To: Jan Crawley who wrote (52281 ) 4/23/1999 7:45:00 AM From: Glenn D. Rudolph Respond to of 164684
Monthly Web Ratings – 20 April 1999 3 n Methodology Our analysis of monthly online audience trends is based primarily on data from Media Metrix, a New York-based company that recently merged with another audience-measurement company, Relevant Knowledge. Media Metrix provides monthly reports ranking several important online traffic statistics, including estimated number of monthly users, average frequency of use per user, and average minutes per visit per user. The company collects its data using two similar tracking meters: 1) The Media Metrix Real-Time tracking software, developed by the former RelevantKnowledge, and 2) the PC Meter, developed and patented by Media Metrix. Users install the software on all computers that the Household members use to access the Web at home and at work. When browsing, the user identifies himself by selecting their name from a list on the software's User Identification Screen. The software passively records all Web browsing activity. Media Metrix organizes the data into monthly reports on sites and networks of sites. The ratings are used by advertisers, advertising agencies, investors, and, of course, the online companies themselves. * Media Metrix extrapolates its ratings from a “representative sample” of U.S. households and businesses. For example, the home-based Web audience ratings for February, 1999 comprised 23,061 people. The work measurements were derived from a much smaller sample: 3,745 people. * The sample participants are recruited by mail and the random-digit-dialing methodology. The overall panel is intended to offer a demographically and geographically balanced representation of the U.S. population. * The PC Meter software application is installed by the user on a Windows/Macintosh-based PC. The meter monitors the use of the computer from start-up to shut-down, and automatically records the duration and frequency of everything the user does, both on- and off-line activities. Whenever a browser is used, the meter captures the URL of the page being displayed on the screen, and, importantly, eliminates from duration calculations “idle” time in which the user is not actively clicking on the mouse or keyboard. The user downloads the recorded data onto a disk once a month and sends it to Media Metrix. * The meter records PC activity by individual, by date, time, and duration. The resulting measurements represent a raw estimate of online usage that is then weighted using a proprietary system to correct for biases in the sample audience. * About one-third of the panel currently uses the Media Metrix Real-Time tracking software to capture and transmit the web usage activity. Users install the software on all at home and at work computers. When browsing, the user identifies himself by selecting their name from a list on the software's User Identification Screen. The software passively records all Web browsing activity, sending all clickstream data, user demographic and computer information to Media Metrix servers in real-time, as the user moves about the Web. Clickstream data is comprised of each and every http request made, along with a date and time stamp to determine of duration to pages and elements viewed. n Top 10 Consolidated Networks: Estimated Reach “Reach” is the estimated percentage of individuals that visit a specific site or network of sites in a given month out of the total number of projected individuals using the Web during the month. Unlike television, which also uses “reach” measurements but is watched almost exclusively from homes, the Web is accessed from both home and work. Media Metrix publishes home and work statistics. The “blended reach” statistic, is intended to represent the percentage of total Web users that access a network from either work or home.