Sitemeter hears its critics, rolls back to old system
posted at 5:26 pm on September 14, 2008 by Ed Morrissey
Sitemeter tried launching a new version of its popular web-traffic system this weekend, and the results were …, well, poor in the extreme. How could they misunderstand their market so badly? Internet customers want open stats, both for themselves and their visitors. Instead, they locked up the information, and what’s worse, their Windows widget didn’t work.
It didn’t take long for the Sitemeter folks to respond to criticism. I rechecked their site and got the following message:
Looks like they have learned a lesson, at least for now.
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Maybe Facebook will learn the Sitemeter lesson.
OneGyT on September 14, 2008 at 5:27 PM
I don’t get why people use sitemeter. Your metrics are open for the world to see. Who wants that?
lorien1973 on September 14, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Maybe Congress will learn a lesson
flyoverland on September 14, 2008 at 5:30 PM
The Democrats wish they could roll back the last two years of Pelosi, Reid, Obama, and their campaign. They won’t win on Iraq. People are realizing they have been rooting against America. Their opposition to domestic energy like nuclear, clean coal, and off-shore drilling is wildly unpopular. Their Presidential nominee is an empty suit with a shady past and a sweet song that has grown tiresome and lost its initial appeal. They need a relaunch. But all they have is “we’re gonna take the gloves off…..again.” EPIC FAIL.
D0WNT0WN on September 14, 2008 at 5:32 PM
I’ve been struggling with trying to understand the data and it’s hard to interpret. The old version was so much better at reading the data.
This is what happens when you get some software geek with a smattering of how shockwave flash works. Over load it with stuff they want to see, but what others have no need for.
Keep It Simple Stupids
Kini on September 14, 2008 at 5:32 PM
The negative reaction to this was unanimous as far as I could tell. I hated it, and posted on it on my own blog this morning. Ann Althouse “hate-hate-hate-hated” it and the biggest number of search words I saw (through my Google Analytics stats) was “sitemeter”, “sitemeter sucks”, etc.
flipflop on September 14, 2008 at 5:32 PM
Some of us just wanna see who’s been dropping by… is that so hard to understand?
Kini on September 14, 2008 at 5:33 PM
Ace of Spades was griping about Sitemeter earlier today. I remember people griping about it almost a year ago….here? I use NoScript and Sitemeter is blocked on my end.
Coronagold on September 14, 2008 at 5:33 PM
A total debacle. Take something simple to use and render it incomprehensible.
At least they’re listening to the feedback.
JammieWearingFool on September 14, 2008 at 5:33 PM
They changed due to complaints of customers? Amazing. They should have just told people if they didn’t like their ice cream to go elsewhere.
wise_man on September 14, 2008 at 5:36 PM
The migration roll-out started this weekend, so that is a very quick response to customer dissatisfaction. Thank you, Site Meter.
Terrie on September 14, 2008 at 5:36 PM
I don’t have a huge site, and I’ve never tried Sitemeter so I have no comparison.
But for me, Stat Counter sure is hard to beat. Statcounter.com
Typhoon on September 14, 2008 at 5:38 PM
Well, to quote myself…
tree hugging sister on September 14, 2008 at 5:38 PM
Yeah, well, I can’t even view HotAir in IE because my default address bar search kicks me back out to Google search saying http://s25old.sitmeter.com can’t be found every time I access hotair.com. (Doing this in Firefox)
Rod on September 14, 2008 at 5:39 PM
New Coke! Yeah, New Sitemeter was pretty bad. I’m amazed how quickly Sitemeter is moving to roll back the new system. I can’t even get in to Sitemeter right now, guess everyone is looking at it.
doubleplusundead on September 14, 2008 at 5:41 PM
IE sucks anyway, Sitemeter is doing you a favor. :P
doubleplusundead on September 14, 2008 at 5:42 PM
Probably not the worst idea to roll it out on a weekend and make the correction/reversion within 24 hours, since I would think the website hits would be less than on a weekday.
jon1979 on September 14, 2008 at 5:43 PM
I also use Clustermaps, but when SiteMeter came along I put ClusterMaps at the bottom of my page and SiteMeter at the top.
I have no problem with viewing the metrics of my blogsite and I could care less. I just want to see the traffic. What SiteMeter did was to make the simple complex. I use the basic free stuff so I’m at the mercy of wusiwyg. Paying customers are probably what’s driving the rollback.
