In it for the long haul

[MillieDynamite]

Well, I'm a master of KISS band listeners... and I'm not super fussed with any of the stats. Just like pulling your chain, now and again, see what comes out!

Put the calculator away, we don't have to do math. I leave that for the insanely stat obsessed graph and spreadsheet folks.

I am a master of the Kiss principle, so what I see is what there is.

Avoiding the endless "just because it has a good score doesn't mean quality" chirping by the terminally petty, there are ways people can see how a story is doing.

You can see the score
You can see the comments
You can see how many times its been favorited or added to a read list.
If its on a top list.

But views, although visible when someone sees a story, are there readers out there that really even notice, let alone say "Score's meh, hardly any comments or votes or favs, but hot damn, look at those views!!! I need to check this out.

From an author perspective all a view means is 'X amount of people clicked on this yesterday" but did they? Were they all people? No way to know. Even if its people, was every click a read? We don't know.

In fact we often lament the sad votes to view ratio and even sadder comment to view ratio. We see it as look how few people take the time to vote or comments, very low percentage.

But what if its not as low as we think because not all of those views are legit and the ratio of legit views to votes is better?

I'll hold to the opinion its a useless stat and if I want to be a little snarkier its a crutch of "Look, I'm seeing no real action on my story, but dammit, its being viewed!

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Views as a stat doesn't mean much, no, but views related to your other numbers means a lot.

Story A 1000 views, 20 votes, 3 comments
Story B 5000 views, 20 votes, 3 comments

Story B may be getting more clicks but story A is holding interest to the end.

Also, the more views that you get, the more chance that you'll get feedback. In this way, not so important as a stat looking back, but as a potential going forward, you want your story in front of the most potential eyeballs.

 

[lovecraft68]

Well, I'm a master of KISS band listeners... and I'm not super fussed with any of the stats. Just like pulling your chain, now and again, see what comes out!

Probably before your time but back in the day KISS the band stood for Knights in Satan's Service, so be careful with that devil music!

And I pay attention enough to know you're not bothered one way or another about numbers (although I see you in the milestone thread so you pay some attention) but if I can use a comment to yank others chains while you're pulling mine?

Why not?

Referencing chains and jerking makes me think there's a plot bunny here.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Plot bunny... that's... anincrediblyhelpfulwaytomoveastory... along.

Probably before your time but back in the day KISS the band stood for Knights in Satan's Service, so be careful with that devil music!

And I pay attention enough to know you're not bothered one way or another about numbers (although I see you in the milestone thread so you pay some attention) but if I can use a comment to yank others chains while you're pulling mine?

Why not?

Referencing chains and jerking makes me think there's a plot bunny here.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Probably before your time but back in the day KISS the band stood for Knights in Satan's Service, so be careful with that devil music!

And I pay attention enough to know you're not bothered one way or another about numbers (although I see you in the milestone thread so you pay some attention) but if I can use a comment to yank others chains while you're pulling mine?

Why not?

Referencing chains and jerking makes me think there's a plot bunny here.

Nope not true. The entire band has denied this since day one.
Truth is much simpler:

KISS got their name in 1973 when drummer Peter Criss mentioned his previous band, Lips, prompting Paul Stanley to suggest "Kiss" while they were driving in NYC. Seeking a short, memorable, and international-sounding name, the band adopted it, with Ace Frehley designing the iconic, lightning-bolt logo shortly after.

 

[norafares]

 

[MillieDynamite]

Lil' bit.

Probably before your time but back in the day KISS the band stood for Knights in Satan's Service, so be careful with that devil music!

And I pay attention enough to know you're not bothered one way or another about numbers (although I see you in the milestone thread so you pay some attention) but if I can use a comment to yank others chains while you're pulling mine?

Why not?

Referencing chains and jerking makes me think there's a plot bunny here.

 

[PennyThompson]

I think I unwittingly got lucky with my first story, it was horny nonsense in a niche genre with an illustrative story description

Looking at it now I think it's kind of cringe, and if I went back and redid it I would write parts of it very differently, but it still gets views and comments a year and a half later!

 

[MillieDynamite]

I should be so lucky!

View attachment 2599380
I think I unwittingly got lucky with my first story, it was horny nonsense in a niche genre with an illustrative story description

Looking at it now I think it's kind of cringe, and if I went back and redid it I would write parts of it very differently, but it still gets views and comments a year and a half later!

 

[BobbyBrandt]

My point is-or maybe more of my opinion-is that views are engagement to a degree as again, they're not all real, but is that what people see if they're someone who basis what they read on stats?

You see a high score, you think it must be good. You see a lot of comments you think its gotten some buzz. If its on a lot of favorite pages or reading lists, people must be interested in it. It has a bunch of views and...? Again, this can just be how I see it, but I don't feel a view by itself is worth much.

I might make an exception for the stories that are on the most viewed list because at that point something is drawing people to look in well above average numbers, but its not the total views itself, its something else. Title, tag, score, top list but there has to be another reason.

