

The Real Problem With Alexa (a rant from the founder of Slashdot) - damien
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/07/23/152243

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Alex3917
"It uses a broken methodology to measure the internet and is, for reasons
unclear to anyone, regarded as somehow definitive simply because it allows you
to compare two sites with a single simple number."

As opposed to IQ, GPA, SATs, LOC, Meyers-Briggs, Megapixels, Megahertz, Merit
Badges, Horsepower, US News Rank, Karma points, etc.?

Someone should really write down some theory on what can be measured and what
can't be measured. You'd think we'd have some idea after 2,500+ years of
philosophy, but it doesn't much seem that way.

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tx
He is absolutely right: confounding is explained in the first chapter of any
book on statistics. Alexa's stats do not fall into "randomized controlled"
category of studies, therefore they are pretty much guaranteed to be wrong.

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lkozma
Probably Alexa is only useful in watching the trend of a single site, rather
than comparing sites, or looking at the absolute numbers.

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brlewis
It's only useful for watching the trend of a single site within the Alexa
demographic. It might not reflect the site's overall trend.

