Wednesday Consistently Occurs Up To Once Each Day
In yesterday’s Washington Times, what to our wondering eyes did appear but our old pal John “Buttmissile” Hinderaker, proprietor of Powerline — Time Magazine’s Blog of the Year (2004).
Political blogs not really so popular?
By Jennifer Harper
March 11, 2008[…]
“Why do people read us? It goes back to the idea that we present a solid core of facts, and argue within those facts. There are a lot of bloggers who tend to spout off about their feelings and reactions. Some are terrific writers and a fun read. Our approach is to be more analytic,” said John H. Hinderaker, one of three writers for Power Line, which was proclaimed “Blog of the Year” by Time Magazine after the CBS scoop.
The site consistently logs up to 80,000 visits a day, Mr. Hinderaker said.
80,000? Wait a second here. Facts? Analytic? 80,000 visits a day?
Now, we’ve been here many times before with these guys. What’s going to happen next is that John is going to go “Hm-hm-hmmm,” all nonchalant, and not correct the figure (because it’s favorable to his position — as opposed to bad facts, which are unfavorable and therefore untrue). Oh wait, oh wait, here he goes:
[…]
What I think is notable is how many people do find political blogs worthwhile. Jennifer was kind enough to cite Power Line as an example of a widely-read site, and called me to ask why I think people read us. After being stumped momentarily, I ventured some guesses, which she edited in reasonably coherent fashion. Whatever the reasons, we are grateful to everyone who reads and enjoys our site.
Actually, that should read, “We are consistently grateful to up to 100% of the people who read and enjoy our site” — because of course, some of those visits tabulated above are ours.
Chris, in comments, adds:
OK, so I don’t get it. In the month you’ve cited, PL got over 80,000 hits twice, and averages about 50-60,000/day. Claiming ‘up to 80,000? seems at worst the sort of not-quite-inaccurate statement that occurs in just about any advertisement. This seems like really neurotic nitpicking on a target that offers infinitely more egregious things to make fun of.
In that case, I guess we consistently log up to 30,000 visits a day. Time to raise the ad rates!
Seriously, it’s quintessential Powerline — touting their “solid core of facts,” and then fudging the very next quantifiable statement. That’s their leitmotif, right there.
What I find most interesting, ist that the average length of those significantly less than 80,000 visits is 3 seconds. That’s some high-caliber analysis of that website going on there!
Does that sitemeter say that the average visit is 3 seconds long? Some fast readers visiting that site.
Whereas some really really slow typists visit this site…
The wingnut fans seem to just be looking for key phrases, like “liberals bad” or “Democrats traitors.”
Even so, that seems like a pretty bad case of ADD.
OK, so I don’t get it. In the month you’ve cited, PL got over 80,000 hits twice, and averages about 50-60,000/day. Claiming ‘up to 80,000’ seems at worst the sort of not-quite-inaccurate statement that occurs in just about any advertisement. This seems like really neurotic nitpicking on a target that offers infinitely more egregious things to make fun of.
I love y’all, but sheesh.
I think it’s using the word “consistently” to refer to 2 occasions that Gavin was objecting to. In fact, I am certain it was central to his point.
My understanding is that when someone visits a site without clicking any links, it is registered as one second, even if that person stares at the front page for three hours.
[udated and rephrased, btw. (no more tinkering from me)]
Wow, that’s up to 0.03% of the voting population. Are they even sure about those Bush support surveys?
I still contend that Hinderaker’s phraseology is no more than SOP marketing practice. In fact, in an age where nobody bats an eye at naming public buildings after corporations, it seems even rather quaint.
even if that person stares at the front page for three hours.
My life seems a whole lot better after reading that.
I want my 03 seconds back.
[updated again, addressing Chris’s statement]
He said, “up to” 80,000 a day. Oldest trick in the book. Compare to use of “as low as” in car ads. Get over it.
Yeah, but does this factor in the 100+ times a day I come here to see if my super snappy witticisms are received favorably by my intert00b peers?
This is central to my point.
You may very well be satisfied with our potentially excellent product – I can virtually guarantee it!
Actually, I wondered about that for a long time, but Sitemeter tabulates unique visits. Apparently, it’s pretty much one visit per person, per day.
He used the word ‘consistently’, which would imply that the number 80,000 is consistently reached, which is disingenuous at best.
I feel ya, Gav.
He said, “up to” 80,000 a day. Oldest trick in the book. Compare to use of “as low as” in car ads. Get over it.
