Thursday, January 25, 2007

The Tyranny of Stats...

Looking at my stats last night (look, I've not been blogging long and so this stats thing is still new and exciting to me - I'm sure I'll grow out of it, but in the meantime please bear with me) I notice that there has been a flurry of activity over the past few days from timesonline. So naturally I checked out the website, and I can't find any reference, however tangential, that would be directing people towards this blog. So now I am very, very curious. If anybody lands here via a link or reference from timesonline could you kindly let me know how come?

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I never tire of looking at my blog's stats - especially the search terms that draw people in.

If I don't grow out of it soon, should I seek therapy?

Anonymous said...

"I've not been blogging long and so this stats thing is still new and exciting to me - I'm sure I'll grow out of it..."

No, you won't. You will become first obsessed and then absolutely addicted.

Therapy will be of no use. I have tried it. My therapist recommended me sitemeter which is even more addictive because you can actually see who is currently on your blog.

Still. For some sort of reason people searching "extremely conservative websites" end up on the yellowduckpond.

Very troubling.

Matt said...

I know! It is so addictive isn't it! I haven't done any work all year as a result!

Anyway, great blog, please keep it up.

Now back to my stats...

Reading the Signs said...

yellowduck, I might become obsessed and addicted if I could make sense of it - mostly all I can see is meaningless figures. And it would have me believe that most visitors (apart from me visiting myself) seem to stay for 0.00 seconds, which is enough to put one off looking, I find.

Ms M you seem to have a spammer at the top there, unless s/he's connected to timesonline.

Ms Melancholy said...

I think I have been spammed.

Mr Z - the search terms are great aren't they? I have a nice collection at the moment, mostly around sex and therapy, which I may have to share. You are from Yorkshire - you should definitely seek some therapy. I know a good therapist in Granada, if you can make the journey?

Mr Duck,- please don't say you can track my movements: I am already slightly paranoid. And if I become any more addicted I will have to stop working. Clients don't seem to like it when I have my laptop on my knee. Can't understand why, myself.

Mr Matt - you are 26, you know all about Marx and you like Poulenc! I like you already!Where did you learn to be so cultured? (My favourite is the mass in G major, by the way.)

Ms Signs, my visitors also appear to stay for 0 seconds which is slightly alarming. That's why I never look at that page.

And I still haven't solved the timesonline mystery. 50 visitors in 2 days from there, so something odd is happening. Please don't lurk - put me out of my misery...

Pants said...

If you're using statcounter try following the 'Recent Search Came From' option.

Ms Melancholy said...

Thanks Ms Pants. I am using Google analytics but will have a poke about.

The Moon Topples said...

Ms. M: Is it possible that you have readers who work for the Times, and their ISP name is what you're seeing? I get that sometimes.

And no, you won't grow out of this. It will consume you.

Ms Melancholy said...

I guess that's possible, Mr Moon, but to suddenly get 50 hits in 2 days from people who all work for the Times seems like a big coincidence! I don't think I am going to get to the bottom of this.

Caroline said...

Have you searched Timesonline to see if they have mentioned you in an article? 50 in 2 days must mean that they've mentioned you somewhere.

Thanks for the memory references - they're exactly what I have been looking for.

x

Daniele said...

Rachel in North London http://rachelnorthlondon.blogspot.com/ refers to you in ther blog, and she has an article on timesonline..

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2092-1892288,00.html

so maybe that's where all the traffic is coming from :)

Great blog - keep up the good work.

Ms Melancholy said...

Thanks Caroline - I realised that all I had to do was Google, and I found the reference. I feel a bit grubby now though - I think it was the Periodic Englishman who said that Googling yourself makes you feel dirty. I agree.

Thanks for the lovely comments Daniele, by the way.