January 16, 2007
The Mic Is On: Are We Stat Crazy or Analytical?
ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 7:00 pm
It’s Like Open Mic Only Different
Here’s how it works.
It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME
The rules are simple — be nice.
There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.
Do You Get the Big Picture?
We might also talk about
- Who does our counting for us?
- our weird behaviors
- how we figure them out
- Whatever else comes up
including THE EVER POPULAR,
Basil the code-writing donkey.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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251 Comments to “The Mic Is On: Are We Stat Crazy or Analytical?”
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raj said
So, like, how about them stats, huh?
I guess Liz noticed crazy January stats. Kinda like the weather: up and down.
ME Strauss said
Hi Raj!
It was like that last year. January and February. You’d think blogging would be a winter sport . . . but it’s not.
Joe said
Hey Liz,
Hey raj,
Stats, stats, stats…
If I didn’t have stats, I would think I was doing well.
raj said
Gotta strap on some skis before I blog, I guess
Or maybe snowshoes.
ME Strauss said
Last year, I started writing a fictious vacation on my writing blog . . . took a bunch folks who read with me on a trip.
Joe said
I remember that trip Liz, it was a fun introduction to the nice, intellegent one.
ME Strauss said
Hi Joe!
Have you met Raj?
Mike Vizdos said
OK… Wow… I am really here lol.
Ellen Weber said
There are two kinds of statistics when it comes to online comments– the kind you invent and the kind you invite.
1. The kind you invent – seem to come from false or funny ways to trigger traffic mechanically and it leaves a post quite cold – usually without emotional or intellectual impact at any site– in spite of the hard data that backs and compels it, or the power that drives it.
2. The kind you invite – seems to stir in and from a genuine community of people who’s ideas you value, who challenge your best thinking to better places with insights from the opposite side, and that traffic helps to build community around fun topics — with the good of all in mind.
Many we’ve met here - and you Liz - garner the kind of traffic you invite – because it draws on lots of cool posts from people across many backgrounds — who’ll shape the blogosphere into an exchange of ideas that still inspire us. Great stuff!
Joe said
Ok, grammer and punctuation were my strong suits, not spelling.
raj said
Didn’t Mark Twain say “lie, damn lies, and statistics”?
Mike Vizdos said
So what are some key ones people look for? I use feedburner but I have no idea how it is in relation to others.
raj said
Invented stat (as per Ellen):
Research shows that ol’ Mark Twain would be an A-list blogger were he alive today.
Ellen Weber said
Raj - I love it! HaHaHaHa - now there is a quote to launch a blog tomorrow! Thanks for the smile.
ME Strauss said
Hey Raj,
Can you answer Mike’s question?
I know Feedburner is excellent . . . but I don’t know much.
Hey Ellen! Hey Mike!
Minic Rivera said
When I started my blog last April of 2006, I was looking at my server stats every few minutes
raj said
@Mike: I guess it depends on how you plan to use your stats. Me, I’m a stats junkie, but I’ve also got a minor degree in stats and relish numbers for themselves. I use blog stats differently, I think, than many bloggers in that I analyze them for patterns in various time windows.
raj said
I’d say Google Analytics is good for those who need THAT MUCH power
ME Strauss said
Hey Minic!
Glad to see you!
That’s one of my Top 10 Ways to Be a Miserable Blogger.
http://www.successful-blog.com/1/top-10-ways-to-become-a-miserable-blogger/
But we all start out that way, or most of us do I bet!!!
Mike Vizdos said
Hi!
Between google analytics and feeburners new features I can see a lot of info. Then there is tehnorati (sigh). I am climbing the ratings there BUT the details show my last posting being almost 50 days ago… and I do more often than that.
raj said
Then there’s Feedburner’s new Blogbeat, and map-based stats such as gVisit.
Mike Vizdos said
@Raj: Why do you care about timing stuff on blogs? Curious :).
raj said
technorati’s choking on its success. many bloggers are saying their listings are behind
Mike Vizdos said
and for technorati… why should we really care? lol…
bj said
Hey everybody! Great topic!
I used to be a stats junkie, but lately I just make sure that the numbers are in general headed in the right direction (up) and check the industry related keyphrases people are using to find me, so I can blog those specific phrases, where possible, and keep ‘em coming in.
ME Strauss said
*meanwhile behind the scenes, Liz is checking Akismet and wishing she had stats on the topics there.*
*she’s wondering what Ellen would do with the information as far as psychoanyalyzing spammers and whether Minic would publish as a special in the Blogging Times.*
raj said
@Mike: I find that we get lost in the day to day stats when we should focus on the big picture.
I wrote a post at Performancing explaining how to analyze your long-term stats over 1 month, 2 month, 3 m, etc. “windows” and even offered a free spreadsheet. But I don’t think anyone understood.
I find that by doing this time analysis, it stops me (somewhat) from being obsessed in per minute/ hour/ day/ week stats, and focus on longer-term patterns. Thus, I’m more productive as a result
ME Strauss said
Hi bj!
let’s see, industry related key phrases to find you . . . wicked design, take no prisoners politico. [big grin]
bj said
Funny, I just checked Technorati, and both my two blogs are up to date, and I posted on both yesterday.
Ellen Weber said
I just found out today that my RSS subscribers are especially high and I was so surprised - since I did not know that I even had any.
But as for Technorati - I seem to keep slipping backward - and bouncing forward at their will, so it’s quite over my head.
I’m always happy to hear people like to read the blog cause on a good day it motivates me to try to come up with a cool topic that will get others into the good stuff. That’s still the part of care about — and still why I blog and read inetersting blogs.
Others?
Mike Vizdos said
@Raj: I agree. Just looking at trends from my site shows traffic doubling every month (well… almost). I expect to get over 1million hits come the end of Feb for the month if the trend continues.
Robert Hruzek said
I have to start by sharing my favorite statistics joke:
A statistician is one who, when you put his head in a freezer, and his feet in an oven, can still say, “On average, I feel fine!”
Regarding statistics, I used to say I didn’t care about them, I just wanted to blog. Then, it gradually got to where I was interested because of what it could tell me (I’m fascinated by how far around the world a single voice can go).
At the moment, I use it as a measure of acceptance (they like me - they really like me!) Maybe one day, it might mean something else. But “chasing stats” seems like an endless loop. Hopefully, I will always be able to look on stats as simply a useful tool.
