MeFi / Facebook cross polination August 9, 2010 6:31 PM   Subscribe

As a traffic/stats nerd, I posted the P!=NP story today to my Facebook wall. That got me wondering, is a significant/noticeable amount of traffic on the Blue from non-member FB referenced visitors?

I know that we are good about posting via references on FPPs, and since most of my FB friends are not around here I try to post to the mefi stories instead of just pulling links from stories that I want to share. So thinking back to all of the fun traffic data mining posts MeTa, I was wondering if FB wall posts (likely from members I would guess) are somehow discernible as sending traffic to the site that is new visitors or repeat non-members.

I run several low volume web sites, so I imagine even a minor symbiotic relationships between two high volume sites would be impressive.
posted by cgk to MetaFilter-Related at 6:31 PM (35 comments total)

Can MetaFilter plant beets on my farm every time I link to MeFi?
posted by qvantamon at 6:46 PM on August 9, 2010 [1 favorite]


non-member FB referenced visitors

I know all of these words and yet...
posted by DU at 6:56 PM on August 9, 2010 [1 favorite]


Can MetaFilter plant beets on my farm every time I link to MeFi?

Dwight Schrute is that you?
posted by Babblesort at 6:58 PM on August 9, 2010 [1 favorite]


It's going to take a while before I can dissociate that wacky MeFi Projects post from this subject. Perhaps that's a good thing.

That's because you can't see the FOUR CORNER DAYS and choose to de-god singularity.
posted by SNWidget at 7:40 PM on August 9, 2010


I have no idea what you're talking about.
posted by dfriedman at 7:40 PM on August 9, 2010


I want no cross-pollination with Facebook. Think of the monstrous hybrids that could result from such a pairing: thousand-foot-tall bean plants requiring six hundred clicks, at precise intervals, to prevent them from toppling on you...
posted by killdevil at 7:47 PM on August 9, 2010 [3 favorites]


According to a recent comment in MeTa from mathowie, about 65% of the server's traffic is from people who haven't ever visited MeFi before and only look at 1 page. Whether or not they're coming from Facebook? Dunno. Probably not very many; I imagine the majority of that 65% comes in via search engines.

Anyway, for me personally there's enough crossover between MeFi friends and Facebook friends that I always hesitate before posting a link over here on my wall, on the assumption that many of my FBFs have seen it already.
posted by carsonb at 7:54 PM on August 9, 2010


FBBFFs
posted by carsonb at 7:59 PM on August 9, 2010


Just took a quick look at some very rough numbers for the last month. Facebook is just in the top 20 of referring sites. Of those visitors from Facebook, 80-90% are non-members. They visit 1.35 pages. Somehow. Looks like visits from Facebook are trending down somewhat looking at the month, but traffic from there looks steady overall.
posted by pb (staff) at 8:14 PM on August 9, 2010 [3 favorites]


What is the top 20 of referring sites?
posted by Kattullus at 8:27 PM on August 9, 2010 [4 favorites]


Google has got to be in the top two.
posted by Deathalicious at 8:41 PM on August 9, 2010


I dunno, I post links to facebook a lot, but tend to link to the actual content rather than blog posts about it, even if I think the blog posts are better. This place can be a bit inaccessible to outsiders with all the in-jokes and feuds and such. Also it's kind of rude to content creators.

You actually post links *to* mefi? I guess I've done that on the rare occasion that a really well-done multi-link post is the better option, but mostly avoid it.

If pb logs referer, it should be easy enough to approximate how much traffic is driven here by facebook. I would guess "not very much".
posted by cj_ at 9:21 PM on August 9, 2010


(Obvious lack of preview... doh)
posted by cj_ at 9:22 PM on August 9, 2010


What is the top 20 of referring sites?

Ask mathowie. I might have already said too much.
posted by pb (staff) at 9:31 PM on August 9, 2010


What is the top 20 of referring sites?

Ask mathowie. I might have already said too much.



Okay, I'll bite: mathowie, what is the top 12 of referring sites?
posted by amyms at 9:35 PM on August 9, 2010


20*

I don't know where that 12 came from.
posted by amyms at 9:36 PM on August 9, 2010


pb: "Ask mathowie. I might have already said too much."

mathowie sighs sadly, and prepares the qb.
posted by boo_radley at 9:39 PM on August 9, 2010 [6 favorites]


pb: Ask mathowie. I might have already said too much.

