Patterico's Pontifications

3/16/2009

Liberal Blog Traffic Has Fallen More Than Conservative Blog Traffic Since the Election

Filed under: Blogging Matters,General — Patterico @ 10:11 pm



This guy did the analysis. It’s a 58% drop for liberal blogs, vs. a 36% drop for conservatives:

In the three months following the November 08 election, political blog traffic has dropped significantly. I surveyed the traffic stats of 20 major political blogs — split evenly between liberal and conservative — and compared the number of page views for the three months leading up to the election to the three months after. In that time period liberal blogs dropped from 302,711,611 total page views to 126,502,281 (58%) while conservative sites dropped from 233,950,986 to 149,744,909 (36%).

Curious, I ran my own numbers. In the same three-month periods, I fell from 1,989,843 page views (Aug.-Oct.) to 1,404,066 (Nov.-Jan.) — which is about a 30% drop, if my English-major math skills are holding up.

No fun, certainly — but it was predictable all along.

Thanks to Jon Henke.

39 Responses to “Liberal Blog Traffic Has Fallen More Than Conservative Blog Traffic Since the Election”

  1. Wasn’t it parsnip who used to make a big deal about the decline in conservative blog traffic after the election? I wonder what blog he’s plaguing these days since his latest banning at Protein Wisdom.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 3/16/2009 @ 10:39 pm

  2. I suspect that alphie/monkyboy/turnip/sniffles is now well used to being banned, daley.

    JD (40d677) — 3/16/2009 @ 10:42 pm

  3. In the same three-month periods, I fell from 1,989,843 page views (Aug.-Oct.) to 1,404,066 (Nov.-Jan.)

    But that’s still very impressive, considering that’s from about 50 unique visitors.

    Official Internet Data Office (09dcfe) — 3/16/2009 @ 10:47 pm

  4. JD – Absolutely, he just makes the rounds again under another new name. I was speculating where he moved on to iz all.

    Maybe he’s over at Dan Riehl’s with harelip or whatever his name was from Indiana.

    daleyrocks (5d22c0) — 3/16/2009 @ 11:00 pm

  5. Perhaps in a somewhat (or not) similar vein — because I’m not really sure what the statistics have been like over the past few years — I had been under the impression that viewership ratings for TV cable-news shows, between those tilting left (ie, MSNBC, CNN) and those tilting right (FOX), had started to even out during the months leading up to the election of the guy now in the White House. Based on the following, I don’t see how they could have been more imbalanced, or non-even, only a short while ago.

    CABLE NEWS RACE
    FRI., MARCH 13, 2009

    3,185,000 FOXNEWS O’REILLY
    3,074,000 FOXNEWS BECK
    2,557,000 FOXNEWS HANNITY
    2,151,000 FOXNEWS BAIER
    1,879,000 FOXNEWS SHEP
    1,522,000 FOXNEWS GRETA
    1,223,000 MSNBC OLBERMANN
    1,046,000 CNN KING
    1,045,000 CNNHN GRACE
    954,000 MSNBC MADDOW

    Mark (411533) — 3/16/2009 @ 11:07 pm

  6. Thanks, Mark. That is hysterical. Olbergasm get beat in the rating by Bret, quite possibly one of the most boring people on TV. Priceless.

    JD (40d677) — 3/16/2009 @ 11:11 pm

  7. I suspect part of the drop is due to a certain amount of defeatism or overload. There is also the possibility that since the election is over, there isn’t the same level of activism, or polarization, and people who might have been inspired to chip in during the runnup to th election, are now more focused on dealing with the harbingers of economic doom.

    Steve B (5eacf6) — 3/17/2009 @ 1:11 am

  8. […] NZ Blog Rankings scrubone 10:30 pm This is interesting, and suggests a future exercise for yours truly. This guy did the analysis. It’s a 58% drop for […]

    Web Traffic Post Election « Something should go here, maybe later. (661794) — 3/17/2009 @ 2:30 am

  9. […] On the other hand, the Right can probably indulge in schadenfreude regarding the drop in traffic on liberal blogs. […]

    Tuesday afternoon . . . | And Still I Persist (13e666) — 3/17/2009 @ 3:01 am

  10. Anecdotally, of course, my own poor site’s traffic dropped after the election, but recovered in January, and my daily average is within just a couple of visits of October’s.

    The blogger Dana (3e4784) — 3/17/2009 @ 4:29 am

  11. Perhaps the liberals have jobs. Or, more accurately, they have do not spend a ridiculous amount of time that they should be working surfing through blogs to preach to their own choirs. Back to work, folks! For all your chirping about productivity, you guys don’t seem to value it much through actual practice.

    Ed from PA (6d3080) — 3/17/2009 @ 4:54 am

  12. Right … Kos and TPM and HuffandBlow get no daytime traffic.

    EfP’s most recent iteration is more mendoucheous than the last.

    JD (b3f947) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:21 am

  13. So which is it, JD? Either conservative blogs get more traffic or they don’t. You can’t switch your position to defend against this particular charge.

    Ed from PA (6d3080) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:26 am

  14. Check the numbers, asshat. Even with the decline in numbers, the visitors to Kos/TPM/HuffPo dwarfs the comparable right wing blogs. You community based reality people really are asshats.

    JD (b3f947) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:30 am

  15. Perhaps the liberals have jobs. Or, more accurately, they have do not spend a ridiculous amount of time that they should be working surfing through blogs to preach to their own choir

    ….

    Check the numbers, asshat. Even with the decline in numbers, the visitors to Kos/TPM/HuffPo dwarfs the comparable right wing blogs.

    Ed, please decide which way you want this before you give somebody whiplash.

