If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Mark — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:33:33 GMT

That's attrocious journalism. The response from 'Mark Penn' at the bottom indicates that the data in the chart comes from actually three sources.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is one, as you mention, but the total blogging population apparently comes from 'a research report from eMarketer' and the 2% from the Technorati poll. For a start how do we even know if those two sources have the same definition of a blogger?

The Technorati poll also was international ('received 1,290 completed responses from 66 countries'), it is not clear whether the eMarketer one was too. If it wasn't then you're comparing statistics from two differenct populations, if it is international then the 452,000 figure is certainly an over estimation as it includes all international full-time bloggers.

It's like trying to claim that your indie film is more successful than a prime-time TV show because the film's international DVD sales are more than the TV shows domestic viewing figures.

Astonishing.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

kliu — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:41:52 GMT

Furthermore, if they really wanted to go w/ the Technorati figures, they should have at least taken 2% of the 4.7 million active blogs instead of the 20 million total (since the 2% applies to active bloggers).

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

James Schend — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:57:21 GMT

"Blogging is my primary source of income" = "I got laid off 2 years ago, and I don't do much but lounge on my sofa and eat Cheetos-- oh I guess I wrote a blog post last week."

I mean, yeah, there's the blogs like BoingBoing and Neatorama that probably pull in a good salary for their owners, but that's a pretty tiny minority.

I also agree with Mark: Virtually everybody on the Internet is a blogger. Live accounts come with a blog, so do MySpace, Facebook, and LiveJournal. And Slashdot, for the geeky types. Arguably, Flickr and places like DeviantArt are blog sites. There's no way that 2% of this group has blogging as their primary source of income.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

The Smurf — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:02:17 GMT

"derived from a Technorati report that..."

Then the rest of the numbers should have come from Technorati too. Numbers from two different sources don't belong in the same chart.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

RobO — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:02:38 GMT

The Dilbert from May 8, 2008

Dilbert: Studies have shown that accurate numbers aren't any more usefule than the ones you make up.

Question: How many Studies showed that?

Dilbert: Eighty-seven

http://www.dilbert.com/strips/comic/2008-05-08/?CmtOrder=Rating&CmtDir=DESC

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Maurits — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:30:47 GMT

> Insert obligatory Disraeli quote <

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Falcon — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:32:59 GMT

"People can come up with statistics to prove anything, forfty percent of people know that!"

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Aaargh! — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:13:21 GMT

> "People can come up with statistics to prove anything, forfty percent of people know that!"

84% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Including this one.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

someone else — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:51:27 GMT

73.94539590% of all statistics are unrealistically exact.

120% of all statistics exaggerate greatly.

36% of all statistics are consistent, while 81% aren't.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Jules — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:11:19 GMT

There's a thorough debunking of the 452,000 figure here: http://www.businessinsider.com/wsj-pro-blogger-stats-2009-4

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

technorat — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:14:54 GMT

One sentence that probably is not true but still unnerving: "At some point the value of the Huffington Post will no doubt pass the value of the Washington Post." I suppose the writer envisions the value of the Huffington Post going steadily up; as a reader of The Washington Post, seeing it get thinner and thinner, and familiar names disappear, I picture it happening otherwise.

And to the extent the values converge it will have nothing to do with the bloggers, but rather that flight of advertising from print to the web.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Kip Kniskern — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:08:34 GMT

If blogs with 100k uniques make $75k, someone owes us a bunch of money!

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

MadQ — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:42:59 GMT

I learned very early on in my career never to trust any statistic I didn't forge myself.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

steveg — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 04:49:11 GMT

Screw the stats. Can someone teach me to play baseball?

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Anonymous — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:30:24 GMT

I noticed the "bloggers" number has fewer significant digits than all the others...

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

chrismcb — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 06:33:46 GMT

@Anonymous, and you know that because?

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Lauren Smith — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 11:23:03 GMT

Seriously, though. 390K as a minimum wage is nothing to shake a stick at.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Dusty — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:56:54 GMT

From the article:

"...and Technorati states those who had 100,000 or more unique visitors the average income is $75,000".

This statement does not imply a cause-effect realtionship ; that the bloggers are earning $75k because they get 100k unique visitors. Why couldn't it be the other way? People who earn $75k and write blogs get 100,000 unique visitors.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Who? — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:28:53 GMT

@Lauren Smith

It's clearly something to swing a stick at.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Jason — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:42:23 GMT

75.3% of all statistics are made up on the spot. They're also 93.7% more believable if they include a decimal point.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Robert Synnott — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:15:05 GMT

It is perhaps particularly unfortunate that a guy who runs a polling company, and advises politicians on polling, does not know what the phrase 'or more' means.

re: If you can't find the statistics you want, then just make them up

Judah — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:28:25 GMT

I'm with Lauren. I'll take a $390k minimum wage! :-)