Comments on: Keep your Mouthshut and don’t Burrp http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/ The True Picture of the Internet & Technology Wave in India. No BS. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:39:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: Devid http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-57 Devid Sun, 12 Aug 2007 12:52:43 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-57 Deap, you are smoking pot if you want people with *some* IQ to believe your fake traffic numbers. While Alexa may not be accurate in providing concrete numbers, it does a very decent job of providing relative comparison between two sites. Your reach is around 40 on Alexa. Your traffic is close to 10,000 uniques a day. Guaranteed. Prove me wrong and drinks are on me. Sorry to break your bubble. But next time, think twice before cooking up a number. cheers! Deap, you are smoking pot if you want people with *some* IQ to believe your fake traffic numbers. While Alexa may not be accurate in providing concrete numbers, it does a very decent job of providing relative comparison between two sites.

Your reach is around 40 on Alexa. Your traffic is close to 10,000 uniques a day. Guaranteed. Prove me wrong and drinks are on me.

Sorry to break your bubble. But next time, think twice before cooking up a number.

cheers!

]]> By: Matt http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-54 Matt Sat, 11 Aug 2007 13:22:34 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-54 Yes, it is true that often the figures are not right. Often outright lies. But Alexa should not be used as a measure of actual traffic - it can at best give you a comparative ratio when you are comparing two sites in the same category. I have had a few real nasty surprises relating alexa data to actual traffic. I agree with your general point though. Yes, it is true that often the figures are not right. Often outright lies. But Alexa should not be used as a measure of actual traffic - it can at best give you a comparative ratio when you are comparing two sites in the same category. I have had a few real nasty surprises relating alexa data to actual traffic. I agree with your general point though.

]]> By: Vishal Lamba http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-52 Vishal Lamba Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:11:24 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-52 1. Sure, agree it may be manupalateable... but my guess is that 95% of the time it is right to 10% to 15% plus minus...which is good enough to give us a fairly decent idea / estimate. 2. my $2 CPM estimate is only for THIS TYPE (content category) of site. I am very well aware that this is NOT a standard... and some specific sites and blogs command a much higher CPM... and some lower. 3. You'll be surprised what inaccurate data and hype people are creating in Web2.0... there is a lot of incorrect figures floating out there - even from the larger / VC funded companies. I dont agree w/ u that it only belongs to Bubble1.0 - this is a plague you will aways see not only in Web2 but in most business interviews in general - online and offline. Lot of people/CEOs prefer to hype to increase value. 1. Sure, agree it may be manupalateable… but my guess is that 95% of the time it is right to 10% to 15% plus minus…which is good enough to give us a fairly decent idea / estimate.

2. my $2 CPM estimate is only for THIS TYPE (content category) of site. I am very well aware that this is NOT a standard… and some specific sites and blogs command a much higher CPM… and some lower.

3. You’ll be surprised what inaccurate data and hype people are creating in Web2.0… there is a lot of incorrect figures floating out there - even from the larger / VC funded companies. I dont agree w/ u that it only belongs to Bubble1.0 - this is a plague you will aways see not only in Web2 but in most business interviews in general - online and offline. Lot of people/CEOs prefer to hype to increase value.

]]> By: Matt http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-50 Matt Fri, 10 Aug 2007 21:04:37 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-50 1. Alexa data is wildly inaccurate. The data sources used by sites is their own log file or internal / external statistics programs. Alexa data is widely known among site assessors and senior SEOs to be inaccurate and easily manipulated. On the other hand, everyone uses it as a rule of thumb. I have seen alexa rankings of 5000 for sites with 5000 unique visitors a day, and rankings of 75000 for sites with 20k visitors a day. Both numbers checked by analysing logs with multiple stats programs. 2. $ 2 cpm -- where did you get this from? It can be a lot lower than that - for forums - and a lot higher than that for certain type of content websites. I would say it is possible that it is 3-4 times as I have seen content sites with such CPMs. Sysadmin mistaking hits for visitors - I say cheap shot! That belongs to the days of 1996, and I don't think any CEO is such an idiot. Despite all these, I agree with your basic premise in your post. 1. Alexa data is wildly inaccurate. The data sources used by sites is their own log file or internal / external statistics programs. Alexa data is widely known among site assessors and senior SEOs to be inaccurate and easily manipulated. On the other hand, everyone uses it as a rule of thumb. I have seen alexa rankings of 5000 for sites with 5000 unique visitors a day, and rankings of 75000 for sites with 20k visitors a day. Both numbers checked by analysing logs with multiple stats programs.

2. $ 2 cpm — where did you get this from? It can be a lot lower than that - for forums - and a lot higher than that for certain type of content websites. I would say it is possible that it is 3-4 times as I have seen content sites with such CPMs.

Sysadmin mistaking hits for visitors - I say cheap shot! That belongs to the days of 1996, and I don’t think any CEO is such an idiot.

Despite all these, I agree with your basic premise in your post.

