Thursday, August 14, 2008

Lies, Damned Lies, Statistics

You know us here at Teenage Kicks, and thanks to some free software, we know you. We know how many of you visit us each day, how long you stay, and where you are. You come from cities all over the U.S. and all around the world. In the past couple of days, we’ve had visitors from Italy, the Czech Republic, England, South Africa, Serbia and Montenegro, Costa Rica and Canada (yo, Windsor, Ontario!), among other nations. We thank you all for joining us.

The stat counting program also tells us how you got here. Some have us bookmarked, some come from links sent by e-mail, some from posts linked on message boards (a steady stream came from Paul Westerberg fan sites to read Trip’s interview with Peter Jesperson).

But one of the most interesting features allows us to see the web searches that bring people here. Sometimes, folks make their way to Teenage Kicks to find a specific mp3. Lately, a good number have found us by doing Google and Yahoo searches for Fleet Foxes and the Ting Tings. At least once a week, someone lands here while looking for rock’s iconic images. And we consistently welcome guests who are searching for information on Renee Crist, the tragic subject of the book Love is a Mix Tape.

But for the Googling set, one search consistently brings more visitors than any other:

“Steely Dan gargles my balls.”

Yes, this is the predominant portal for users to randomly find us. Virtually every day, our audience is made up of someone who just wants to know a little more about the ball-gargling habits of the world's foremost purveyors of sardonic jazz-rock.

When you least expect it, humility strikes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Since when did Teenage Kicks become Big Brother? btw - the site is doubleplusgood.