I have long advocated for a more comprehensive perspective for story stats, with the longevity of reader interest being one of these. That goes beyond the story maintaining a red H.

As you have said, a rating alone, or the views alone, or any other statistic alone, doesn't tell us much about the reader interest or engagement as a whole.

I'll toss this out once more as an example:

The score isn't a disappointment. No question there.

Less than 2,000 views in six years? Using that single stat, it appears to have tanked.

Yet, if you look at those views (1,750) and then compare them to the number of the votes received (687), the ratio is off the charts. The same is true of the comments-per-view and the number of favorites-per-view. As of this past week, it was averaging 7.8 views per day (contest entry influence).

I put this story in the 'win' column where reader interest and engagement are concerned. That means more to me than any single statistic, and it can't be determined by any single statistic.

 

[MillieDynamite]

That's sort of how I feel about Just a Friendly Drink. My first transgender story.

I have long advocated for a more comprehensive perspective for story stats, with the longevity of reader interest being one of these. That goes beyond the story maintaining a red H.

As you have said, a rating alone, or the views alone, or any other statistic alone, doesn't tell us much about the reader interest or engagement as a whole.

I'll toss this out once more as an example:
View attachment 2599385
The score isn't a disappointment. No question there.

Less than 2,000 views in six years? Using that single stat, it appears to have tanked.

Yet, if you look at those views (1,750) and then compare them to the number of the votes received (687), the ratio is off the charts. The same is true of the comments-per-view and the number of favorites-per-view. As of this past week, it was averaging 7.8 views per day (contest entry influence).

I put this story in the 'win' column where reader interest and engagement are concerned. That means more to me than any single statistic, and it can't be determined by any single statistic.

 

[Djmac1031]

and the current views-per-day stat.

how does one find a "views per day" stat?

 

[MillieDynamite]

You have to track it yourself, or do the calculation of time vs views.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

how does one find a "views per day" stat?

In the majority of cases, it will be an average. I download my stats weekly, so I can see the views difference for each story over that period and divide that number by 7.

You can also calculate the number of days since a story was published and divide that into the total number of views, but that isn't necessarily reflective of the current number. The example that I gave in my original post in this thread is the current views-per-day number which is 11.09 higher than the average views-per-day for the life of the story.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Bobby, I thought that was what I said? Though I didn't break it down for him. All I hear all day long at Lit is how great BobbyBrandt is at this or how wonderful BobbyBrandt did that—Bobby, Bobby, Bobby!

In the majority of cases, it will be an average. I download my stats weekly, so I can see the views difference for each story over that period and divide that number by 7.

You can also calculate the number of days since a story was published and divide that into the total number of views, but that isn't necessarily reflective of the current number. The example that I gave in my original post in this thread is the current views-per-day number which is 11.09 higher than the average views-per-day for the life of the story.

 

[Djmac1031]

download my stats weekly,

I suppose I need to do that on a computer? I just use my phone.

 

[PennyThompson]

In the majority of cases, it will be an average. I download my stats weekly, so I can see the views difference for each story over that period and divide that number by 7.

You can also calculate the number of days since a story was published and divide that into the total number of views, but that isn't necessarily reflective of the current number. The example that I gave in my original post in this thread is the current views-per-day number which is 11.09 higher than the average views-per-day for the life of the story.

this feels like the path of analytics-induced psychosis to me

 

[BobbyBrandt]

I suppose I need to do that on a computer? I just use my phone.

You could simply take screen shots on a regluar basis and compare those.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

this feels like the path of analytics-induced psychosis to me

Nah, simple Excel formulas do all the work.

 

[alohadave]

how does one find a "views per day" stat?

Views / number of days published.

 

[PennyThompson]

Views / number of days published.

That wouldn't be a very useful number though, because actual views-per-day-over-time would almost certainly look like this:

 

[designatedvictim]

View attachment 2599385
Yet, if you look at those views (1,750) and then compare them to the number of the votes received (687), the ratio is off the charts. The same is true of the comments-per-view and the number of favorites-per-view. As of this past week, it was averaging 7.8 views per day (contest entry influence).

I've seen you post this several times in the past and that votes-to-views ratio absolutely astounds me.

I'll admit it. I'm envious.

Well done.

 

[Djmac1031]

You could simply take screen shots on a regluar basis and compare those.

Oh I'm far too lazy for that.

 

[old_prof]

I've seen you post this several times in the past and that votes-to-views ratio absolutely astounds me.

I'll admit it. I'm envious.

Well done.

Remember, the ratios are heavily category driven. As are the total views.

Im not saying that BB's ratios aren't astounding considering category, but everything needs context. Don't compare E&V ratios to N&N ratios.

 

[MillieDynamite]

Sadly, yes, yes, they most assuredly do.

That wouldn't be a very useful number though, because actual views-per-day-over-time would almost certainly look like this:

View attachment 2599402