I had to re-register and navigate around a maze of useless charts and graphs. Finally, I found what I was looking for. Referring URL, IP location and how many pages view and for how long.
What else do you want?
Either way, I welcome the old version back.
Kini on September 14, 2008 at 5:43 PM
Surprises me too. I bet they were INUNDATED with complaints.
I know I hated it. I want to know two things: how many hits (by day, week, month, year) and who’s sending them to me. How you can screw that up so completely is beyond me.
S. Weasel on September 14, 2008 at 5:44 PM
I have sitemeter marked as “untrusted” under firefox/noscript.
No effect on me at all.
unclesmrgol on September 14, 2008 at 5:45 PM
Right. (Of course, THAT’S when I get a Gateway Pundit link early this morning. Wonderful.)
tree hugging sister on September 14, 2008 at 5:45 PM
I have not a clue what “Sitemeter” is. It sounds like a heavy metal band.
radjah shelduck on September 14, 2008 at 5:56 PM
Good to hear. The new site was cool looking and all, but difficult to read the data.
aikidoka on September 14, 2008 at 5:58 PM
Seriously bad, it’s like they have absolutely no idea what people actually used their product for.
Like a condom maker deciding to only sell their product in the balloon aisle at Walmart!
David
LifeTrek on September 14, 2008 at 6:01 PM
wise_man, I think the sitemeter hatred was fairly universal which is why the roll back happened so quickly. If only a few people had complained about it, I’m sure they would have been told to look for a different product that offered what they wanted.
JadeNYU on September 14, 2008 at 6:06 PM
I’ve been paying $6 a month to sitemeter to keep my website visitors free from troll’s prying eyes. GetClicky is just wonderful. I’ve been using it today and have come to prefer it. It’s for blogs under 100,000 hits a day.
And it’s free.
Joan of Argghh on September 14, 2008 at 6:06 PM
Isn’t there a privacy setting?
amerpundit on September 14, 2008 at 6:06 PM
I had the free version, so I’m not expecting much. But the truly most annoying thing was that the “Remember me” feature didn’t work and I had to log in each time I clicked.
We’ll see how it works after the rollback.
Attila (Pillage Idiot) on September 14, 2008 at 6:08 PM
StatCounter leaves me cold, however.
Meanwhile, can we hope that the sitemeter wonks are on Obama’s IT strategy team? Would that be wrong?
Joan of Argghh on September 14, 2008 at 6:08 PM
Yes.
Jim Treacher on September 14, 2008 at 6:13 PM
I really, really, really don’t understand why anyone even uses sitemeter. Google Analytics gives you all you need as far as statistics, and if you’re hooked on displaying publicly how many hits you have, well, then you’re lame.
Seixon on September 14, 2008 at 6:23 PM
How much $$ did they spend on the “new” version that is now in the trashcan?
Elizabetty on September 14, 2008 at 6:26 PM
I relogged on this morning then it took over 20 minutes to load my profile, after it first gave me the “webpage cannot be found notice”. I had to goto church so I never got to check it out. I guess that’s a good thing.
PS.
That only work if there are enough people to who like it to make up for the ones who don’t, if not you change your ice cream.
Gwillie on September 14, 2008 at 6:29 PM
New Sitemeter = Joe Biden
CanadianGuy on September 14, 2008 at 6:29 PM
I use both… statcounter is good but they double up and duplicate your stats… ie 400 uniques equals 100 in reality…
Kaptain Amerika on September 14, 2008 at 6:31 PM
I have a few sites some for making money some for talking trash… blogs are different then company websites… blogs want each other to know where the traffic is coming from and going… company websites want to keep their traffic sources secret so as not to give away info to competing websites… blogs don’t care who knows… it’s more of a free information sharing deal with blogs… trackbacks and ping and such…
Kaptain Amerika on September 14, 2008 at 6:35 PM
On the front page, my eye caught “Sincerely” as “Seriously”, and I thought the last line was going to be something like “Seriously, we’re like totally sorry”
eeyore on September 14, 2008 at 6:58 PM
“New & Improved” isn’t always better.
Much new software has proved that one time & again. Vistas being the latest, most high profile example.
Sitemeter’s been good to me. I thought this weekend was just ‘net constipation.
Now I know.