However, once I get to the car lot, I will be presented with a wide variety of automobiles to choose from, several of which may meet my needs and fit my budget. Contrariwise, if I deign to visit PL, I’ll be confronted with a whole bunch of bullshit that does me no good whatsoever.
Seems to me that the car lot’s actually got at least one redeeming characteristic, while PL’s got none that I can see.
Didn’t you know that on Powerline they always round up to the nearest 80000?
Hey, we got a Daily Kos link — now we consistently get up to 3500 visits per hour!
You will need auxiliary hamsters.
That John is so modest. PL actually gets up to One Bazillion hits per day. Once they reach a bazillion visits in a day, they shut the site down to give the other, lesser blogs a chance to enjoy some traffic. It’s like a self-imposed Slaughter Rule.
“We don’t care if we get one hit or up to 80,000 hits in a day. We just want people to know we get up to 80,000 hits a day.” Classy!
Eliot Spitzer consistently bangs as few as 0 prostitutes in a given 24-hour period.
Conservatives value predictability over accuracy.
Well of course PL is a family values kind of blog as opposed to satanic left wing sites. Wingnut logic would dictate therefore, it’s perfectly righteous to expect the entire family crowded round the computer for their daily “solid core of facts” delivered by the assrocket et al… So actually, 80,000 a day may be a little low.
The reason liberal blogs are not very popular is because nobody wants to listen to liberals.
Everyone knows the right is right and the left is wrong about everything.
Liberals better stick to their gay butt sex and tree hugging and leave the politics to us conservatives who actually know what we’re talking about.
Liberals hmf
Well, not to nitpick, and maybe I’m misreading something, but my understanding of the phrase “up to” is that it includes every number “up to” the stated high, including 0. I’m not sure what the quibble is here.
I mean, okay, he’s an idiot, but it’s still not an untrue statement.
What about the word ‘consistently’. I think that is the issue, not the ‘up to’.
Well, I suppose 0:03 could also represent 3 minutes, since no units are given. In that case, though, the leading digit would have to represent hours, which doesn’t make too much sense either. But still, 3 seconds?
Why didn’t Jennifer Harper look up the number of visits herself?
Why would you want the media to practice REAL Journamalism, K. Ron?
Actually, I wondered about that for a long time, but Sitemeter tabulates unique visits. Apparently, it’s pretty much one visit per person, per day.
That makes me feel better, for some reason. As previously mentioned, I tend to pace comment threads which means I can click on a site a couple dozen times a day just to see if there’s anything new, and while I do not begrudge you the ad revenue my freakish lack of an existence might bring, it all still seems kind of sad that you might assume you’re very popular when it turns out I’m just crazy. Also, what happens when my internet goes out? Your stats take a horrible dive and your advertisers mock you.
I dunno. I just worry about screwing up a perfectly good system. It’s been one of those days.
I usually visit Powerline 80,000 times per day, with an average of 3 seconds per visit. Life in my basement would astonish you LiberalIslamists!
You know folks, that Assrocket is no more disingenuous than the average used car salesman does not bolster his claims to being a straight-shooting just-the-facts-ma’am type.
In other news, I consistently score with up to a dozen super-models every day, all while I consistently drink up to thirty rough and grimy bikers under the table, as I consistently earn up to a million dollars on the stock market. Technically, it’s all true.
The site consistently logs up to 80,000 visits a day, Mr. Hinderaker said.
Oh, I see some people’s problem here. If you replace “consistently” with “at times”, which has kind of the opposite meaning, then his statement is totally accurate.
And I work in advertising. Believe it or not, I wouldn’t be able to write that because even advertising has higher standards of truthiness.
Dude, I totally thought you guys got more hit than that. Sadly! I may have to stop reading this site.
I consistently spend up to $80,000.00 on call girls.
There are many things I have never done, but I do them consistently.
I consistently come home from work pissed off.
Shortly thereafter, I thank the FSM that there is a Sadly, No!
Attacking Power-line for inaccuracy and mathematical illiteracy is a little unfair.
I mean, we wouldn’t attack racists just because they’re whi…OK, never mind.
Ok, waitaminute. Just a damn minute.
This place gets ten or a dozen thousand visitors a day?
And what, maybe a few hundred have anything to say?
That’s kinda fucked up.
Cat gotcher tongue?
mikey
Well, it’s still not as far off as the Bushies claims of how much the Iraq war would cost!
well mikey, I try to kill every thread I come across.
But I have to spend some time on billable work. Well, occasionally.
“consistently up to…” is just inherently nonsensical; it’s a type error.
recursivelyenumerable said,
March 13, 2008 at 2:05
“consistently up to…” is just inherently nonsensical; it’s a type error.
