printMy colleague Vox Day takes a columnist’s number of “Likes” on WND as a proxy for readership of that particular WND column. The problem with this analysis in my case is this: Vox Day’s weblog doesn’t have Facebook interface. Mine does. Many of my readers come first to Barely a Blog and will click the “Like” on the column’s blog post, rather than (or in addition to) clicking on WND’s full version of the column on its site, which these readers still read on WND. Some read the column on both sites and don’t click “Like.” (All readers of this space are encouraged to click the “Like” icons on both the BAB and the WND posts.)
For example, on WND, the column “Is Ron Paul Good For Israel?” has earned 56 “Likes,” as Vox has noted. But on Barely a Blog the post excerpting the same column has garnered 100 “Likes.” To the extent that the reader’s propensity to “Like” is statistically significant—and I doubt it—BAB “Likes” go toward my WND readership, since blog “Likers” almost always read the column in full on WND. (I only post the column to IlanaMercer.com a couple of days after the WND posting.)
Given that my blog interfaces with Facebook, Vox would have to factor in the “Likes” a WND column notice gets on Barely a Blog before he makes a definitive statement about the “Likes” on WND as a proxy for the WND column’s popularity.
Of course, my column’s existence has always been in peril, so far be it from me to claim popularity for it. This is as good a time as any to remind readers to support “Return to Reason” by clicking on the “Like” icons both on BAB and on WND.com.
If you like posts about this stuff, check out my old Alexa debunk. Alexa would have become far more accurate since I wrote “RANK INTERNET RATINGS.” This is because most of us no longer dial up to get an internet connection and thus no longer receive a new IP address each time we click on a site. The same person dialing up many times daily, yet being reflected as a new IP address each time: that’s what made for the promiscuous early Alexa readings.
UPDATE: Robert is right: The reader’s “Like” habits are too full of statistical holes to indicate very much. I almost never click “Like” when I read a column.
Kerry, the other thing patrons of this site can do to support this writer’s work is to review “Into the Cannibal’s Pot” on Amazon.
Ilana,
I can’t wrap my mind around the fact that your WND column is always in peril; it’s so much different than every other column out there (your blog too; I particularly like how you write about a wide range of subjects.) 99% of political writing is regurgitated talking points, and for some reason that seems to get rewarded. (For the record, I like Vox Day a lot.) [Me too]
“Likes” Who clicks ‘likes’ anyway? When I read a comment on Yahoo News that I think is particularly bad, I might click on the ‘thumbs down’ just to slap an idiot; but, it wouldn’t take long to break my mouse if I were consistent. If someone comments on the posted article clearly and with good diction, it is debatable if I will bother to hit a thumbs up; because, it’s obvious that they wrote well. I have never clicked an article’s ‘like or dislike’ button. Didn’t know they had one. I read for information, not popularity. Don’t do facebook either. I will make it a point to look for a ‘thumbs up’ button on your articles in the future.
Sad about quantity vs quality – your column and readers are so much better than (for example) some Sarah Palin drivel and the 492,307 Orangutans who click LIKE reading some intellectual flatulence that is elevated into Talmudic wisdom by “votes”. I agree with Robert G – and I don’t even have Facebook on one of my machines to press LIKE and it is annoying to open up windows just to vote for something for some manipulative “counter”.
[You all make me feel better; thanks.]
Dear Mrs Mercer,
You do indeed write beautifully. It is however a bad idea for South Africans to have their name on lists of any sort while living under a Marxist style government for obvious reasons. I do however “like” you every day in my personal capacity!