Thanks, guys.
locomotivebreath1901 on September 14, 2008 at 7:02 PM
I have been a software tester for over 10 years now and it still amazes me how idiotic the decision makers of a company can be. Where is the usability testing, the customer surveys, the focus groups, etc? The knowledge for this kind of testing is easily available and pretty mature compared to 20 years ago and still these geniuses think they can make a decision based not on objective evidence but on their subjective hunches and guesses. Stupid is as stupid does.
mbabbitt on September 14, 2008 at 7:13 PM
I don’t know why sites as large as HotAir still use sitemeter. This is for people who host their blog, instead of using a free service: Don’t you have statistics on your server or at least Google Analytics? Both are much better than sitemeter. However, if you just care about the views you get, then sitemeter is all you need.
Ian on September 14, 2008 at 7:13 PM
You have Analytics, why do you need Sitemeter?
Ortzinator on September 14, 2008 at 7:30 PM
Hey, you know who this SiteMeter rollback benefits?
greggriffith on September 14, 2008 at 7:33 PM
Next thread: Vigaro or Scotts fertilizer is best?
I think I’ll retire early tonight.
Bishop on September 14, 2008 at 7:36 PM
Got bored and didn’t read the whole comment thread but did anyone mention that your standing in the TTLB Ecosystem depends on your Sitemeter stats?
bdfaith on September 14, 2008 at 7:48 PM
Yeap. Hell of a lot more interesting than the boring yack yack going on here until this point. Seems like the fight has gone out of everyone tonight. Maybe Obama will stick his foot in his mouth (or butt) overnight and get things kicked off again tomorrow.
JonRoss on September 14, 2008 at 8:12 PM
Yeah, I logged into sitemeter today and couldn’t make heads or tails out of it. Why fix it if it ain’t broke. That’s what my grandpappy used to say, well not really, but it sounded good.
vcferlita on September 14, 2008 at 8:28 PM
Michelle Obama’s kids?
VekTor on September 14, 2008 at 8:35 PM
No, everybody’s talking about Sitemeter’s aneurysm.
Jim Treacher on September 14, 2008 at 8:43 PM
Would one of you guys be so kind as to explain what Sitemeter is??? It would be greatly appreciated…
CCRWM on September 14, 2008 at 8:46 PM
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/5004
OT I know but while some of us are waiting to find out what Sitemeter is… :)
CCRWM on September 14, 2008 at 8:51 PM
Its an organization/software that meters sites, CCRWM. If you google the word “sitemeter”, you’ll see the first result is the company’s website. The description is as follows: “Offers tracking tools for gathering and analyzing visitor traffic and other site statistics.” In other words, google is your friend.
wise_man on September 14, 2008 at 8:51 PM
On the day they screwed up most blog access via Microsoft’s browser…I downloaded Mozilla Firefox for the first time.
I haven’t used Microsoft’s browser since, nor will I ever.
Microsoft was the biggest loser that day, not SiteMeter. Even though SiteMeter was at fault.
Montana on September 14, 2008 at 9:13 PM
Thanks wise man…
CCRWM on September 14, 2008 at 9:15 PM
YEA!!! SiteMeter is back to its working self.
OT: Did anyone happen to see the CNN expose’ on Palin – Biden?
I thought, remarkably, CNN did a good job with both veeps2be.
If anything, I learned a lot about both candidates.
It didn’t change my decision one iota, but I do believe McCain made the right decision in choosing Palin.
I actually wish the ticket was reversed…. sorta… nope, I do.
Kini on September 14, 2008 at 9:18 PM
Who cares? This isn’t interesting.
Xolom on September 14, 2008 at 9:24 PM
I always have HA’s sitemeter up in a window. I watch traffic intently. Take, for example, when we had threads on Fitna, I watched an amazing amount of traffic coming in here from Malaysia, which was trying to ban YouTube. This past weekend, I watched HA’s piece on why McCain can’t do email go fairly viral, being picked up and linked to by close to 40 other sources. I was hoping the story would last until Monday morning to be picked up by FOX, but when Sitemeter went down, I couldn’t see what was going on anymore.
Also, when HA does terrorism or other international bits, it’s fascinating to see which countries are reading here and paying attention.
I’m a stat-lover anyway, but the stats can be used by those of us who make it our duty to disseminate info to determine where to place links. It’s a great networking tool.
