InteractionMetrics Archive

SFGate has a lengthy article about two major news releases regarding Google. The first being that they have surpassed Microsoft as the most trafficked web site property and the second is that they have won 2007 Most Powerful Brand by Millward Brown, a British research company.

Congrats to Google for continuing to dominate the Internet and the world. I just can't imagine another company in the world that touches any Internet user. Is there a way to never use anything Google? Before you answer, remember that many sites you visit use Google Analytics. You can check out my Big Brother article from earlier this year for just how much Google knows about each of us.

One of the questions I would have about the new numbers from comScore is whether they take widgets/gadgets into account. For example, I believe Vista uses a lot of desktop widgets. If so, how does that impact counts to both services? Is MS hit harder because they have widgets built directly into Vista taking away the need to go search on the .com property?

What's next for Google? If they already dominate the Internet and have the cash to buy anyone they want, what's next?

This morning I noticed that Performancing has re-initiated Metrics to their lineup. The biggest changes are: more options, better looking interface and a fee.

There are now RSS options and a SPY option (live view) and a bunch of other updates as well. Overall it looks very well put together. It would be nice to see a comparison between this new metrics service and ExtremeTracking.

From a fee standpoint, it is a bit confusing but this is what I gather. Under 1,000 pageviews a day is free. Over 1k but under 10k is $2 a month and over 10k is $1 per year per thousand average page views. In their example, 50,000 average daily page views would cost $50 a year. 

As for the main Performancing site, I think that Performancing has lost the community they had when I originally became a member. It feels like a blog about how to blog by blog experts (the editors) with an occasional member written post thrown in. The forums seem sparse now (this was one of my favorite parts of the old site).

I am guessing we will see more blogger apps from the new Performancing.

Alexa has added some new options to their site pages. While I can't take credit for them all, I certainly hope my constant nagging about the "today vs. yesterday" got them to change it. Whatever the reason, I can rejoice! Here is an overview of the changes: geographic reporting, "yesterday", reach figures, and traffic ranks by country.

So here are some interesting stats… of ALL of the web sites in the U.S., CenterNetworks ranks 11,000. Not bad I guess. We also rank 4,396 in Switzerland! Yes! I have been working hard on the swiss marketing plan.

I think these updates are moving in the right direction for Alexa. They have added many useful features over the past few months. As I have said from the beginning, Alexa could be an ultra-valuable tool if we can believe in the data. The key is having publishers, advertisers, metrics analysts feel comfortable with what Alexa is putting out. The simple fact is that it won't matter if they add 5000 great features if the numbers can't be trusted.

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And my question from last weekend is still unanswered: with over 30,000 unique visitors on Sunday and Monday, we didn't even receive any increase on the Alexa charts and graphs. I hope someone from Alexa can help me understand why and maybe if there is something broken. Oh yea and get my related links updated.

</soapbox>

Here is a screenshot of the new page with regards to CenterNetworks:

Performancing has been sold. No really. Yes, really. It's true this time! After the deal with Payperpost fizzled, and the CEO left, and then the new CEO left, and then the old CEO came back, and then Partners closed, SplashPress Media has purchased the assets of Performancing. The release (piece below) does not discuss the Firefox blog extension status. It does appear that the new owners want to restart the Partners ad network, "in due time." I am excited for Nick and Chris and will certainly cover the changes that take place under the new ownership. So far there does not seem to be the same level of backlash as was exhibited with the Payperpost purchase. Check out my interview with Nick from October.

From their release:

SplashPress Media, owner of numerous sites including The Blog Herald, one of the oldest sites on the internet covering blogging news and new media, has announced it is acquiring the core assets of Performancing.com including the bloggers' community and Performancing Metrics. According to David Krug, "Over the last year Performancing has built up a large and loyal community of bloggers from all walks of life. They have created and provided tools and quality resources to bloggers and blogging communities. We wish to continue providing the blogosphere with affordable tools to help people join the new media revolution which is changing how we consume media. Nick Wilson, and the other Performancing founders rushed onto the scene and were quickly covered in top blogs such as TechCrunch, among others. They developed the Performancing for Firefox tool, and created a great portfolio of tools that I use to this day in my blogging. We look forward to carrying that vision forward and farther." Performancing.com will continue to operate as a separate division of SplashPress Media.

I followed a link over to ComputerWorld today for a story about ways to improve your cell phone usage. I thought it would be interesting to take a video look at their page and why killing page views won't be as easy as a quick hanging.

The basic issue is that this site usese multiple pages to display a short story. Why? Only one reason. That is to maximize page views. Of course, I just click the print story button and then I can view the entire story with almost no ads.

I still believe that together we can create a new metrics system which sites will have to become a part of to survive in terms of gaining advertisers. At its most basic sense, the largest advertising option, Google AdSense already is not using the pageview model except in some circumstances. I truly believe 2007 is the year of the metric.

Anyway, have a look at the video. I am using Revver for the first time, so let me know if you have any issues. Frankly the upload went faster than YouTube and the video is a bit larger as well.

This is the first part in a series titled, “Interaction Metrics.” I have also installed Wiki software so together we can build Metrics 2.0 or what I am calling, Interaction Metrics. The site will live at InteractionMetrics.org.

We know that hits are dead. We know that page views are dead (though Steve Rubel believes it has a few more years). I have used WebTrends since the first beta release about 11 years ago. I know analytics, and as a former auditor, I understand how important reporting and analytics are to the prosperity of a company and its programs. With sites today averaging more views to their feed than to their actual web site, how do we account for this?

Just close your eyes and imagine a credit score-type model for web sites!

But when you look at the core WebTrends package today vs. the first version, very little has changed. You can even still track hits today :). But, if we pause for a moment, how much has changed since 1995 in the Internet space? The fact is that things have changed a lot. And so, rather than trying to patch together a system of analytics based on what is currently out there, we need to create something completely new. So to steal a line from The Donald, Page Views, Hits… You’re fired.

Alright, now that the trash is gone, we can focus on the task at hand. Creating a new metrics scheme which actually provides a few things:

• Usable information for marketers to help decide where to spend their precious dollars (euros, pounds, yen, etc.)
• Metrics that can easily be compared from site to site
• Metrics that are not easily manipulated or “gamed”
• Ability to sustain us for the next 10 years
• More to come…

A perfect world might be to find a way to take all of the metrics together, and create a scoring system that is one number that you can base quick decisions and determinations from. Very similar to a credit score. Natually you will want to look under the covers on any decisions, but this can help weed out sites that might fall outside your criteria.

Some of the first thoughts for metrics in this new scheme are:

• RSS readers
• Mobile users
• Users viewing ads vs. those not viewing ads
• Social News links – Digg, Reddit, etc.
• Reputation
• User patterns
• Household Penetration
• User approval ratings
• Quality content rating
• Ethics Quotient
• Movement in loyalty

I know some of these metrics might be a bit nutty, but I think as we progress down the path, these type of metrics might make more sense. Remember, forget your former metrics. We may carry some over, but that comes later.

Do I have all the answers? No. I want to make this a community effort. If you have ideas or thoughts, please create a page on InteractionMetrics.org. Together we will build the next metrics system, one that works for the next web. With all of the blogging and discussions going around today, this should be a snap to get rolling, at least that is my hope.