Joe said
Mike,
I wrote a post a while ago about why it makes a difference what time you post.
I’m not going to look it up, but the jist of it was if I post 6-7 am my time (EST) I get about 25% more PV’s per day. If I post after 9am, I lose the same amount.
That’s a 50% difference up and down, depending on your audience.
Mike Vizdos said
so this is part of the reason I am hanging here with u all.. to learn more. One thing I do on a regular basis no matter what!
bj said
Hey, Liz! I like your versions better! It’s more like “Free Ebay Template”, “WordPress Theme”, “CubeCart Template”, with an occasional “Bill Gates uses Linux” to make life interesting. Oh, since this is a community of bloggers I though y’all would like to know about this development:
http://kickasswebdesign.com/wordpress/2007/01/theres-a-new-blog-tool-in-town/
ME Strauss said
Yeah, Ellen,
Blogging for stats gets pretty hollow. Any kind of writing that you’re not passionate about does.
Hey Joe, What’d’ ya think?
Mike Vizdos said
@Joe: Thanks. Will make sure my post announcements go out to my email subs at that time :).
raj said
@Mike: congrats!! A million in a month! After nearly two years, I’m nowhere close on all my blogs over the entire duration
ME Strauss said
bj,
You should be proud of me. I had Chris Davis’ post on hibari in the Cafe two weeks ago. He’s been using it on “Sillyness”
Mike Vizdos said
@Raj: One of the things I have found is that a niche market is awesome. As many or all of you know lol… writing about what I do and sharing it in a passionate way helps keep me going.
Joe said
*she’s wondering what Ellen would do with the information as far as psychoanyalyzing spammers and whether Minic would publish as a special in the Blogging Times.*
I’m doing a post on email scams tomorrow.
It’s about getting the scam mail that asks you to confirm your Amazon or PayPal info.Watch for it (6 am est)
ME Strauss said
Hi Robert!
Yeah, it’s hard not care at all about stats that’s how we know what are readers are doing.
Minic Rivera said
Yeah, I used to be a miserable blogger…
raj said
@Joe: Right you are. I’ve been hypothesizing why Aussie bloggers do so well (and apparently some Philippino bloggers). It’s gotta do with when engines in North Am. index pages, I think.
Someone I work for who makes 5-figures per month with blogs said that before 7 am EST is a good time to post. Except I usually go to bed at 3 or 4 am EST and get up between 9 and 10 am. Hard to catch, unless you post-date.
Mike Vizdos said
@Joe: Thats one of the reasons I use a gmail account (watches the scams for me!).
ME Strauss said
Joe,
The more I know you the more I love your brain. That analysis of the time differences is exactly the same as I found — using your time zone.
bj said
LOL! Then you’re ahead of me! I’m excited, since WP has been having problems with the size of my db as well as other issues. One of the devs working on Habari is Michael Hampton, the developer of Bad Behavior and one of the devs on Akismet, so Habari will most likely address that issue out of the box.
I’ll have a test blog on it over the weekend to take it out for a spin.
raj said
@Mike: glad to hear it. Passion, as Steve Pavlina - and no doubt others - has said makes the difference: good blog or great blog. Though finding passion isn’t always easy for everyone - understatement.
ME Strauss said
Ah bj,
I just lucky. I happen to like Chris’ blog — made him an SOB well over a year ago. He’s on the dev team for habari too.
bj said
Before 7 am, huh? sheesh, have to change my sleep patterns again. I’m usually up late and then sleep in until 8.
Mike Vizdos said
@Raj: On passion: True. Writing the blog is different than the book I had published. *THAT* was work LOL. Keeping fresh material is hard but fun in a different way.
bj said
I’ve found that “niche” is key to doing well. I’ve found my niche, and now I’m gently expanding it just a bit at a time.
ME Strauss said
Hey, what are you guys talking about? Why not just set your post to publish at 6:45 a.m. and go to bed.
I’m the only idiot who gets up before 6 a.m.
Mike Vizdos said
@BJ: One of the great things with feedburner is the email list which you can TELL it when to email subscribers. Of course, controlling the RSS timing for 7ET when not around could be a fun project. Hmmm… maybe create a MAC robot to do that (hit publish) for me then? lol
Scorpia said
Stats. The only stats I do are in computer games
Ah Pek said
Yes! Yes! I am Stat crazy!! I am addicted to my Stats. I check it every other hour to see if any new readers comes to my blog. I check every other 2 hours to see which words brought in the most search traffic.
I am crazy. Yeeeehaaaa!!!
ME Strauss said
Minic,
You’re not a miserable blogger anymore. You’re big-time journo-blogger!!
Becky McCray said
Hi, Liz! Hi, all!
How many of us are using more than one stat program?
bj said
LOL! That just makes WAY too much sense! I’m going to try that next time. I think I’m launching a site tomorrow, glitches permitting, so I will set it to blog the following morning.
Joe said
raj,
That is one reason I advocate pre-posting, or setting your posts to go off at a certain time.
Scorpia said
Ah Pek, have you considered “Statsaholics Anonymous”? Sounds like you’ve gone a bit overboard there
Sandra Renshaw said
Hi Liz,
Hi everybody,
I forget to check my stats. But I do notice that the Google PageRank is still 0. What’s up with that?
ME Strauss said
Hey Becky!
I have more than one stat program. One is local and one is b5 super-stats.
Mike Vizdos said
… but @Joe…. with RSS Aggregators does it REALLY matter? No insult suggested but hmmm.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Woohoo! I made it…evening everyone!
raj said
@Joe: though I found that very few popular blogging platforms support post-dating. WP does. Typepad only does if you are the primary account, not a contributor. Moveable Type doesn’t.
Becky McCray said
ooo! Liz has Super Stats!
bj said
I’ve not used feedburner since the native WP one seemed adequate. Maybe I should take another look at that decision. Thanks, Mike!
raj said
@Sandra: When was your domain registered and your site launched?
Mike Vizdos said
@bj: no problem.
ME Strauss said
Hi Sandra!
Hi Scorpia!
Hi Ah pek!
Hi Ben!
Let the stats show that were commenting at a record a pace this hour.
Becky McCray said
Hi, Ben!