Like honorable Republican.
Yep, not having anything to say has never stopped me.
I just come here to read all the creepy smut posted by typically closeted conservatives, since they can’t say what’s on their minds when they’re with their friends.
Oh, and I also come here to read all the marvelously witty progressive banter along with 30,000 of my closest personal friends.
This place gets ten or a dozen thousand visitors a day?
And what, maybe a few hundred have anything to say?
Nope, nobody here but us puppets!
I usually read this site on my iphone at work. Typing on that little keyboard can be tedious, but if it makes you feel better i read SN for the comments as well as the posts.
I come here for the milieu.
And the chance to make wiseass comments.
Yeah, the wiseassery is definitely on another level. When describing this site to freinds, I say that y’all are “The most sarcastic people in the world.”
I heard that Geraldine Ferraro crawled back under the Rock of Well-Deserved Obscurity where she has been hiding for 24 years.
1984 was the first year that I was old enought to vote for president. I was happy to vote for Mondale. Between Mondale and Reagan, there was just no contest for smart, sane people. But WTF was going on with choosing Ferraro as VP candidate? One of the great political mysteries of the 1980s.
My very very GOP great-grandmother called her “Ferret” and gloated all the way through the election.
She was NOT quite so satisfied with Reagan by the end of his term.
OT, I know. But I’m not really in the mood to ridicule the stupid conservatives today. It does eventually get old … for a few days. It’s quite an indictment of Hillary that she dug up that Ferraro mediocrity (I’m being nice) for her campaign. And then the Ferraro mediocrity just started talking idiotic talking points worthy of George Allen or Rick Santorum or (pick radndom conservative).
It’s not sarcasm, we genuinely hate morons.
atheist said,
March 13, 2008 at 2:23
Yeah, the wiseassery is definitely on another level. When describing this site to freinds, I say that y’all are “The most sarcastic people in the world.”
Lettuce not forget the poop jokes, people! Remember your roots.
Yeah, Ferraro is just embarrassing. Go away, lady!
Olbermann is ripping Ferraro a new one on his Special Comment, and also slapping Hillary pretty hard for not taking effective action.
what a sad coda for a woman who made history.
Geraldine is a woman and should never have tried to do a man’s job. Ever since then, our beloved nation has been under the heel of Hollywood and atheist homosexualites who are trying to take away our 2nd Demendment rights, that is, to sleep with an M1 Battle Rifle™ strapped to one’s back. You Liberals love Allah so much maybe you should marry him and then try to take away my ordinace (here’s a hint: you’ll end up as a smoldering heap). A secret underground private network that is top secret is the alliance of American-only militias that are quietly waiting to take back our country with the aid of mall security special forces. When the revolution comes, we’ll be the ones with the battle rifles and you’ll be wondering why Barrak Hussien Osama took away your right to link-fed .50 calibre autoweapons!
atheist, you tell your friends about us? I’m… touched! *sniff*
The fact is, SHUT UP!
Oh, Mikey, I only come here for the pie.
I like pie!
And the brains! Mmmmmm… brains…
Hey! What about brains pie? Anyone have a recipe?
your right to link-fed .50 calibre autoweapons!
My goodness, Rugged. Turns out you’re a “your a peein”?
Want some surrender monkey armpit hair fries with that?
mikey
I’m still waiting for the news report showing either Islamic extremists or Code Pinkers were responsible for the bombing of a military recruiting station in Times Square — which is what Hinderaker said last week.
Hinderaker seems to occupy a fact-free zone …
My fingers were involved in a recent reloading accident of an experimental nature (Loading razorwire in shotgun shells) and the resulting accident causes my fingers to accidently type wrong, because of the accident. I’M ALL AMERICAN from America and not from somewheres else, as much as you Islamasexuals wish I were.
sarcastic pie
Hey! What about brains pie? Anyone have a recipe?
Will it blend?
My powers are weak today. I cannot find any YouTube clippage of the Blender scene from Britannia Hospital.
Personally, I come here on a regular basis to peruse t4toby’s super snappy witticisms which are recieved, favorably, by me, on the intert00bz.
