Ouch.
We’ve seen this one popping up all over the Web recently, but apparently it’s several years old. In fact, it’s been ranked among the top virals of all time. The reporter just had the wind knocked out of her and is fine.
Is Forbes.com Getting 15 Million Visitors Per Month — or Half That? Who Knows?
From the NY Times:
Forbes‘ Web prowess is a reason Elevation Partners, a private equity firm that has U2′s Bono as a managing director, agreed on Aug. 4 to buy a minority stake in Forbes’ publishing business. But a closer look at the numbers raises questions about Forbes.com’s success. For its claim of a worldwide audience of nearly 15.3 million, it has been citing February data from comScore Media Metrix, one of the two leading providers of third-party Web traffic data.
But comScore has since revised the figure downward to less than 13.2 million as part of a broader revamping of its worldwide data for many sites. There is also the question of where those visitors were going. According to comScore, 45 percent of Forbes.com’s February traffic went to ForbesAutos.com, heavy on car reviews and photos. About three-quarters of the ForbesAutos.com traffic came from outside the United States.
Since February, comScore said, Forbes.com’s traffic has tumbled. In July, Forbes Web sites drew 7.3 million unique visitors worldwide, almost a million of whom went to ForbesAutos … Asked why, as recently as last week, Forbes.com continued to cite comScore’s discarded figure of 15.3 million on its Web site, [Forbes.com's James] Spanfeller said that the company only learned of comScore’s new, lower number when informed of it by a reporter…
What about comScore’s July figure of 7.3 million, which is less than half what Forbes.com has been using? Spanfeller said comScore’s latest figures clashed with the company’s internally generated data, which still showed about 15 million visitors a month, with ForbesAutos.com accounting for 2 million of those. Still, Spanfeller, who is also chairman of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, the trade association for online media, conceded that the proliferation of Web traffic statistics could be confusing and agreed that the industry needed to deal with that issue.
We can sympathize with Spanfeller a bit; we’ve used three different tools to measure our traffic — some simultaneously — and they have never come back with the same data.
Still, Bono may wonder if he’s found what he’s looking for in Forbes.com. (Sorry. That was really bad.)
"The Most Perverse and Outlandish PR Stunt in the History of Film"
No, it’s not Snakes on a Plane.
From Canadian Press:
The September fight card for controversial German movie director and itinerant boxer Uwe Boll is full. The director of the recently released vampire flick BloodRayne … claims to be frustrated with critics trashing his films … So, in June, he challenged them to a fight which will be filmed and incorporated into an upcoming Boll film…
Fifteen people applied for the punchup. The five now on the fight card with Boll are:
- Chris Alexander of Toronto, Ont., a journalist with Rue Morgue radio and magazine.
- Richard Kyanka of Lee’s Summit, Mo., webmaster of www.somethingawful.com.
- Jeff Sneider of Los Angeles, Calif., a journalist with Ain’t It Cool News.
- Nelson Chance Mintner, a web site critic from Fredrick, Md.
- Carlos Palencia Jimenez-Arguello from Madrid, Spain, webmaster of www.cinecutre.com.
Mintner is only 17, Boll said, but the teen is also a boxer and Boll expects him to be the greatest challenge.
Alexander, 31, said he might be the least challenging. “I saw this as probably the most perverse and outlandish PR stunt in the history of film. Uwe Boll is in line with Ed Wood as far as being one of the most inept filmmakers ever,” Alexander said. “If I can get at least three hits in — one for each lousy video game horror movie that Uwe Boll has made — then I’ll be happy.”
Eight Tips for Preparing for a Conversation with the Boss
Scott M. Libin offers eight tips for preparing for a conversation with the boss. The short version:
1. Time it right.
2. Do your homework.
3. Be specific.
4. Try to imagine the issue from your boss’s perspective.
5. Be open-minded.
6. Speak for yourself, not for others.
7. Don’t bury the lead.
8. Ask for the order.
Read the full article here.
Yo, Michelle Malkin! Got Another Liberal Media Conspiracy for You — Check It Out
First, the liberal media Photoshopped Condoleezza Rice to make her look demonic. Then, they Photoshopped pictures of Lebanon to make it look like civilians were actually suffering over there.
And now, the coup de gras: They’ve messed with Tiger Woods’ cap.
This is outrageous, and there is certainly some liberal media member with some kind of liberal motivation behind it. We’ll leave you to figure that part out; it’s your specialty.