Ben actually called me weird for using three different stat counters at the same time!
bj said
Goog is dancing right now, expect the pageranks to change within the next week or two. My goog backlinks just took a *significant jump* on all three of my sites, and the pagerank follows usually within a week or two of that.
Mike Vizdos said
Record pace must be because of noobie on ton ight with you asking a lot of questions. I have lots to learn from you all and want to share if I can contribute too.
ME Strauss said
Becky,
Three is a lovely number. Any artist will tell you that.
It’s kind of fun to see the difference in what they follow and how they track.
Ben Yoskovitz said
I’m getting less addicted to stats.
I use Google Analytics primarily, but also use Mapstats to see quickly where people are coming from during the course of a day.
I’ve experimented with others like Crazy Egg, 103bees and Awstats (which I don’t like.) 103bees looks very neat but haven’t worked with it enough.
raj said
Yeah, some of my sites have suddenly had good traffic the past few days, and the Shortstat plugin (pre-dates Mint) on those blogs shows that it’s all the various Google local engines coming in to feed the spiders. So rank should be increasing within days
Joe said
Hey Becky,
Feedburner, StatCounter, SiteMeter and a new one I found that shows hot spots and clicks Crazy Egg
Becky McCray said
Liz,
That’s exactly why I follow three different services.
Sandra Renshaw said
Hi raj,
I think it was in August.
raj said
There’s HitTail which analzyes the incoming search terms and helps you create actionable items for unique key phrases.
Can’t remember if HitTail is the new or old name.
Becky McCray said
I use StatCounter, Tracksy, and Google Analytics.
bj said
Ben, I’m surprised you don’t value AwStats. The keyphrase thing in that one is sometimes the ONLY stat I look at. Knowing exactly what keyphrases people are using to find you is fabulous, and personally I think that’s the most important stat there is. The rest is just juggled numbers.
Scorpia said
So, all you folks who follow stats….what do you do with them? How do they help you?
Mike Vizdos said
… and another question… what does it really mean to break into the alexa top 100,000 sites?
Ben Yoskovitz said
bj - I find Google Analytics does a good job with keyphrases too, unless I’m missing something.
And I like to see referrers more clearly than AwStats provides, including those deep, down ones that don’t generate a ton of traffic but are still there.
I find AwStats hurts my eyes to look at.
Becky McCray said
BJ, I also check the keyword/keyphrase list most often, along with visitor paths.
ME Strauss said
Hit Tail is the new name!
bj said
Goog Analytics on a WP blog is a bogdown. A significant portion of my traffic is still on dialup. I just won’t do that to them. I’d probably like it if it wasn’t for that, but it’s a real performance hit.
raj said
@Sandra: Is it your Typepad blog (PurpleWren)? Make sure that when your account publishes a new post that the appropriate pinging services are being pinged (e.g., blo.gs, weblogs.com, pingomatic.com, etc.)
If necessary, do the pinging manually. Once you’re in, though, and if your posting is regular, Googlebot will come a calling. The more regularly you post, the more often it’ll come by.
You probably just missed the last update, but you’ll likely be in this one.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Hey bj — interesting. You’re right I’ve seen that on occasion, but I don’t find it too bad. Of course on dialup it would be frustrating to have anything slow the site down.
Scorpia - I do a few things with stats (other than fret over them):
* Finding out how people find your site is interesting, particularly tied to search terms. If I see a lot of people finding Instigator Blog by searching for “goals” or “setting goals” I may want to write more on the subject, increase that traffic.
* I find it useful to know where traffic is coming from so I can check those places out - connect with the authors of those sites, network, thank them, etc.
Joe said
I think Scorpi had a very valid question.
What do you do with all those stats you seem to gather?
Do you try to rebuild key phrases and fit them into posts?
Shoot for keywords in the SE’s?
Determine where people go when the click out? make adjustments accordingly?
What?
raj said
@Mike: Alexa is really inaccurate, but gives a relative measure of your popularity (traffic).
So the smaller your Alexa number, the better, of course. Your Alexa number is actually used by some sites such as Text-link-ads and ReviewMe to determine your ranking in their service.
Scorpia said
Of course, only people using the Alexa toolbar are counted in the Alexa ratings. And I think that’s a small percentage of the netizens out there.
bj said
Ben, it’s possible your server is very near a goog datacenter and your blog isn’t being affected by goog analytics as much as some. With mine it slowed it to a crawl. It was awful. I still keep a dialup account handy to test webpages on so I don’t hurt the slowfolks and with GA installed it just sat and spun and never fully loaded.
Sandra Renshaw said
Thanks Raj,
Yes, it’s the purplewren typepad blog. I’ll ping manually for a while. I thought it was set up, but maybe I missed something behind the scenes.
Thanks for your input.
raj said
@Scorpia: maybe I’m misunderstanding, but as far as I know, you don’t have to use the Alexa toolbar. I don’t. But then, that might be why my Alexa rankings are inaccurate.
Service Untitled - Douglas said
Hey,
Just popping in for a bit. For Service Untitled I use the web host’s stats program called AWstats. It is available from a lot of web hosts and isn’t bad. For one of my other sites, I use Google Analytics, which is quite good. I’ve also heard good things about Mint, though I haven’t used it myself.
I am a statistics nut. To me, data is great. I use gut feeling, experience, etc. when making decisions as well, but data is definitely important and something I keep in mind.
So how is everyone?
bj said
Sandra, pinging the update services automatically creates backlinks for you, which is REALLY important for getting good SERPs and rank, so make sure you get that squared away. Here’s a comprehensive list of update services.
http://codex.wordpress.org/Update_Services
ME Strauss said
Hi Doug!
Gosh I get so busy reading, I forget to comment!
Scorpia said
Ben, thanks for the response.
Raj, why do you think your Alexa rank is inaccurate?
bj said
Hey, Douglas!
Robert Hruzek said
Interesting comments - learned something, as usual.
Hey! That’s six words!
See ya! Gotta go.
Char said
Hello everyone!
I love reviewing stats - but the referrers and keyword phrases are more important to me than most of the numbers.
Marti said
(Marti pulls up in a Ferrari, speaking with an Italian accent)
“Technorati? Patooie! You have not updated me for months! I speet on you!”
