2025 11 07

Where will you go today? Tangible Books. Chicago, Illinois. October, 2025. © Clayton Hauck

Recently, while not updating this here blog because I’ve been too busy, I had a modest uptick in traffic (instead of almost nobody visiting, a few people visited). While trying to figure out what all the traffic fuss was about, I noticed that in the last month, the blog has been visited by more visitors from China than here in the US. While I have no idea why this is the case, or if these are even actual humans coming to digitally visit, the fact was interesting to me for another reason altogether. 

My takeaway was that, as a well-traveled but still life-long citizen of the USA, I don’t think I fully comprehend the shadow we cast on the rest of the world. I can imagine how differently I would feel about the world if I was the same person I currently am but was born in, say, Montevideo instead of Chicago. Being a very prideful person about the place I call home (I also love Montevideo and assume this would be the case if I was from there), I can imagine my pride would be met with much more frustration upon learning the harsh realities of economics, pop culture, and math if I was a Montevideoan (no idea what term they use but likely not this). With so much money, influence, and people coming from counties other than my own (hypothetical) home, I’d feel the need to accommodate other markets and cultures in order to get noticed, which would likely bum me out.

What is my point? I’m not sure, really, but I like the mental exercise resulting from looking at my traffic from China. The sort of obvious conclusion is that the United States is in decline access to markets is the most important element of gaining success through art — be it sales to people or views on Tik Tok, you need other people.

To all this, I say: 很高兴认识你！

-Clayton