metrics
Latest
Hitting the Books: The dangerous real-world consequences of our online attention economy
If reality television has taught us anything, it's there's not much people won't do if offered enough money and attention. Sometimes, even just the latter.
'Squid Game' documents may show how Netflix rates the success of its content
Netflix's black box on streaming metrics cracked open a bit with documents reportedly revealing that 'Squid Games' generated $891 million in 'impact value.'
Amazon adjusts its 'Time Off Task' metric and drug testing policy
Amazon said it will change the way it measures "Time Off Task" -- a metric that counts every second workers are away from their stations including when they take bathroom breaks.
Muse's new meditation headband is designed to help you sleep
Muse first launched its brain-sensing headband back in 2013. Designed to take the guesswork out of meditation by providing real-time feedback on your brain and body's activity, the device has seen a couple of iterations over the years, and now its back with a completely new form factor. Gone are the rubbery cushions and external metal components -- the whole thing is now covered in a plush, breathable fabric and has been designed to fit better and more comfortably on a wider variety of head sizes.
NPR-led system will track podcast listening behavior
Podcast creators typically don't know much about your listening habits. They can track downloads, but they seldom know when you've skipped an ad or left an episode unfinished. NPR, however, aims to fix that. It recently partnered with a host of companies to introduce Remote Audio Data, a way to share listening metrics directly from podcast apps while theoretically protecting your privacy. A total of 13 organizations have committed to using RAD in 2019 (including mainstays like PRI/PRX and RadioPublic), while the 10 companies supporting the effort include Google, ESPN, iHeartMedia and the New York Times.
Facebook accused of lying about video stats error for over a year
Facebook is guilty of lying to advertisers, according to a new lawsuit. Back in 2016, online marketing agency Crowd Siren sued the social network for inflating its metrics -- now it claims Facebook knew as early as 2015 that it was over-reporting figures. The marketing agency has also thrown in fraud claims and a request for punitive damages in an amended complaint, filed this week.
Google wants to help developers make better websites
Developers already have access to a number of tools that let them see how real-world users experience their websites, but until now they weren't able to see how their website user experience compared to others. Enter the Chrome User Experience Report, a public dataset of key user experience metrics gleaned from Chrome users who have opted in to usage statistic reporting.
Twitter hides daily user numbers to avoid Facebook comparisons
While Facebook is happy to wax lyrical about its user metrics, Twitter is keeping schtum on the number of its daily visitors -- even after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) got involved. Instead, Twitter wants everyone to focus on monthly numbers and the percentage growth of people who use it daily. But they're vague about that, too. The company has only disclosed that the number of monthly active users has stood at 328 million for the last two quarters, and the percentage growth of daily active users (DAUs) has increased more than 10 percent in each of the last three quarters.
Facebook finds more exaggerated ad data
After Facebook realized that it had been overstating video views for years, it conducted an internal review to search for more flaws messing with its ad data... and it's not happy with what it found. The social network reports that it found multiple problems with how it calculated or represented the info that marketers thrive on. It wasn't always counting end-to-end video playback properly, for example, since clip lengths would occasionally change when you started streaming. Facebook also over-reported how long people spent reading Instant Articles, and included more clicks and views than it should in some dashboards.
The Vert 2 activity tracker knows if you're making the effort
The original Vert was all about the jumping, and it was quite accurate measuring said jumping. The wearable is getting a 2016 refresh, with an expanded repertoire of metrics that not only includes the frequency of intense movements (sensors are accelerometers and gyros), but also the intensity of the movements themselves. It'll even distinguish between high and low intensity, giving you a total for both at the end. Surges of activity per minute is yet another metric on hand, and one that may prove useful as the company continues to get its wearable tech employed by the NCAA and ESPN for in-game analytics.
Final Fantasy XIV has 2.5 million registered accounts
At the very end of Final Fantasy XIV's Eternal Bond trailer on Tuesday, there's a small line imploring watchers to join 2.5 million adventurers worldwide. The last official word from the game on numbers was two million registrations back in April. It was easy to miss that line at the end, but it was caught by blogger Syncaine, and we reached out to Square-Enix to confirm that the game has indeed passed the 2.5 million mark in registrations. Registered accounts is obviously not the same thing as active subscriptions, but it's still a milestone for the game, especially with an expansion on the way in spring of next year. That's good news for both the Final Fantasy XIV team and the players who will have plenty of other people to adventure with.