ME Strauss said
bj,
My google sitemap got eaten sometime in the last move or so — who know how, but it’s screwed me with Google. I’m trying to recover. My neighborhood went from Scobelizer to the Blogger Flag.
bj said
Bye, Robert!
raj said
I don’t think the numbers reflect my traffic, though mine is so puny, that’s probably a factor. What I have to do is probably reserve judgement until I have 500 pageviews per day on at least one site. (I spread myself so thin building multiple sites that I have multiple mediocre sites instead of a few good ones.)
ME Strauss said
Hey Robert
Thank you for coming!
That’s six words too!
Ben Yoskovitz said
Liz - why not use the Google Sitemap plugin for WordPress? That should rebuild it pretty darn quickly I think.
Meikah Delid said
Hi Liz, hi everyone!
Stats? Hmm…back in college we used to have this Stat-is-eeks week. hahaha.. but seriously, yeah i need to know how to increase stats in my blogs. Great ideas you have here. 
will be reading…
Sandra Renshaw said
Thanks BJ
This is great - I was looking forward to learning more about stats. It’s not my strength…
Mike Vizdos said
@Raj: Why settle for mediocrity? Or is it generating income or what is it that keeps you going like that?
bj said
oh, Liz, I’m sorry! I had Michael Hampton set me up on cronjob with filters and it spiders the whole site, including all the script generated pages from wordpress and the directory script I run. There’s also a good WP plugin for that, if you’re using WP. Yell if you need a link. It’s the one I use on the political blog.
ME Strauss said
Ben,
The plugin is in, but the damage needs is still having it’s affect. Somehow my verification code just disappeared.
Hi Meikah David!
Hi Marti! Love the car!
Sandra Renshaw said
I use FeedBurner stats, and the built-in stats on Typepad. Would any of you recommend any other program? I’m probably most interested in keywords and search terms, but time of day is interesting.
Meikah Delid said
Hi Sandra… how are you doing?
Joe said
My question is…
How do you measure between PV’s, RSS subscribers on/off Feedburner, other RSS services???
I add them all together, subtract 5 multiply by 2 take the sum of them all, throw them in the air and whatever lands are my true stats.
Sandra Renshaw said
Hi Meikah - glad to see you again.
Scorpia said
Liz, folks, it’s been fun but I must run now.
Bye all!
Take care!!
Don’t get swamped by the numbers!
::poof::
raj said
@Mike: Actually, as of last July, I started getting more and more and more paid work. I’ve had so much work lately that I’ve turned some down (going from 7 paid blogs daily to 2, plus larger weekly articles that pay well).
I’ve learned a great deal but have little time to apply my new-found wisdom to my sites. What little I’ve been applying is working, but the writers I’ve hired are still learning to do the same. So the rise from mediocrity is still slow.
Becky McCray said
Joe, great answer! You could be a professional statistician!
Meikah Delid said
In my blogs, I use Sitemeter to track traffic. I also use Google Analytics, which tell me which keywords were mostly searched, which blog or site gave me traffic, returning or first-time visitors, and countries from where most of my visitors come from. It’s interesting!
Ben Yoskovitz said
Sandra - I’d recommend Google Analytics, although bj points out performance issues.
Liz - your verification code in the header / meta tags you mean? That’s used for verification with Google Webmasters?
I know when I recently changed my design (a couple days ago) I had to re-verify cause I forgot to put the meta tag back in. The site is newly verified, but hopefully that didn’t bugger me with Google.
Mike Vizdos said
@Raj: Thx.
raj said
Good grief. Joe has discovered the true stats algorithm
Becky McCray said
I love the way Scorpia makes her exits.
ME Strauss said
I don’t know, Becky, regarding Joe’s answer with the stats calculation. Shouldn’t he have moved the decilmal point over?
bj said
Joe, I really think you have something there. Is the moon full when you do this? Do you stand on one foot? are you wearing Red?
Becky McCray said
Liz, oops! You’re right! Or you are at least as right as Joe is!
Meikah Delid said
Hi, Ben! Yeah sometimes that’s what’s stop me from changing my layout. I did that to my Six Sigma blog and we also forgot to put the meta tag back in. Now it’s okay, I think, because I get most of my hits through Google.
Ben Yoskovitz said
I’ll keep an eye on Google traffic, hopefully it doesn’t dip.
Joe - why not redirect all RSS subscribers through FeedBurner? Probably not a perfect way of gaging all RSS subscribers but it’d help I think…
ME Strauss said
Ben,
I meant the sitemap verification code. It was totally gone.
@ BJ
Meanwhile. back at the ranch, bj, I’m no tweaker by any stretch. I read really well before I activate a plugin.
I just hate being kicked out of the cool neighborhood into the place where I NEVER was.
Joe said
bj,
Never red, blue. You are right about the full moon though.
You have to throw them up with the left hand, both feet firmly on the ground and let them hit the floor.
Only this way can you get a true idea of your statistics for the day.
The formula changes if you need weekly or monthly stat.
raj said
Well, I’d better stop actually procrastinating and go pretend to work. Night, all. Watch those decimal points
ME Strauss said
Good night, Raj!
Hope it was what you expected.
bj said
LOL! Liz, talk to me. I can help. I install three to five blogs a week and set them up with plugins and such. I can probably do it in my sleep by now.
The nice thing about the plugin I use on bitchslappin is that it’s an html sitemap that any spider can follow. I’ve found that the “special” ones don’t do more than a plain old html sitemap. So as long as you have one, you should be able to get back to normal pretty quickly.
Marti said
Joe, your flux capicitor is firing on all garphons tonight! LOL
Liz, you look bellisimo!
Becky McCray said
Bye, Raj
raj said
Definitely nice to chat, Liz. Thanks for being the mostest hostess.
ME Strauss said
Why thank you, Marti!
bj said
Joe, my grandma was a gypsy, she taught me to read tea leaves at a very young age. I think we might be related in a past life. *grin*
ME Strauss said
BJ,
Are you saying that I should be more patient . . . that four days after the plugin goes in might be too early to expect things to be back in order?
I don’t like it this close to the Googoo dance.
Mike Vizdos said
What is the google dance and when does it occur?
Joe said
Ben, I tried the redirect with a plugin, FD Feedburner Plugin and I haven’t seen any difference in stats for RSS subscribers.
