dish’s Stalker

I’ve had a “stalker” visitor for several years now. I can see every time this person is on my site, and let me tell you it’s DAILY. I know that they use AOL as their ISP and I know that they reside in or near Reston, Virginia. What I don’t know is WHY is this person looking at the same items over and over? I do not know his or her name, and WHY they are on so frequently. I can tell every plate (let’s call her “She” to make thing easier) “She” looks at again, and again and again….and every keyword “She” types in to find me. I can also log these visits and save them in case I need them in court someday. (mwaaahaaahaaa – evil laugh). Unless of course “She” is reading this blog, then maybe “She” will not try and copy me, because I have copyrights and trademarks! and attorneys :)

I would love to email this “She” and ask if she is getting the information she needs and could I be of further assistance to her? I am kidding, but it sure would feel good to call her on it sometimes, and to let her know I see everything.

I own the Prayer Plates

I’m not the first to paint a child’s plate and won’t be the last. I was, however, the first to create, trademark and license a child’s Prayer Plate - a whimsical dinner plate graced with a dinner time prayer for bringing families back to the dinner table. Ok, corny as it may be, remember that in 2001, when I started this company, everyone was all mushy gushy and sentimental after 9/11. .

Since I started, I have noticed many well known ceramist adding similar inspirational plates to their lines. That’s the nature of business. If you create something “new” or popular, you are sure to find another artist copying you, or imitating you. I can’t do much about these artists adding religious plates to their line, and it doesn’t really bother me, if they are unique in their own right like the example in the link above.

Another Competitor for Me

Tonight I came across a lady (not the Stalker chick) that has been on my radar for a while, and her name popped up on my Statcounter again today. Her company has a “similar” name and her products are very “similar”. Visitors were finding my site when they typed in her product name (over 50 searches in one day) into yahoo or google. Why would she be on my site today also?

She does plates (I am sure you guessed that) and they do have a different feel to them - sort of. They are porcelain (mine are ceramic) and very ornate looking to me. The style isn’t what bugs me (well it bugs me a little), they don’t look anything like my designs. They are more adult oriented and use different prayers. What bothers me is the product name (she started in 2006, I started in 2001), the products AND her slogan are very, VERY similar, to mine (a little too close for comfort) – irks me a bit.

Did I mention that she sold them on QVC, um ya!

Consider Yourself Warned

Well, I can only take out my frustration by blogging about it (a temporary pain reliever) and try not to be bitter, unless I decide to spend the thousands of dollars for my attorneys to attack. I’ve been there and done that before, and even when it's successful, it’s an unbelievable money sucker and time consuming to say the least. But be warned “She” Stalker and Other Competitor Lady – if you do a children’s line of prayer plates that looks even close to mine, I won’t go down without a fight. I will go down kicking, screaming, blogging and pulling out the claws! I will go to court again if I need to.