Syrmo teaches you to skate better, captures your sick tricks
Skateboards have seen their share of electronic add-ons lately, but most are designed to take the effort out of cruising around. But leveraging some tech to conquer 360° kickflips and other tricks sounds far more interesting, especially when failed attempts pile up and you could use a helping hand. A trio of skaters armed with hardware and software skills have finally tackled the problem, and their solution is Syrmo. It's a device that fits under your board's trucks and adds motion tracking, Bluetooth and internal memory to your otherwise low-tech deck, so you can sync with the companion app. The software aims to capture 3D-rendered replays of tricks coupled with stats on height, air time and distance -- letting you see if that ollie was really as high as you thought. In addition to skimming through the day's progress, it plans to provide social, geo-location and automated video editing features. Those high-drama moments when the board's in mid-flight can be automatically enhanced with slow-motion effects and trimmed into easy-to-share video clips. The Kickstarter page is live if you want to cruise on over to show your support. Who knows, Syrmo may just take some of the pressure out of learning to land those flips.
Final Fantasy XIV surpasses 2 million registrations
There are two million people playing Final Fantasy XIV right this second. All right, maybe not quite that many, but it's certainly possible. The launch of the game's PlayStation 4 version has seen the game climb to surpass two million registered accounts, an increase of 500,000 over the 1.5 million stated in November. No hard data have been offered on how many of those accounts are subscribing to the game at this point, although an interview with Naoki Yoshida in March stated 500,000 players were logging into the game daily. With a recent patch and a new platform, the revitalized game seems to be doing quite well for itself as it approaches the one-year mark for its relaunch. [Source: Square-Enix press release]
Black Friday research shows big iOS impact
In the lull between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there's time for reflection (and a few remaining hours to enter our Mega Giveaway of accessories, gadgets and device cases). While the Talkcast is taking a Sunday night off for turkey digestion, there's still interesting issues to discuss. For the data analysis team at retail intelligence firm Infoscout, that downtime has proven fruitful; the company has released a slew of blog posts detailing its findings from digging into customer receipts from big-box shops like Target and Walmart. Infoscout uses gamification and other incentives to get consumers to participate in its ongoing panels; the ingenious method of data entry is by scanning receipts into iOS or Android apps. Over the course of Friday's morning rush, thousands of consumer purchases were tracked into the company's database, and in turn extrapolated to draw conclusions about the larger trends in play. For mega-markets Walmart and Target, the early results were very encouraging for iOS -- in particular, the iPad. Both retailers saw iPad models (the 16 GB Air) as their top-selling product, by a wide margin; this may have been driven by aggressive gift-card rebates for the tablets, but it's still quite impressive. Infoscout also noted that some 40% of the iPad purchases it spotted on Black Friday actually were bought by Android phone users, which seems a mite counterintuitive. Meanwhile, Techcrunch points out that Apple's mobile platforms continued their dominance of actual mobile commerce; IBM's numbers show that iOS accounted for almost 1/3 of all online commerce traffic (28% to Android's 11%), and notched a dramatic advantage in actual online sales (18% of online sales via iOS, versus 3.5% for Android). While smartphones were more popular than tablets for browsing (25% vs. 14%), the tablets took a big lead on actually making purchases (14% to 7% of all sales). What did you notice about your shopping experience this weekend, and what did you hear from relatives or friends who were out and about? Let us know in the comments below. (Note that many TUAW posts do not have comments enabled, as it is at the author's discretion.) [via Forbes]
The Daily Grind: What's the sneakiest cash-shop trick in MMO land?
