Libsyn Updating Podcasting Stats
Feb 11th, 2008 | By James Lewin | Category: Podcasting Services, Podcasting Statistics 
Podcast host Libsyn reports that they are updating their stats engine to address some ongoing issues with it and add new features:
We know stats accuracy is an ongoing issue and that libsyn users have had to exhibit a lot of patience and swallow a lot of frustration as we’ve worked through the problems over the years.
We took the first step of identifying and fixing the issues with the current libsyn.com stats (mainly, some episodes published after July 2007 not showing up in the system, or suddenly stop reporting downloads). We sifted through the code that processes the raw data into data we can use in the reports we provide to you, and believe we have identified the root of the problem, as well as the fix for it.
We’ve set up a test environment, applied this fix, and are now in the process of re-processing the raw data from Summer 2007 forward and verifying that this “fixed” data is accurate. Depending on how that verification goes, the reprocessing could be finished in as soon as 7 – 10 days.
We are working on a plan that will provide scalability, flexibility for us in terms of administrating the application, and will give us the ability to continue to store historical data indefinitely.
Libsyn note that, while they are reprocessing the older data, stats updates will happen less frequently.
Full details at the Libsyn blog.
[…] Now a news item appears in Podcasting News saying that Libsyn is “updating” podcasting stats. […]
[…] The question is what will Wizzard do with Libsyn over the long haul? Last week some controversy erupted around the 1 Billion download claim that Wizzard/Libsyn made. Scott Bourne pointed out that a press release from Wizzard last month stating that 1 Billion podcasts downloads had been achieved in 2007 was followed up just last week by a statement that Libsyn was “fixing” issues with its stats engine. Frankly the total number is irrelevant, whatever it is, it is big, but once again the stats issue raises its ugly head. For true advertiser support/adoption of podcasting, stats need to be quantified and agreed upon. […]
[…] The question is what will Wizzard do with Libsyn over the long haul? Last week some controversy erupted around the 1 Billion download claim that Wizzard/Libsyn made. Scott Bourne pointed out that a press release from Wizzard last month stating that 1 Billion podcasts downloads had been achieved in 2007 was followed up just last week by a statement that Libsyn was “fixing” issues with its stats engine. Frankly the total number is irrelevant, whatever it is, it is big, but once again the stats issue raises its ugly head. For true advertiser support/adoption of podcasting, stats need to be quantified and agreed upon. […]
[…] Wizzard published that they supported over one billion downloads last year from the over 8,500 podcasts that use their hosting services. Some have questioned how that could be, so we ask Chris to help us verify those numbers and to understand how 8,500 podcasts produce so many downloads. Chris explains how they count downloads and filter out the spiders and bots. He says that there are some blockbuster podcasts that do really high volumes and just as in other media forms there is a long tail of podcasters, so looking at mean based average per podcast just does not make sense. It’s the old 80-20 rule once again. Chris also clarifies that some recent problems with reporting to podcasters has nothing to do with how the count their download figure. […]