]]> By: Vishal Lamba http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-10 Vishal Lamba Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:39:32 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-10 Hi Santosh, I'm not beng short sighted. Infact - <a HREF="http://tekchakra.com/about/" rel="nofollow">go here</A>, and see my signature :-) I completely agree that Ad revenues is not the "only" way these sites can monetize - but it is a BIG chunk of it. And, you've said that yourself, in your posting. I'm sure these sites can come up with other unique ways to monetize - but ad revenues will be the backbone support. If that doesnt work - i'm not sure there is / are replacement alternatives that can take over as large revenue earners. Also, while i'm sure they can sell critical data to brands - i'm not sure if these brands would be willing to dish out top dollar for the data - and how critical this data is for them, as opposed to the data they get from other sources in the market. Further, the data is open for anyone to come in and see - right? So, why would any third party pay for it? Unless, you meant some some sort paid/customized market survey study with profiling of users data. Perhaps a merger with or sell out to JustDial would work well :-) Hi Santosh,

I’m not beng short sighted. Infact - go here, and see my signature :-)

I completely agree that Ad revenues is not the “only” way these sites can monetize - but it is a BIG chunk of it. And, you’ve said that yourself, in your posting.

I’m sure these sites can come up with other unique ways to monetize - but ad revenues will be the backbone support. If that doesnt work - i’m not sure there is / are replacement alternatives that can take over as large revenue earners.

Also, while i’m sure they can sell critical data to brands - i’m not sure if these brands would be willing to dish out top dollar for the data - and how critical this data is for them, as opposed to the data they get from other sources in the market. Further, the data is open for anyone to come in and see - right? So, why would any third party pay for it? Unless, you meant some some sort paid/customized market survey study with profiling of users data.

Perhaps a merger with or sell out to JustDial would work well :-)

]]> By: Vishal Lamba http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-9 Vishal Lamba Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:28:31 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-9 Hi Deap, Welcome to the blog. While I completely understand your move and desire to build a brand - I personally dont see this to be a large enough B2C model that is going to be (mostly) supported by ad revenues (unless you have another secret plan on making money akin to subscription fees, restaraunt paid ads/publicity, events etc). I simply dont see the numbers adding up here or the potential for viral growth of such a model. Perhaps, I am missing something here? Alexa uses a system of sampling from a large fraction of the global Internet population. So, the numbers on their site are very accurate and infact used by a lot of Internet pundits to analyze various online models. They apply the right scaling model to come up with their estimates - which are very accurate - and match those seen by site owners. Also, can you share with us the data source that you have to backup your claims of getting 80,000 daily visitors. Maybe, your sys admin mistook unique hits for unique visits ;-) Hi Deap,

Welcome to the blog.

While I completely understand your move and desire to build a brand - I personally dont see this to be a large enough B2C model that is going to be (mostly) supported by ad revenues (unless you have another secret plan on making money akin to subscription fees, restaraunt paid ads/publicity, events etc). I simply dont see the numbers adding up here or the potential for viral growth of such a model. Perhaps, I am missing something here?

Alexa uses a system of sampling from a large fraction of the global Internet population. So, the numbers on their site are very accurate and infact used by a lot of Internet pundits to analyze various online models. They apply the right scaling model to come up with their estimates - which are very accurate - and match those seen by site owners.

Also, can you share with us the data source that you have to backup your claims of getting 80,000 daily visitors. Maybe, your sys admin mistook unique hits for unique visits ;-)

]]> By: santosh http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-7 santosh Mon, 30 Jul 2007 07:39:56 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-7 Hi Vishal, If you feel that ad revenues is the only way to monetize these sites, then probably you are being short-sighted! Its definitely a major chunk but not the only one! Don't know wat these sites are doing. But I can vouch for the data that they are collating. The reviews that are being amassed can easily be sold by making qualitative reports to brands! There is lots more to it, if only you widen your horizon. Hi Vishal,

If you feel that ad revenues is the only way to monetize these sites, then probably you are being short-sighted! Its definitely a major chunk but not the only one!

Don’t know wat these sites are doing. But I can vouch for the data that they are collating. The reviews that are being amassed can easily be sold by making qualitative reports to brands! There is lots more to it, if only you widen your horizon.

]]> By: Deap Ubhi http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-5 Deap Ubhi Mon, 30 Jul 2007 02:27:24 +0000 http://tekchakra.com/2007/07/27/keep-your-mouthshut-and-dont-burrp/#comment-5 Fair points, Vishal. I do agree that we're some time away from meaningful monetization, but the point was to create enough brand equity early in the game to well-position the product to become a market leader when maturity settles in. I wouldn't lie about our traffic numbers, especially publicly, so believe Alexa if you will. I'm sure all Indian internet users have the Alexa toolbar installed in their browsers, so it must be calibrated to perfection, right? Secondly, nobody has come up with a rule of thumb in India given that maximum surfing happens from shared IP addresses (offices and internet cafes). Lastly, it's "I beg to differ" not "I beg to defer" - sorry, I'm a grammar nazi. Fair points, Vishal. I do agree that we’re some time away from meaningful monetization, but the point was to create enough brand equity early in the game to well-position the product to become a market leader when maturity settles in. I wouldn’t lie about our traffic numbers, especially publicly, so believe Alexa if you will. I’m sure all Indian internet users have the Alexa toolbar installed in their browsers, so it must be calibrated to perfection, right? Secondly, nobody has come up with a rule of thumb in India given that maximum surfing happens from shared IP addresses (offices and internet cafes).

Lastly, it’s “I beg to differ” not “I beg to defer” - sorry, I’m a grammar nazi.

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