6 posts and columns on methodology

Web Ads Are Growing Again. But by How Much?

in Media on May 13, 2010 at 2:02 pm PT

We know that the Web ad business (and the ad business in general) is much better than it was a year ago, when it was awful. How much better?

ComScore’s Gift to Web Publishers: (Almost) Free Traffic [UPDATED]

in Media on January 22, 2010 at 3:00 am PT

Web publishers love to grouse about comScore’s traffic estimates. But many of them are much happier these days: A new measurement system is giving some sites a dramatic boost in Web visitors.
traffic

Microsoft Goes Hunting for Malvertisers. Are They the Same Guys Who Hacked the New York Times?

in Media on September 18, 2009 at 9:46 am PT

The hackers who duped the New York Times into serving a bogus ad last week may be part of a growing trend. Or they may just be very active: Microsoft says it has been hit by a similar attack and is suing the people behind it. But first the company needs to figure out who the culprits are.
dr-evil

Analyst: Bing’s Nice, but Google Still Works Better–Unless You’re Booking a Trip or Have a Rash

in Media on July 7, 2009 at 9:30 am PT

An endless ad barrage may be enough to get you to sample Bing. But it can’t ensure you’ll like the results once you try it. That’s the conclusion Citigroup’s Mark Mahaney reached after taking Microsoft’s new search engine for a spin and comparing it to Google’s and Yahoo’s. The result: Google still delivers better results most of the time. In 71 percent of searches, Google either supplied the most relevant answer or tied with other engines. Bing did that 46 percent of the time.
bing

Nielsen: We’re Sticking With Our 60 Percent Twitter Quitter Number

in Media on April 30, 2009 at 1:18 pm PT

Nielsen caused a stir this week by releasing data that showed that 60 percent of Twitter users stop using the much-hyped service after a month. Under fire for the survey’s methodology, Nielsen has rerun its numbers–and ended up with the same result.

Whoops. False Positive. Sorry ‘Bout That … Heh Heh.

in News on October 13, 2008 at 12:00 am PT

It figures. Not only are the predictive data mining and behavioral surveillance efforts through which the government hopes to identify terrorists a threat to privacy, they don’t really work, either. In a 352-page report published last week, the National Research Council said data mining and behavior detection aren’t nearly as useful as their proponents claim.