Any other suggestions that might work?
bj said
First of all, goog already danced if they’re posting backlinks. If your backlinks already went up, then it won’t matter to pagerank or serps. And backlinks are really the biggest metric they read. Yeah, you should make sure that’s in order but I wouldn’t stress over it. (well, maybe just a little, but keep it a nice low key stress attack, k?)
Ben Yoskovitz said
Joe - people previously subscribed will remain subscribed the old way - only new people will be redirected to FeedBurner.
You could post and ask everyone to update their feed subscriptions, but of course not everyone will.
Marti said
Do any of you see improvements in stats/visitors/page rank etc from being in social networking/bookmarking? Things like MyBlogLog, StumbleUpon, MySpace, Digg, Squidoo?
bj said
Mike, Google periodically updates backlinks (they only show “quality” backlinks” instead of all of them. That’s the beginning of the google dance, and many say it’s all of it, since the rest, pagerank and all that, is a result of that. Often this happens when there is an algorithm change at Goog, like when they downgraded reciprocal links, or when they did some shuffling to strip splog sites from the SERPs.
Robyn McMaster said
Hi Liz, this is my first visit to Open Mic…hope I’m not too late. I read other folks’ posts and here’s what I enjoy most about my stats…I enjoy knowing what posts bring in the most traffic from Google Searches. This helps me think about what works well and seek to build on that as I craft more pieces.
ME Strauss said
Okay, BJ,
I don’t think they have. They sure don’t seem to have moved — that number is darn familiar. A low-key stress attack that would be E-minor . . . *she gets her meds*
Mike,
It has to do when Google updates what they think of your blog.
Mike Vizdos said
@bj: thank you.
Char said
MyBlogLog has definitely increased my traffic and I do like the stats they provide - especially what was clicked on.
StumbleUpon has given me spikes of traffic on and off.
One of my static sites is benefitting greatly from being listed someone’s Squidoo site.
Not on MySpace or Digg.
That’s my experience in a nutshell.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Marti - thanks a big question, but yes.
MyBlogLog works to generate slow + steady traffic from people who are genuinely interested in your content.
StumbleUpon also can be quite targeted, but usually results in spikes now and again, and not steady traffic - although some people have mastered StumbleUpon as a social network and swear by it.
Digg rocks at generate HUGE traffic numbers if you can get on the front page. Most of the traffic is fleeting though and won’t stick around. So you can expect a big spike (again, if you can get on the front page) and then it dies out. If you get a few diggs, you might get a bit of traffic but nothing much.
I haven’t worked enough with MySpace or Squidoo to offer a real opinion on them.
Ben Yoskovitz said
I’d also add that reddit (in the past at least, less so now) was quite good at bringing spikes, but the spikes were more targeted than Digg.
Also reddit’s audience is broader - while Digg is still primarily tech focused.
ME Strauss said
Hi Robyn!
There’s no such thing as late. Think of this as a barroom talk. Just jump in when you have a question or feel like saying something. . .
Service Untitled - Douglas said
This is a general question: on my blog I have been using the regular WordPress feed. I want to switch to FeedBurner, but have several hundred subscribers I would prefer not to leave in the dust and/or force to resubscribe?
Joe said
Hey Robyn,
That’s all well and good, but I have found just writing what you like and being consistant works really well (ask Liz).
I have found some really Weird search terms and phrases that people find my blog with, most of which I only touch on once in a while.
Don’t worry, if some people found you with a strange phrase, others will too.
Marti said
Thanks Ben! Yes, I’ve noticed the most “stickiness” (in a good way - lol) from MyBLogLog visitors.
Robyn McMaster said
It’s fun here, Liz…
Ben, I recently joined MyBlogLog and sort’a got addicted by seeing folks pictures. But I have found a lot of fun sites I otherwise would not have discovered. Only time will tell how it affects the flow.
bj said
Well, Liz, it’s different for different datacenters and different areas of the country where the server resides, but bitchslappin was showing 0 google backlinks on the 2nd of January and as of the 15th shows 78. RefreshDelVal was showing 40 and now shows 114. KWD jumped up almost 200.
Roger von Oech said
Hi Everyone, Hi Liz! Interesting discussion.
As I look at my stats — I’m probably like everyone else: whichever one currently has the juice, that’s the ONE that’s most meaningful. : - ) Sometimes it’s Technorati, sometimes it’s page views, sometimes it’s RSS subscribers.
Robyn McMaster said
Joe, earlier this evening I had fun writing a story in six words for Robert Hruzek’s “Brief” contest. It caught my fancy. You’re so right about having fun with writing and enjoying it — I sense when you do, others like it more too.
ME Strauss said
Hey Roger,
What a good point! Follow the juice! That’s a business mind talking.
Becky McCray said
bj,
You always impress me with your SEO tech knowledge!
Ben Yoskovitz said
bj - I look forward to when Instigator Blog gets a PR rank. I don’t track Google backlinks at all actually…I probably should to see what’s going on.
Doug - that’s a tough one. When you switch I don’t think there’s a seamless way of moving subscribers over. You’ll have to tell them and some won’t update their subscriptions, so you’ll lose some people.
Alternatively, I wonder if the FeedBurner Replacement plugin would do the trick? I don’t think so because I think it’ll only work when new people subscribe.
Joe said
Alright Doug,
On the count of 3.
1…2…3…
Did your subscribers re-subscribe?
Neither did mine.
Mike Vizdos said
OK all for now… learned a lot tonight. Thank you and have a round on me :). {poof}
Roger von Oech said
I’ve got several questions about RSS subscribers. I figure they’re important because they’re real people going to the trouble to subscribe to a blog. So, I’ve watched that number closely.
Here’s question #1: I’ve got about 700 Feedburner subscribers. Is that a lot? A little? I don’t know what to compare it to. Can anyone help me on that?
Question #2: I’ve heard that your Feedburner subscibers represent about 10% of your readers. Is this true, and if not what is the real percentage?
Question #3: What other major RSS services might people use to subscribe to blog.
Question #4: What’s the downside of RSS subscribers?
Any info is much appreciated!
Robyn McMaster said
I have to duck out, too. G’night!
bj said
ooh, I have oodles of subscribers. If they don’t carry over to feedburner then I’d be killing my subscriber list if I moved to feedburner. There goes that idea. I can do it for bitchslappin and refreshdelval without too much pain though, I think, since they’re much newer.
ME Strauss said
Roger,
For how long you’ve been blogging 700 subscribers is a LOT!!
