Maggie's Farm

Question #1 was just a joke question directed at the Mac users.  Shit, if I'd known there were so many of you, I would have been nicer all these years.

Or, maybe not.

2: Which computer operating system are you using?

Windows 7 = 38%
Mac OSX = 26%
Windows XP = 20%
Windows Vista = 8%
Windows 8 = 4%
Other = 2%
Ubuntu = 1%
Linux = 1%
Mac (older) = 0%

Comments;

— In an undefinable way, it's somewhat 'telling' how many people are using a 12-year-old Windows operating system (XP), rather than one of the three upgrades that have come out in the 12 years since.  On the other hand, I might still be using it myself if it weren't for a few specific things, like the way one of my favorite programs, Google Earth, makes video tours about 20% faster in Win7 than XP.  But still.

— And compare that to our Mac users, zero percent of whom haven't upgraded to the latest OS.  That deserves a hat tip, gang.

— On the down side, that 26% appears to either be a case of (1) Mac users are more vociferous in things like surveys, demanding their voices to be heard, or (2) some Mac user figured out how to game the system and voted 50 times.  The official Google Analytics site stat say 15%.  Still, I'd call the fairly large percentage of Mac users here the first official surprise.

— To those of you using Windows 8, I'd like to hear your feedback in the comments.  If anyone would like to write a thorough review, I'll post it.  I did my own review a while back, but it was the beta version so it doesn't count.

3. What style of computer do you normally use for web sites?

Desktop = 54%
Laptop = 39%
Tablet = 5%
Notebook = 1%
Smartphone, etc = 1%

Comments:

— I'd say the popularity of hand-held devices has been highly overrated by the media.  Like that's a surprise.  Because Apple is a 'green' company, naturally the press has done all it can to hype its iPhone, iPod, iPad, iEverything sales.

— Ditto the annual "Is this the death of the mouse/keyboard?" articles the media loves to spit out.  You can bet that 54% up above just loves its mouse or trackball, and the very thought of having to type on a laptop induces cringes of fear in the heartiest of standard keyboard users.*

*based on a true story

4. What browser do you normally use?

Firefox = 39%
Internet Explorer = 27%
Safari = 17%
Chrome = 15%
Other = 2%
Opera = 1%

Comments:

— Speaking of media bullshit, did you read a while back how Google's Chrome (15%) is now the most popular browser?  This is what happens when a company like Google is (1) popular with the media because they're a liberal company as evidenced by the way they don't change their logo on Memorial Day (they change it in honor of the birthday of some 17th century painter no one's ever heard of*, but not to honor our fallen soldiers), and (2) you're worth a billion dollars and can pretty much buy off whoever you please.

*based on a true story

5. Assuming it's not blatantly sexist, may we ever-so-delicately ask your gender?

Male = 82%
Female = 18%

Comments:

— I guessed 80/20 in the comments the other day.  That's my overall feel judging from the comments over the past six years.  It takes a while, because a certain commenter with a non-genderistic name might comment for years before noting by way of context that she's actually a she, but eventually it all adds up.

Even then, I'd only give them 15% if judging solely by the comments, but females are much less apt to spit out a quick criticism than males, so I upped it another 5% for my official guess.

6. Your age in earth years?

60s = 43%
50s = 34%
40s = 11%
70s = 9%
80s = 2%
20s = 1%
30s = 1%
Teens = 0%

Comments:

— First off, to those of you in your 80s, well done.

— This site has only had one survey before, just before the 2008 election, and it was about nothing but computers and politics.  As such, we've never had any kind of feedback in regards to things like age and gender, just guesswork from the comments.

As such, I thought I'd note that, like the way I nailed the gender question, Bird Dog totally nailed this one.  He guessed "predominantly 50s to 60s" in an email the other day, which is three-fourths of the group.  I would have guessed a lot more 30s & 40s.

To you old-timers, that's why I post so many goofy parodies and silly videos.

I'm going for the youth market.