    Pablo (99243e) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:32 am

  16. Errrr…disregard that. I need coffee.

    Pablo (99243e) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:33 am

  17. Pat, how do you get the traffic stats? Is there something from blogger or some service you contract to?

    On my blog I’ve only had 1 comment to approve of. I know libs have looked at the posts and wigged out. One lib I shall call Not2Bright, thought I called for physical violence upon Democrats because I used a liberal Democrat phrase, “Remove the Democrats by any means necessary”. Evidently, when Democrats say by any means necessary, they mean to wreak physical violence. See how it works?

    PCD (db2059) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:34 am

  18. By asshat’s thinking, Barcky created or saved jobs for all of those people in the drop-off from the Leftist blogs.

    JD (b3f947) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:35 am

  19. JD:

    Hey asshat, how many times do you want to call me asshat in one post, asshat? Do you, asshat, know any more asshat-y words, other than asshat, asshat? Huh…. I am waiting, asshat. Answer me, asshat.

    I wonder if a real asshat can come up with another derogatory term for an asshat other than asshat.

    Back to work, JD.

    Ed from PA (6d3080) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:36 am

  20. Either conservative blogs get more traffic or they don’t.

    Did anyone make that argument? Maybe Ed needs coffee too. And Ritalin.

    Pablo (99243e) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:36 am

  21. Pablo: Ha, no problem. I have to admit I read that a few times then decided I was not sure what you meant, so I moved on.

    Ed from PA (6d3080) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:38 am

  22. Well, douchenozzle, I can think of many. But, since this is Patterico’s place, and he is generous with his space, and does not care for vulgar language, I will refrain from pointing out that you prolly like to molest underage goats, and squishy vegetables.

    JD (b3f947) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:39 am

  23. I will refrain from pointing out that you prolly like to molest underage goats, and squishy vegetables.

    Just like a conservative to promise one thing then do another. You don’t happen to be Larry Craig, do you?

    Ed from PA (6d3080) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:46 am

  24. Why are you a homophobe?

    JD (b3f947) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:50 am

  25. 23, Ed are you a drunken Irishman or are you impersonating a drunken Irishman?

    PCD (db2059) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:57 am

  26. Pat, how do you get the traffic stats? Is there something from blogger or some service you contract to?

    Sitemeter rocks.

    Pablo (99243e) — 3/17/2009 @ 6:25 am

  27. I think the answer is the outrage is on the other foot now. Proportionally. I bet if you took sub-sets of the time period where leftie outrage peaked (keeping 50,000 troops in Iraq for one) the drop offs would be similar.

    When both sides are outraged, who’s doing the work?

    EBJ (2fd7f7) — 3/17/2009 @ 9:15 am

  28. Why are you a homophobe?

    Comment by JD — 3/17/2009 @ 5:50 am

    Who said I am a homophobe? My problem with Mr. Craig stems from his refusal to tell the truth about his sexuality, and his continued efforts to legislate against homosexuals despite his own tendencies. I think he’s one of the biggest hypocrites in the history of the word. I didn’t realize that was the definition of homophobe.

    Ed from PA (c313be) — 3/17/2009 @ 11:44 am

  29. You beg the question, why are you a homophobe?

    JD (a4e58a) — 3/17/2009 @ 1:22 pm

  30. ed, don’t feed the troll

    timb (a83d56) — 3/17/2009 @ 1:30 pm

  31. My problem with Mr. Craig stems from his refusal to tell the truth about his sexuality, and his continued efforts to legislate against homosexuals despite his own tendencies.

    Continued? You know he’s done in the Senate, right? And what information is it that you require about his sexuality? Why?

    Pablo (99243e) — 3/17/2009 @ 1:56 pm

  32. My problem with Mr. Craig stems from his refusal to tell the truth about his sexuality, and his continued efforts to legislate against homosexuals despite his own tendencies.

    His continued efforts? You know he’s all done in the Senate, right? And what information is it that you require about his sexuality? Why?

    AKA Pablo (99243e) — 3/17/2009 @ 2:07 pm

  33. You’re right, timb. Go troll somewhere else, JD.

    Ed from PA (c313be) — 3/17/2009 @ 2:37 pm

  34. #30 and #33

    Too funny

    Oiram (983921) — 3/17/2009 @ 3:01 pm

  35. Ed from PA wrote:

    Perhaps the liberals have jobs. Or, more accurately, they have do not spend a ridiculous amount of time that they should be working surfing through blogs to preach to their own choirs. Back to work, folks! For all your chirping about productivity, you guys don’t seem to value it much through actual practice.

    Being both more intelligent and more capable than liberals, conservatives can multi-task.

    The wholly accurate Dana (556f76) — 3/17/2009 @ 5:23 pm

  36. I see that timmah and EfP has subscribed to Mario’s definition of a troll.

    JD (df4164) — 3/17/2009 @ 6:32 pm

  37. have, not has … either way, the fuckers are re-defining something.

    JD (df4164) — 3/17/2009 @ 6:33 pm

  38. No, but we all recognize a bully who has nothing to add to a conversation except argumentative name-calling or venom spitting. For a brilliant conservative thinker it seems weird you have nothing better to do than chase around dissenters, call them names, and ask stupid, Michael Savage-esque gotcha questions.

    But, deep down I just know you have some opinion on why blog traffic decreases have been greater on left wing sites than on right wing sites.

    I mean, you don’t just skulk about looking to snipe at people, right?. Nah, I bet you have some fascinating insight to relate!

    I’m all ears for a JD opinion which doesn’t feature name-calling or “yeah, I hate trolls.”

    Bueller? Bueller?

    timb (8f04c0) — 3/17/2009 @ 8:52 pm

  39. […] Evidence that this trend has continued at […]

    Liberal Blog Readership Declining While Conservative Blog Readership Increasing « The Crowbar (88a07c) — 3/26/2009 @ 10:19 pm


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