ME Strauss said
Good night, Robyn!
Glad you had fun!
Meikah Delid said
Hey, Ben, taking notes on what you’ve said about MyBlogLog
thanks!
Becky McCray said
Roger,
#1 700 is way above average, but with your high profile, I think you have room to grow.
#2 Who knows? not me!
Roger von Oech said
Is there a rule of thumb between # of RSS subscribers and overall blog readership?
For example, if you have 50 RSS subscribers, then you probably have a readership of approx. 500 people.
Does anyone know and have a gut feel?
Joe said
Hey Roger,
Answer #1. If I had 700 subscribers on Feedburner, I wouldn’t worry too much.
Answer #2. If you go by what Darren Rowse shows for his various blogs, it can vary between 10 and 50% depending on the readership.
Answer #3. Other than Feedburner, the two more popular ways people subscribe are FireFox and IE7. There are plenty more, but if you do what Ben suggests using the redirect, they should show up in your FeedBurner stats.
Answer #4. The biggest drawback to RSS subscribers I can see is they are less likely to participate on your blog. ie. fewer comments, less likely to surf to older posts, not participate in projects or polls and the like.
Hope that helps.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Roger,
I concur with Liz - 700 is a LOT! I don’t know how long you’ve been blogging, but it’s a lot for anyone.
As for your other questions —
#2 - I’m not sure what percentage RSS subscribers represents of your readership. It’s a good question though.
#3 - FeedBurner isn’t so much a tool for subscribing to a blog as it’s a way of providing people with a feed. People will be using any number of RSS Readers like Bloglines, Google Reader, etc. If you log into FeedBurner and click on SUBSCRIBERS you can see a breakdown.
#4 - There’s no downside really (because almost everyone would cry for joy to have 700 subscribers!), but RSS subscribers are less likely to visit your site where you might have advertisements or other things you want them to look at (in your sidebar(s), etc.)
Also, I’ve read that only a small percentage of RSS subscribers actually read the blogs they subscribe to, but I can’t say if that’s true or not.
They’re less likely to comment on posts - and that is a downside.
Becky McCray said
#3 Depending on the way your site is set up (help me here, experts!), some people will subscribe directly to your feed, without showing up on FeedBurner. See, people can choose to use that direct feed generated by your site, or the FeedBurner feed you have also set up and offered. Unless you have set up your feed with another service, there is no other service where your readers are subscribing.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Becky - you’re right. Some people will stick your blog URL into their RSS reader which auto-discovers the RSS feed. It most likely won’t auto-discover the FeedBurner feed, it’ll find the base feed.
That’s why you should use the FeedBurner Replacement Plugin (I’ve linked to it already / search Google) which will redirect any of your RSS feeds (whether you know they exist or not) to FeedBurner.
ME Strauss said
Okay, now that I can breathe . . .
Roger,
I don’t think anyone can come closer than the guestimate that 10% is subscribers. Logic says that there’s not a real way to measure — it’s less real than magazine readers, who pass them on, because we have visitor who click in and leave or leave the page open and walk away from their computer.
Feedburner has to be one of the biggest. Bloglines used to be the one. Google Reader is way popular. If you look at the feed buttons on blogs, you’ll see plenty more.
RSS readers don’t actually click through to your blog. They don’t see the page as you made it look. They don’t your products in the side bar. They only see your 10?? posts.
Roger von Oech said
Ben, Joe, Becky, Liz: Thanks for your insights.
I had thought of two of those downside to RSS subscribers:
1) they don’t usually leave comments; and,
2)they don’t see your posts as you’ve designed them.
Becky McCray said
#4 As the other folks have said, RSS subscribers are passively receiving your content. They don’t necessarily even read it! People who come to your site daily to check your updates may be more likely to comment, participate, view ads or links, and generally get involved. BUT you have to hope they remember you and come back over and over. At least RSS subscribers receive your content automatically.
Also, depending on your feed, your posts lose some of the beautiful formatting you have applied and some of your graphics or audio content may not get delivered.
Becky McCray said
And, leave it to Roger to ask the most thought-provoking questions of the evening!
Rick Cockrum said
Hi everyone!
If Ben didn’t already post it, the Feedburner redirect plugin is here.
ME Strauss said
Rick,
You are always there with the answer — like the strong, silent super hero.
Speaking of which, where are you, Joe?
Marti said
I read a lot of blogs that I’ve added the RSS to my “My Yahoo” page. I don’t know how they count, does anyone?
Samuel John Klein said
I use my blog as my main website. It makes sense; it’s easy to alter, simple to update, and someone else hosts it for free.
So far, it’s sort of an open notebook with what I find out in my personal journey in the design world, and mixing in personal observations about living in my hometown of Portland, which is, without a doubt, the best city in the world.
So I’m kind of hoping that people visit for those reasons. I established a SiteMeter counter that gives me a good idea where people come from and why.
Do they come for witty observations on life in the Pacific Northwest and what I think about QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign?
Occaisionally.
What they really like to come for, though, is any news they can find on last season’s “Hell’s Kitchen” winner, and I got a huge spike this last week from a bunch of survivalists who saw I opined on that nuclear war movie from 1983 (”The Day After”).
Otherwise, despite my witty and urbane writing and sometimes trenchant commentary I get maybe 30-40 hits a day on it, which means basically I guess I’m still doing it for me.
Occaisionally I wonder what it would be like to be renowned, but I suspect it would be a little like that dog that finally caught the car. Still, I’d like a taste of that tho’.
I’m really not feeling as whiny about it as the above sounds…
Meikah Delid said
Very very interesting info, guys. Good idea to have this topic, Liz! I’m learning a lot… i just spend the time reading…
Rick Cockrum said
Not silent, just late.
HART got me motivated to work on Amibook some more. I’ve been doing code cleanup, added views to see all your tasks for a week or a month, and am getting ready to add project views.
Joe said
Marti,
If you use feedburner, the stats will show there. If not, they may end up in the twilight zone.
Oh, and Liz, I am still here.
Roger von Oech said
Becky: You’re too kind.
One other question, this time about Technorati Stats.
When you look at someone’s Technorati numbers see the ratio of their
TOTAL # of LINKS to TOTAL # of BLOGS LINKING, or
TOTAL # of LINKS
——————————- = X
TOTAL # of BLOGS LINKING
What do you consider to be a HEALTHY ratio?