Casino chain Harrah's could teach MMO cash shops a thing or two. The casino famously employs a complicated system of tracking and metrics to estimate when precisely an individual losing player will walk away from a gambling game... and right before that predicted moment arrives, employees swoop in with complimentary food and free currency to encourage the loser to stick around (and lose more, of course). I don't know of any MMOs that use this exact trick, but they certainly could. An MMO could easily track how many mobs you're willing to kill for a drop or how many lockboxes you're willing to buy before you stop playing and stop buying altogether, then trigger a drop custom-tailored for you just to keep you around. The thought of it is a little creepy but not entirely unwelcome after all the Dragon Chests I've opened to no avail lately. That day is not yet upon us, so today, we're wondering just what is the sneakiest cash-shop trick in MMO land? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
WildStar chronicles closed beta metrics and milestones
Last night, WildStar's Jeremy Gaffney posted up a dev blog recapping the first days of the game's closed beta, which you are likely not in. We feel for you; we're not in either. Who is in? An Aurin by the name of Poptart, who became the first closed beta tester to make her way through character creation and set foot on Nexus. The first player-created UI mod, a friend-finding tool, was also whipped up within 24 hours. (Massively broke the news on how WildStar's modding system will work back in February.) And apparently, the Algoroc zone is a nasty place; it boasts four of the nine mobs most responsible for player death. Gaffney offers up these metrics for humor, but he's actually serious business about data parsing and player feedback even as he wants the early invitees to enjoy themselves: We're tracking almost everything that goes on in the game. Combat timings, level timings, movement, you name it. The players' actions matter to us. Betas aren't always fun per se (there's often a big difference between "playing" and "testing"), so we've tried hard to make sure the game is actually fun even in this, our very first round of external testing. Tester feedback, he says, is funneled to straight to a rapid response team to deal with on a daily and weekly basis. And if testers don't submit that feedback? "One player actually found that some taxi drivers in a fit of generosity would give you money for flying to your destination instead of taking it and spent four hours riding back and forth," Gaffney admits. "We left him with 50 copper of the 14 gold he farmed as thanks for making us laugh."
NBA gives casual fans and armchair GMs access to the league's entire statistical history
The odds of rising from NBA stat junkie / forum poster to Houston Rockets GM like Daryl Morey did are slim, but thanks to the new NBA.com/Stats page fans have access to more data than ever before. Until now, only league and team personnel have had access to the NBA's complete official stats -- media got access last spring -- with box scores that go as far back as its start in 1946-47, individual stats for anyone who has ever played in the league plus advanced statistical breakdowns and rankings of best lineup combinations. Fan sites like Basketball Reference have filled in the gaps in the past, but this should bring a new level of accuracy and analysis to bear. Access to these stats means we can evaluate games at a much deeper level to know precisely why the Lakers are so bad this season, or which combinations of players are giving the Knicks their best advantage. SAP announced the project back in July as a part of its marketing deal with the league, as it gets to show off its database chops building a system that can handle such a large number of requests on so much info. Hopefully other leagues follow suit and encourage this level for interaction with fans, although we suspect it would take more than a few Moneyball-esque calculations to fix squads like the Bobcats. Hit the source link below to satisfy a jones for numerics or find the perfect angle for your LeBron vs. Kobe argument, although last night's All-Star Game may have given all the ammo necessary.
GDC Online 2012: ArenaNet's Cameron Dunn on programming the next generation online world
You might know every last detail about Tyria and the Asura, but at GDC this week, ArenaNet's Technical Director Cameron Dunn gave a sneak peek behind the curtain and showed how the nuts and bolts of Guild Wars 2 are constructed to bring the best gameplay and performance to players on launch day and beyond. He revealed some of the ways in which his team uses metrics and tools to streamline gameplay, test bugs, and pinpoint problem areas as efficiently as possible. For a look at what goes on behind the game, read on for panel highlights!
iPhone estimated to have generated $150 billion in revenue globally
Apple's iPhone launched five years ago this week and to say it has been successful is an understatement. Based on a Strategy Analytics report cited by AppleInsider, Apple has shipped 250 million iPhones cumulatively worldwide and has generated US$150 billion in revenue from these shipments. "The iPhone portfolio has become a huge generator of cash and profit for Apple," said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. He adds, "A quarter of a billion iPhones have been shipped cumulatively worldwide in the first five years since launch and Apple reaches its fifth birthday at the top of its game." Apple now is one of the top smartphone manufacturers and among the top three mobile phone makers worldwide. Last quarter alone, the company shipped 35 million iPhones and this number may increase as Apple expands its business in Asia and other emerging markets.
E3 2012: Fragging undead on your phone with Parallel Zombies
The hardest thing about E3 is finding a place to sit. Well, that and making yourself heard above the din of squeeing fanboys, clicking cameras, and bass lines that would wake the dead. Per Blue CEO Justin Beck and I eventually found a couple of seats, but we didn't quite find the quiet, so we spent the better part of a half hour talking very loudly about the company's new Parallel Zombies mobile title. If Per Blue and the Parallel prefix sound familiar, it's because Parallel Kingdom has been out for the better part of three years now. But what's this I hear about zombies, you say?