Connie on September 14, 2008 at 9:29 PM
I’m going to take it that sitemeter has been restored (I haven’t refreshed it yet), but go to the bottom of HA’s front page and click on the little green icon on the right.
Connie on September 14, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Never saw that before. I don’t know what those numbers mean. I want to the webpage and saw their “Sitemeter’s top visited sites” list huffingtonpost as #4. DailyKos as #5. I searched for a while, even tried to change the url of http ://www.sitemeter .com/?a=stats&s=s25hotair to other web pages like 4 and 5 to see what their numbers are, but wasn’t successful. Are we not even in the top ten?
wise_man on September 14, 2008 at 9:59 PM
Google Analytics undercounts traffic. It’s not off by a huge amount, but the sites I used to manage at BTR and at CapQ always had a significant difference between server-side stats and Google’s counts, probably from people who block scripting in their browsers. That’s not as big of a problem with Sitemeter.
Ed Morrissey on September 14, 2008 at 10:00 PM
I was so P!ssed at sitemeter this morning and didn’t have the time to voice my complaint. Thankfully they came to their senses and are rolling back to their old format. I was about to cancel my account because I COULD NOT READ MY STATS.
Seriously, WHO thought this was a good idea?
Urban Infidel on September 14, 2008 at 10:03 PM
Does this affect your revenue for HotAir?
wepeople on September 14, 2008 at 10:22 PM
I see that Sitemeter is not all quite back to snuff yet.
I’ve asked some folks to visit my site to see if the sitemeter picks them up…. and It does not….
Kini on September 14, 2008 at 10:26 PM
For my own purposes, I don’t pay attention to the rankings. I usually hang out on the entry page stats, clicking on the numbers to see where viewers are coming from, although I do switch and look at other things sometimes.
For those of you who are uninterested in this topic, remember that when AP and Ed link to other bloggers, you might see on their pages where the owners say “welcome to Hot Air people,” or something similar. This means that other site owners are watching their own stats and HA might get a permanent link at one of those sites. This helps drive up traffic here.
Not to mention that it’s interesting to see what government and educational institutional organizations are accessing the pages. And you can even catch the Google Bot scanning out of Mountain view.
Connie on September 14, 2008 at 10:34 PM
Just curious.
wise_man on September 14, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Anything that helps drive traffic up is beneficial.
Connie on September 14, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Screw SiteMeter. Carlos Zambrano just threw a no-hitter for the Cubs, playing Houston (in Milwaukee, due to Ike interference).
Jaibones on September 14, 2008 at 10:45 PM
First one for the hapless Cubs since Milt Pappas in 1972.
Jaibones on September 14, 2008 at 10:46 PM
History Channel ran “102 minutes”. Startling to me how it affects me even now.
Jaibones on September 14, 2008 at 10:51 PM
Sorry – this is the Sunday Night Open Thread, is it not?
I knew that “Sitemeter” headline was just a bluff. I mean really…
Jaibones on September 14, 2008 at 10:52 PM
Next Thread: Ginger or Maryanne?
Mr_Magoo on September 14, 2008 at 11:10 PM
One thing that absolutely burns my beehind about this modern generation of “marketeers” is their idea of “change”. Change for the sake of change. Keep things stirred up all the time. Keep people guessing. You walk into a store like Walmart etc and about every 6 months they change things around and you have to re-learn. Who has time to re-learn things? If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. DD
Darvin Dowdy on September 14, 2008 at 11:14 PM
I’m so looking forward to that one.
wise_man on September 14, 2008 at 11:15 PM
I have been long annoyed at programmers / developers who are so very impressed with their own cleverness that they do things, not because these things are useful or even desireable, but because they can. These folks have been screwing up computing for years.
ss396 on September 14, 2008 at 11:17 PM
And making a ton of money in the process, while other people who actually do things and make things ….. earn less.
wise_man on September 14, 2008 at 11:24 PM
Yawn… snort… oops!
Maryanne, defiantly… lets go with that.
Kini on September 14, 2008 at 11:48 PM
Anyone seen the ABC nightly
NewsPropaganda 2nite?They did a hit piece on Sarah Palin’s church: Pentecostal – speaking in tongues – same ol same ol – black and white parishioners – getting along and holding hands – worshiping god…
Not one God Damning America
There’s some dirt in there… you just know it.. /sarc
Kini on September 14, 2008 at 11:57 PM