For example, I looked at someone’s Technorati ranking this morning, and their Linking BLogs was 225, but there only 450 total links, thus a ratio of about 2. This seemed small to me.
I think 3 is a much healthier, deeepr ratio. Make sense? Any thoughts?
Joe said
Rick,
EM me when you get the Amibook going again, you know I’ll give you a link.
Marti said
Samuel,
“What they really like to come for, though, is any news they can find on last season’s “Hell’s Kitchen†winner, and I got a huge spike this last week from a bunch of survivalists who saw I opined on that nuclear war movie from 1983 (â€The Day Afterâ€).”
OMG! I JUST mentioned that movie today! On The View they were discussing whether or not the TV show “24″ had gone too far in airing a fictional nuclear attack on LA.
I wrote in and told them there was an excellent movie about an attack on the US, “The Day After”. It scared the bejesus outta me, ’cause it was set here in Kansas City.
Ben Yoskovitz said
Alright folks - it’s been a blast! I’ve gotta crash for now…
Have fun!
Meikah Delid said
Hey Liz, gtg..i have a lunch date
See you all next time…*hugz*
HART (1-800-HART) said
Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that.
- Homer Simpson
~~
I just use two statistics for my casual and daily viewing.. (1) Sitemeter public stats and (2) Refer Stats
~~ Hey everybody!
Marti said
Bye Ben!
Samuel, I will have to check out your blog!
bj said
Hmm, my main site has 351 links from 192 blogs. Would you say that’s healthy? or not healthy?
Samuel John Klein said
Marti said:
“OMG! I JUST mentioned that movie today! On The View they were discussing whether or not the TV show “24 had gone too far in airing a fictional nuclear attack on LA.”
No kidding? I’ve got to look that one up. We tried getting the 24 habit a season back but we just couldn’t keep up with it.
Also:
“I wrote in and told them there was an excellent movie about an attack on the US, “The Day Afterâ€. It scared the bejesus outta me, ’cause it was set here in Kansas City.”
Well, prepare to be dissed because of that comment. The conventional wisdom on that one was that that it was pretty cheesy and over-hyped. But for the time (and when you consider the tripe that passed for network TV back then) it was pretty brave, and when seen in context, the depictions of the after-effects were rather unflinching. The SFX were pretty groundbreaking for the day as well.
It’s available on DVD if you can find it.
#
Joe said
Working at Home on the Internet
Search this blog Rank: 12,124 (453 links from 262 blogs)
URL: http://workingathomeinternet.com/WP
Updated: 4 hours ago
That’s my T-rati stats as of now. I don’t know if it’s good or not, but I like it.
The only question is: Do the stat’s count since quite a few came through the Z-lister meme?
ME Strauss said
Healthy? Hmmm
I think that depends (she said pulling out her favorite SATest anwer) on which blogs they are.
If your blog is young and thriving, even if they are too, even if only have a few links then, I think a ration of 2:1 is healthy, because as you grow, they will be growing too. Of course, you need to maintain the relationship or they will drop in six months . . .
If they are old and dying, well you want to be growing.
As you grow, I think it should go out to a ratio idea more around 4:1 or 5:1, because as you get more links, you should have more reach.
Rick Cockrum said
Goodnight Ben, Meikah! Hey HART!
I never thought about anyone else’s links/blogs ratio, Roger. Before I moved my blog, I was running about 3:1. I took that to mean that the people who linked to my posts were people who came on a regular basis over a relatively long, so saw it as a good sign.
Marti said
Nah, the people at The View won’t bother dissing me - they just ignore my letters - lol
I agreed with their point though, that it is silly to say “24″ went beyond the bounds. It is a fictional program, fer cryin’ out loud.
It has been years since I saw the movie, I just remember it really scared me, because it was set right here.
HART, kudos for quoting Homer Simpson - lol
HART (1-800-HART) said
171. bj .. re Feedburner.. when you sign up, just start displaying the new RSS - don’t bother telling any of the existing subscribers to change. Instead get the Feedburner Plugin and it automatically redirects all previous existing subscribers to the new feed and feedcount. You’ll find that you actually gain subscribers - not lose them.
190. Rick .. Amibook V2? I might have to test that out before I get too hooked on EasyTaskManager that I’m using.
cat said
Oh NO! I’m late I’m late I’m late!
I feel like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland.
Late for a very important date
But I have a great excuse. I got all wrapped up in Sandy’s MyBlogLog meme (and I’m still editing)
Rick Cockrum said
Joe: I’ll email you about the link in a couple of weeks.
HART: It will be a week or two.
bj said
Thanks, HART!
Joe said
Hey HART,
??? Sorry, the page you’re looking for isn’t here. But don’t lose hope. You can search for what you’re looking for by using the form below???
I tried to check that Feedburner plugin…
Marti said
Blogs can get old and die?
I’m crushed… I feel like you just told me about Santa Claus…I think I need to get my blog a power chair scooter….
lol
Roger von Oech said
Good night All. Thanks for the insights. You’ve been a good hostess, Liz!
bj said
Correct link–
http://orderedlist.com/wordpress-plugins/feedburner-plugin/
ME Strauss said
Marti,
It’s okay. Blogs don’t have to get old and die, but some do. The folks who write them are really the ones who die out — as bloggers.
Becky McCray said
Good night, Roger.
Liz is always the great hostess!
Rick Cockrum said
Good night, Roger.
ME Strauss said
Good night, Roger!
Thanks for coming . . .
ME Strauss said
Hostess? Just call me Cupcake.
Becky McCray said
Just checked my stats….
apparently I get all my traffic by commenting here!
ME Strauss said
What other weird statistical stuff do we know?
Like . . . did you know that your foot fits in the space from your elbow to your wrist?
Try it!
ME Strauss said
Gee, Becky, that’s how I get all of my traffic!!
cat said
I’ve scanned the posts quickly so I’m catching up (whew!)
Stats - I use AwStats for a monthly review but it’s useless for hourly or daily.
For daily, I use Sitemeter and sometimes I check on StatCounter but I prefer Sitemeter.
SC is prettier but I like how Sitemeter lays out the charts.
I used to use Performancing because they updated quicker (or seemed to) but they’ve discontinued the stats.