(I can haz luv or $ now, toby?)
hi mikey (and everyone else)….
re: “cat gotcher tongue?”
maybe some of us are very shy….and quirky….as in maybe we don’t like to use caps, hate trying to remember all the punctuation rules and maybe we end lines with dot, dot, dot…so maybe we are very shyly hesitant of quirkily jumping in, lest we be ridiculed……(sheesh, that opening really sucks…)
let me start over…
due to the wonderfully witty repartee which transpires on this site, we, the masses who do not comment, are positively struck dumb, and therefore simply unable to comment……(sadly, no, that’s not it either…)
trying one more time….
i linked over to this site when the hysterical “fundies in their undies” righteous roll was going on….(for anyone who is reading this but missed that, you have got to see it!….no kidding…pull it up….while reading, food and drinks are strongly discouraged…..these guys had so much to work with, they were unbelievably funny …..dated Oct.23, 2007…http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/7433.html)
i have been quietly visiting since then….after the daily anguish of reading the news, and the fact that i live in a very red county (where the huckster got more votes in the primary than everyone else combined), sorta’ goes without saying that the prevailing attitude in my little part of the world proves to be a source of never-ending trauma, sadly, no! is an excellent place to kick back, get comfy, and quietly grab a few laughs with like-minded, sarcastic individuals….i feel very much at home here……..
so there ya go mikey, that’s the story from one of those 30,000 who visit consistently but don’t comment…..
Hooray for peaceful’s breaking of silence!!!
[offers peaceful some tasty brains pie]
Dammit, peaceful,thanks for that. Your shit counts as much as any of the rest of us, and in some ways maybe more. You bring your story, your power and your strength. Nobody has all the answers, and you might just have an answer for Somebody looking for one…
mikey
I can’t really be glad that more people don’t comment, but I have to tell you that it’s a little daunting to come home from work to find six new posts with 50-150 comments each. I have other shit to do in the evenings guys, go easy!
On the plus side, however, all that reading leaves little time for me to post, which has probably saved me from embarrasing myself a few times dot dot dot
Some of us aren’t able to bring teh funnay with the consistency of the regulars. Me, I toss out a few small offerings now and again but srsly, for me it’s a lot like high school (as I vaguely recall it)…hanging out in the hall on the edge of the kool kids group and listening much more than I talk.
I contribute up to three or four posts per day. That is, however, central to my pointy head.
Most people know that Site Meter isn’t at all an accurate hit counter.
Using it to demonstrate anyone’s cited statistics as disingenuous is ….disingenuous.
But one thing that Site Meter does well is indicate the relative intelligence of a site’s readership. For example:
Bad Astronomy – Firefox 56%, IE 27%
Bitch, Ph.D. – Firefox 56%, IE 27%
TRex – Firefox 51%, IE 26%
Cosmic Variance – Firefox 54%, IE 27%
The Panda’s Thumb – Firefox 51%, IE 40%
Balloon Juice – Firefox 60%, IE 26%
Sadly, No! – Firefox 51%, IE 31%
Power Line – Firefox 30%, IE 53%
Which is not to claim that IE users are necessarily unsophisticated sheep: but it’s not simply a coincidence that the more intelligent blogs have a larger proportion of Firefox hits.
Shun the 31%. Shuuunnn them!
Heh … Power Line’re the ones who did that daily-Wednesday cock-up?
Real space-age nanoid-ninjas, eh?
I didn’t know “analytical” & “lying” went together well, or ever.
Guess I’ll have to look that one up. Or not.
Tackiest brain-hurtin’ uber-assclown name I’ve seen for a news/pol site this side of Marvel Comix, imho.
Power Line – Firefox 30%, IE 53%
LOL
But I use Safari … what does that make me?
Hey! What about brains pie? Anyone have a recipe?
I’ll check with the zombies and get back to you. There’s gotta be a reason the damned things are always hanging out in my kitchen, after all.
See? Complete lack of teh funny or anything useful to say doesn’t stop me commenting, either. Take that, intertubes!
Only not so much. When I used Sitemeter, I noticed that if you didn’t click or refresh for a while (maybe an hour or so), it’d restart you as a new visitor.
I checked to see if maybe he was counting page views instead of visits, but apparently 90% of his visitors only look at the one page, so uh… no.
Oh yeah, baby. That ordinance is going to stay right where it belongs — right up my butt. Oooooh!
Don’t make me break out my Pennsylvania Dutch Grandmother’s brains recipe! It’s foul. The kind of thing only desperate farmers would eat during the Great Depression or something…
Hey! That’s probably when she developed it.
Better keep that one around just in case we are re-doing economic history…
Wilt Chamberlain consistently scored up to 100 points per game.
http://www.sitemeter.com/?a=stats&s=s18sadlyno&r=35
I didn’t realize this site was so… obscure.
I guess it IS like watching the ant kicking the elephant’s toenail.
I’m just here for the ‘headcheese’