7. Now that the election's over, how much overall political coverage would you like to see on Maggie's?

Some, assuming it's interesting or unique = 42%
Half political, half everything else = 41%
Lots, but not all.  Maybe 80%? = 12%
Very little, puh-leeze! We've had enough! = 3%
Tons! = 3%

Comments:

— Bird Dog has publicly stated, "We try to stay 30% political or less".  So, fellow bloggers, please take note: the site is currently way, way above the 30% mark and over 80% of the readership would prefer you tone it down to somewhere between 'some' and 'half'.

The problem, as I see it, is one of bookmarks.  Because of the election, we're used to going to political sites every day, and if those are the only bookmarks you've got lying around, then you're going to continue going to political sites and keep that as a main focal point, whereas most normal folks have moved on to other things.  The election is over.  Let the stalwart souls over at Hot Air and PJ Media constantly spew out their "Look at the terrible thing Obama is doing now!!" posts for the next three years — like that's going to change anything.  They've got a living to make, after all, and keeping their readers fired up and angry is the name of the game.

8. Same question regarding the morning links:

Some, assuming it's interesting or unique = 38%
Half political, half everything else = 36%
Lots, but not all. Maybe 80%? = 16%
Tons! = 8%
Very little, puh-leeze! We've had enough! = 2%

Comments:

— There's that same big majority wanting 'some' to 'half' again.  Appropriate parties, please take note.

— And it might be pointed out that over a third of the readership focused on the two words, "interesting" and "unique", which were obviously put there for that purpose.

9. Assuming you drop by Maggie's once a day, what general time?

Early morning = 35%
Midmorning = 34%
Evening = 18%
Early afternoon = 6%
Late afternoon = 5%
Late evening = 3%

Comments:

— I'd call this the second surprise of the survey.  I would have guessed around 40-30-30; morning, afternoon, evening.  That almost three-fourths of the hungry mob gets here before noon shouldn't come as a surprise, though.  After all, you can only do so much at work before it's time to actually do something interesting.

— All of which raises an interesting issue.  Your feedback in the comments is welcome.

There are basically two approaches to posting.  One says to space the posts out over the course of the day, which encourages people to drop back by.  The other says to concentrate on the voracious morning crowd.

On one extreme is Town Hall and PJ Media, who post once early in the morning and then not again.  So the morning crowd is sated, but won't be back until tomorrow.  The flip side is Hot Air, which posts both links and articles throughout the day.  Maggie's is like Hot Air but without the constant stream of fresh links.

But, given that almost three-fourths of the readership gets here in the AM, that would argue that the ravenous crowd should be thrown their raw meat in the morning whenever possible.  That is, if an article's ready at 10:07 AM, it should go up, not wait to act as 'filler' for the 11% afternoon crowd.

So, raw meat eaters, what say ye about the two approaches?  Got a preference?

10. Are there some general topics you'd like to see more of on Maggie's? (multiple selections okay)

Science = 15%
Books & Movies = 11%
Philosophy = 10%
Nature/Wildlife = 9%
Computer Mumbo-Jumbo = 9%
Art & Music = 8%
Comedy = 8%
Religion = 8%
Politics = 8%
Psychology = 7%
Videos = 3%
Sports = 3%

Comments:

— That 'Science' took top honors was, I thought, the biggest surprise of the survey.  I would have put it fifth or sixth on the list.

In the comments of the survey post, a number of people basically said, "It's perfect the way it is, don't change a thing, why do we need a survey?"  I explained that it was merely to enhance the reading experience, not outright change anything.  That 'Science' leads the list is a perfect example of what I was talking about.  As the resident computer geek, and with science being a 'sister field', I'll now start posting a few more science articles.  The point is, I never even would have considered it without the survey.  I usually give the so-called 'science' sites a wide berth, lest I find out that the 3 days I've been given until global warming turns me into a charred cinder has been reduced to 20 minutes.

— If this site is 'eclectic', then you might presume the readership would be, as well.  I'd say that "Art & Music" garnering the same percentage as the diametrically-opposed "Computer Mumbo-Jumbo" is adequate proof of this.

Our thanks again to those who participated.  Any further observations are welcome.