Feedburner - thanks for reminding me. I’ve had my rss directed to them for a good long while but I forgot about using them for anything else.
HART (1-800-HART) said
Joe .. oops\sorry about that link .. but bj got it correctly .. Version 2.2 is the latest version.
Becky McCray said
And without stats, I would not have known how interesting people find my Million vs. Billion vs. Trillion post! I get more people searching for that, than I would ever have guessed!
GP said
greetings ALL… contrary to Liz’s suggestion, I did try to read it all:) We have an in-house stats program but I think after awhile we can suffer from the ol’ paralysis from analysis.
Thanx for all the info I learn alot from you guys
GP in Montana
Joe said
Stats,Stats,Stats
Do it by the numbers
When you keep track
You can’t go asunder
FeedBurner plugins everywhere
there all over the place
it’s enough to pull out my hair
and clean up my face
If your numbers are good
we all smile for you
but when the figures are low
we all want to stew
So take HART, you will find a way
to get through it all
for another day
Berma Shave
Nite Liz
Nite All
ME Strauss said
Good night, Joe!
Sleepy swell.
Becky McCray said
Liz,
Here’s one of those “other” stats:
“Thirty-three percent of small-business owners reported working more than 50 hours per week, while an additional 25% said they work more than 60 hours a week, according to a poll of readers of the New York Enterprise Report.”
I got that from Inc.com.
No wonder we’re tired!
bj said
The foot thing is a proportion thing, like your elbow crease being at exactly your waist when your arm is extended down, and your neck always being half the circumference of your waist (yes, really.) There are a bunch of others that artists who do figure sketching know about.
Night Everybody!
HART (1-800-HART) said
haha .. Liz & Becky .. that’s funny.. and speaking of referrals…
I’ve finally installed a new plugin on my PetLvr blog (got 58 now) .. called More Money Plugin. Suppose anybody is doing a search (let’s say … search for Designer Dogs but speed up the search by adding PetLvr to it) .. Now - it tosses up an extra small google ad, and a saying ..
Yah - I monetize, but I don’t think that’s excessive .. really.
Rick Cockrum said
G’night, Joe. Swell poem!
G’night, bj.
And I too must bid you all adieu. G’night, and than you, Liz.
Marti said
http://www.funofun.com/weirdfacts.htm
claims that:
Butterflies taste with their feet.
A duck’s quack doesn’t echo.
100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
Liz gets most of her traffic from measuring Becky’s feet…wait, maybe that’s not right - LOL
Sandra Renshaw said
Good nite all,
Learned a lot tonite. Glad to see you cat. Sounds like a good excuse to me!
cat said
Sandra - I thought you’d agree
Thanks for sharing that meme. It’s a good idea to find yet more excellent blogs. Sometimes I don’t have the time to search, so having them come to me is sooooooo much nicer. Nicer and easier. Did I ever finally admit I was lazy?
Sleep well!
Marti said
Well, Enzo is warming up the Ferrari, so I shall bid you all farewell. Magnificent as always, darlin’.
Ciao!
ME Strauss said
Yeah, Cat, YOU”RE lazy.
and I get my traffic by measuring Becky’s feet — like Marti said.
ME Strauss said
Good night, bj!
Good night, Sandy!
Good night, Marti and Enzo!
Becky McCray said
My feet are all powerful drivers of traffic! I’m so gratified to learn this! (Of course, it must be foot traffic.)
Becky McCray said
Ooops…. I think my bad pun has killed this thread! Sorry!
cat said
Ok, maybe not “I’m going to sit on the couch and do nothing all day” kind of lazy, but … I guess a better description would be spoiled. After reading Sandra’s meme I did feel spoiled. Spoiled rotten.
It was like OH! YES! Darlings, come to mamma
ME Strauss said
I’m too busy laughing about foot traffic!
Becky, you can’t kill thread on Tuesday Comment night . . . they break on their own.
ME Strauss said
My sidebar is fixed!!!!
Thank you to bj and sean!!!!
ME Strauss said
Good night, everyone. See you in the very early morning!
Sweet dreams!
scot herrick said
I think everyone has hauled off to bed…us Left Coasters always hit the place late!
But I had a couple of comments I wanted to make…
First, did anyone happen to mention HitTail.com? It is a site that takes unique keyword searches from the search engines and highlights them for you so you can perhaps work on those keywords more in your blog.
Based upon the Long Tail idea, the purpose is to illustrate keywords that can really help you focus on a niche for your blog.
Second, statistics and analytics are incredibly useful — and incredibly useless.
I’m a stats guy, through and through. But stats are not the key to successful blogging.
Here’s what is:
Excellent content.
Consistent posting.
Expertise in your area that helps others.
Interaction with your readers.
Building a community around your topic.
Learning from your community.
THEN statistics can help you.
There you go, Liz. I left my tips on the bar for everyone to read, you Saloonkeeper’s Daughter!
Scot
ME Strauss said
Thanks Scot,
I found them when i came to clean up.
Abhijit Nadgouda said
I was interested in the stats earlier, not anymore. I still use tools like Google Analytics and Sitemeter, but more for looking for where the readers are coming from and what are they looking for.
I did worry about stats earlier, but then I realized that blogging was more about self-expression for me. Here are my thoughts on it.
Karin said
Sorry I’ve missed all the fun here, but reading the conversation later on is also interesting.
7pm at ‘your place’ is 1.00am ‘our place’ and way beyong my bed-time
Well, who knows, might join in another time
ME Strauss said
Hi Abhijit!
I find the only way I can really enjoy my stats is to see beyond them to the people that they represent. I like to imagine the people actually moving around the Internet and try to crawl into their heads regarding the decisions they make and the paths they take.
I use the data about their systems to inform how I might serve them better. In mind the purpose of stats is to serve readers.
ME Strauss said
Hi Karin!
We had an Open Mic in October for the Successful-Blog birthday that went all day so folks from other places could participate too.
I just might do one in February when everyone is ready for some kind of party to play a bit. We’ll make it so that you can come.
Monique Attinger said
Sorry I missed this… I had a fussy daughter who kept me away from the keyboard while I put her to sleep. Unfortunately, I was so successful, I put me to sleep too!
Maybe next week…
ME Strauss said
Yep, Monique, there’s always another Tuesday . . .
See you then!
Marti said
Thank you for such a delightful evening!