Thanks 4 posting the do’s & don’ts, etc… I like the way it’s organized & the fashion which U addressed some specifics...

I met someone new yesterday from our community (they weren’t new, new 2 the community but we had not met b4), & we talked quite awhile. Eventually the strike & this site came up … & because of their actual (last) name, they R sometimes mistook 4 a blogger on this site who posts regularly. Now this didn’t seem 2 bother the person 1 iota, but they seemed ?interested? 2 meet a real live YC’er (LOL) … the upshot was they have *actually* been asked if they were this blogger & so we chatted a bit about the site & I left w/ the strong impression, I often do wrt convo’s wrt the YC & others, that there is a lot MORE interest & a lot more people read this stuff (& not just locals) than one would imagine.

Not surprising, & not just wrt the YC, we tend 2 think of ourselves in a gold fish bowl, rather than realizing that anyone w/ internet access can read this … that includes spouses, children, parents, colleagues, neighbors, bosses, etc… Here’s a little exercise, Google your blog name, “blog_name” & see what happens. If one’s blog name is a fairly common word, such as Faith as a 4 instance, this little exercise may not generate the results that might impress upon any one of us that the YC & our public blog comments, R just that - *public*…

As I’ve been meaning 2 post this info 4 awhile & since it is on topic I’ll put it up now. There R lot web “rating” software packages that use similar but usually ‘self-serving’ rating/tracking algorithms. There R any # of commercial web sites (akin 2 Gallup, 4 example, or Nielsen) that produce web traffic info (big business 4 the bigger sites such as, Google, Facebook, Myspace, etc. - think of these ratings as the web parallel 2 TV & the Nielsen rating system; && there is (currently) quite a bit of controversy wrt how the data is gathered & the heuristics involved … but, all that aside, the smaller commercial web rating sites do cursory info gathering on web traffic, etc… about/on smaller publicly ~used~ sites (ex., those w/ bloggers & w/ advertisers) – Why, these sites want business so they gather ‘significant’ data & when the site is, say, Googled, this info comes up along w/ the site itself. The idea is the ‘owner’ of said site/blog can see how their site/blog is doing & then track if there is ($$) value in terms of advertising worth via the commercial tracking s/w -- & of course, they would have 2 pay 4 that tracking s/w…

Okay here’s how this is on topic – & those used 2 my blogging style probably have stopped reading long ago *or* R reading & waiting 4 Faith 2, “Get 2 the point already!!” & all others if U haven’t yet stopped reading, then I’m nearly there && 2 one & all thanks 4 your patience :=) …

Couple of weeks back I did a Google on “yourcranberry” (basically ‘too’ lazy 2 put it my favorites, find it, etc… & typing 13 characters in2 my Google box is ‘less work’ – I call the “height” of efficiency – ok a sad attempt a humor) & lo & behold one of these commercial web rating sites popped up 4 none other than our very own YC site … & I clicked on it & found that it had info posted wrt pageviews, traffic ranking, advertising revenue, backlinks, etc… The info was from 127 days ago (that would have been 01 Feb 2008); & there was a button 2 click 2 update the info making it up 2 & including the day I found it (i.e., 08 June). 2 me, it was fairly interesting partly because of my background, but because it actually provided info that I didn’t find surprising but perhaps not easily gleaned by a layperson wrt computer ‘stuff’, or 2 anyone, unless they were looking 4 it.

First, a glossary of terms:

Pageviews: # of views of a page. Bigger sites, such as Facebook 4 example, no longer make use this tracking stat, because page refreshes & exiting one’s web page & then re-entering, etc… produce incr pageviews, but I left it in, as it was provided & IMHO, relevant.

Traffic Rank: This is harder 2 (accurately) define w/o having access 2 their measurement algorithm as there R a lot of specifics (along w/ many variables) wrt 2 any tracking algorithm & then if 1 adds 2 that the element of heuristics, & 2 all of that the many permutations of data gathering variables (often “self-serving” so 2 speak),as I do not have access 2 the algorithm, the following is my **guesstimate** – which is 2 assume (never good 2 do) that 4 simplicity, Traffic Rank is being measured by the AMOUNT of data coming INTO the (YC) site from an another IP address (Side note: this would not include, say employees of the YC or Trib, because that data isn’t considered measurable in terms of potential advertising $$’s). So as an example, I am at IP address xxx.xxx.xxx …. & this comment will be N kilobytes... well probably closer 2 megabytes, LOL (& so 4 this particular algorithm, my *NOT* being terse, at least wrt web traffic ranking, is a PLUS when ranking traffic of a given web site (ALOL).(Fear not, becoming terse is still most def on my bucket list - in fact I am taking lessons in doing so.)

Backlinks: these are the # of OUTSIDE sites that have links BACK 2 the YC blog (i.e., where oh where out there on AG’s super infohighway does a link BACK 2 (hence the term, backlink) the YC appear). (4give me if I am appear 2 be ‘talking down’, it is not my intent, when explaining this sort of thing, I do so w/ the idea that the reader w/ the *least* understanding is *not* left behind & the readers w/ greater understanding … skim past & over.)

Net Worth: This one is straight forward, yes?

Daily Ad Revenue: Again pretty straight forward

Okay … drum roll – okay, okay, okay

01 Feb 2008 – YC stats

Daily Page View: 0,000,197
Traffic Rank: 5,563,971
Backlinks: 0,108,105
Net Worth: $ 1,890.70
Daily Ad Rev: $ 0,002.59

06 June 2008 – YC stats

Daily Page View: 0,000,570
Traffic Rank: 1,928,100
Backlinks: 0,136,589
Net Worth: $ 2,883.50
Daily Ad Rev: $ 0,003.95

Okay rather than posting my ‘interpretation’ wrt these #’s, I’m interested what others’ think…. So that there is some ‘semblance’ of a control factor, interpret by using the glossary defs, this is what I did … && given all the variables & potential guestimates involved … I’m thinking my conclusion rather oddly, but not surprisingly, fits what I have been consistently hearing 4 quite awhile wrt the YC … & please, do *not* take that as a negative – it isn’t…

& So, Happy 2uesday 2 all, have fun, look at this as a pop quiz of sorts *or* an intellectual work-out :=)

Respectfully,

~Faith

PS I will chk back & post my *highly* unscientific quote unquote conclusions, LOL

PPS I want 2 post hopefully w/in a day or so clarifications wrt my blog about a week ago wrt the forming of a watchdog group – there were many good comments, observations, etc… & this was encouraging … I like having my ideas raked over the coals 4 all sorts of reasons.

PPPS I want 2 post (very, very) much on Avoice’s blog wrt religion, but frankly am still 2 worked up about it 2 do so … feel free 2 draw conclusions from that admission as 2 where I may or may not stand wrt the post (& Avoice, this is America, & therefore & thus, freedom of speech IS what it is all about -- & my QED is, that there is good stuff being put up here on the YC, yes?

PPPPS And, I opened this lengthy blog by agreeing w/ "the man" (i.e., YC moderators) so 2 speak, & LOL – this may not make me popular among my blog peers, but 2 YC, again, thank U, as I am glad U put this up.