Oh man, tracking down a sacrificial animal is always such a chore, and I can never remember the astrographical formulas I have to consult to ensure that it's the right species and how hairy it's supposed to be and whether I'm supposed to face the sun or the moon and which goober of a planet is supposed to be in the ascendant and where the Pleiades are supposed to be and if I'm supposed to be standing on the right leg or the left leg and should I wave my arms about or keep them close to my body and how many skulls of my enemies is too much and how few is too little and should the feathers be all of one color or multicolored and should I be naked or cover up, y'know, it's all such a darn bother I wish there were some website out there I could just ask people and get an answer.
posted by Kattullus at 9:55 PM on August 9, 2010 [4 favorites]


I hope MetaFilter is one of the top 20 referers* to MetaFilter! It seems it ought to be the top, but I bet Google really is.

* sic
posted by aubilenon at 1:34 AM on August 10, 2010


13. www.zombo.com
14. www.ratemypenilewarts.co.uk
posted by Meatbomb at 4:41 AM on August 10, 2010


16. www.instantrimshot.com
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:01 AM on August 10, 2010


10. CatScannerFancy.com
posted by empath at 5:47 AM on August 10, 2010


12. TimeCube.com (but all the visitors are from the FUTURE)
posted by inigo2 at 5:59 AM on August 10, 2010


*sigh*

I remember the first time I made a time travel joke...

I think it was back in 2022.

Good times.
posted by quin at 7:22 AM on August 10, 2010 [2 favorites]


I tend to post the link to the original content on my FB page and I'm unlikely to note the Metafilter origin if I've commented in the thread because I'm strangely concerned about my FB friends figuring out my Metafilter username. I'm not sure why I'm uncomfortable with that but I am. If I haven't commented in the thread than I often put a "via Metafilter" note but still link to the original content.
posted by victoriab at 7:52 AM on August 10, 2010


Hey! www.ratemypenilewarts.co.uk doesn't exist. Now I'm all disappointed ...
posted by kthxbi at 7:54 AM on August 10, 2010


15. www.instantrimjob.com
posted by barrett caulk at 9:03 AM on August 10, 2010

I'm sure a quick Google image search could provide you all the penile warts you could ever care to rate.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:17 AM on August 10 [+] [!]


(You know that you're tempted to highlight that term and right-click google it. Give in.)
posted by Burhanistan at 10:18 AM on August 10 [+] [!]
THE HORROR
posted by jtron at 10:10 AM on August 10, 2010


I hate Facebook wall spam.
posted by meehawl at 10:15 AM on August 10, 2010


Huh, I never thought to check what would come up if I image.googled my username. Luckily there was nothing too horrifying until page 15.
posted by Kattullus at 11:31 AM on August 10, 2010


Isn't it still Monday?
posted by infini at 11:49 AM on August 10, 2010


Alexa is mildly helpful: Metafilter.com Site Info - see the "clickstream" tab for "Which sites did users visit immediately preceding metafilter.com?" Then read the reviews:
Infuriating, chaotic, undisciplined, obnoxious, freeform to a fault, self-policing, elitist, boring, repetitive stew of opinions - and all the better for it.
and note the secret address of the cabal.
posted by psyche7 at 2:31 PM on August 10, 2010


Review from off Alexa:
The perfect forum...

... for pretentious, godless hipsters. The place to go for turgid political correctness! Has an unmatched variety of smug pseudo-intellectuals, from evangelical atheists and religion-bigots, to paranoid feminazis, to hysterical skeptics of the paranormal and alternative remedies, and much much more! The highlight of the site is the question-and-answer section, where the pathetetic go to get their subjective opinions validated by a majority, and the ignorant get hilariously wrong answers to their health questions.
No wonder I feel so at home here! Everyone here is my people!
posted by Kattullus at 7:50 PM on August 10, 2010 [2 favorites]


repetitive stew

see... we need more recipes


*ducks*
posted by infini at 3:54 AM on August 11, 2010


That "pretentious, godless hipsters" review is like every "MetaFilter: ________" quip mashed together into a single ball of GRARness. I love it. (Ironically and atheisticly of course)
posted by The Lurkers Support Me in Email at 8:07 AM on August 11, 2010


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