Retiring Feed Stats
I would like to open with a quote about roses:
Pruning is an important and necessary step in growing roses. Pruning keeps the plant healthy. It promotes new growth, removes dead, broken or diseased canes and trains roses to a desired shape. Pruning encourages flowering, either more blooms or larger blooms, and is essential to keep modern rose varieties blooming repeatedly all summer long.
As important to us to be constantly adding new features and functionality for you guys, sometimes we have to retire or prune things that just didn’t work out or that we don’t have time to focus on right now.
So today we bid farewell to our good friend Feed Stats, which tried to tell you how many subscribers you had to your blog and what software they used. However it never grew out of that awkward teenager stage, and wasn’t used very frequently.
The code isn’t dead, just taking a break. Perhaps someday feed stats will return, but when they do we hope to do a much better job of collecting and presenting the data.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I think it is a shame that Feed Stats have gone on vacation. I have a newer blog, and half my count was from people using Feeds.
I liked having this count available, as it gave me additional information about my readers that Blog Stats does not currently display.
I hope that this feature or a new one that contains similar information is released soon.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
And is there another way for u to count how many people downloaded our feed.
Like some thing beyond wordpress that can count such stuff?
Too bad, but I understand that, with so many users, other things get on the first place.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Why are they ‘fried’ ???
June 13th, 2007 at 7:47 pm
Oh bummer! I used the Feed Stats page all the time.
Thanks for the great site, anyways.
June 13th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
what were some of the things wrong with it? i kind of liked it …
June 13th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Hi Matt,
I used them quite often and will miss ‘em.
Thanks,
Frank
June 13th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Oh damn… I hoped in better feed stats, instead. This is the first time I write here to define myself as sad. But I continue to consider feed stats as very useful to follow the “path” of a blog. Maybe soon you could reconsider the choice!
June 13th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Fare thee well, oh statistical code of feed. Perhaps we shall see you once more!
It was a cool function, but just like you wrote, I never really used it so much, and it didn’t give off a ton of information. I hope it comes back with more information the next time! Keep up the sweet work over there at WPHQ
June 13th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
Sad news. As a lot more people read my blog by way of feed than by browsing or surfing, reading the feed stats was one of my most encouraging morning routines. I will certainly miss it.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Oh poop! I really liked my Feed Stats!
June 13th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
This was a key measure of traffic for us (and since I have my business’ blog site on WP you just undercut my ability to see something important). This decision is a bad one, and I ask you to reinstate the feed stats immediately.
Sam Smith
President, Black Dog Strategic
June 13th, 2007 at 8:05 pm
I’ll miss it. For an obsessive it feels good to have another number to check. However, I have more appreciation for the fact that you took time and space to inform us about it and put it in perspective for us. That’s pretty good customer service from folks I don’t give a dime to.
rationalpsychic
June 13th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
There’s no chance you can’t just leave it there until you make it better. I thought it was quite helpful. What does it hurt to leave it there?
June 13th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
arrrgh! I want feed stats back!
June 13th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Grumble, grumble.
How about offering an optional widget?
Grimace.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
ACK! That was one of my fave features! C’mon, it worked pretty good. Anyway, can ya just throw the beta version up again? I really liked it. This is the first disappointing thing you guys have ever done since I started blogging here.
The scientifically impossible I do right away
The spiritually miraculous takes a bit longer
June 13th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
Au revoir!
June 13th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Well done. I almost never used that feature. If you decide to restore this feature sometime, it will be welcome anyway.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Fare ye well Feed Stats
I never really understood you at all
amm
June 13th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
We. Must. Have. Feed. Stats. That is the ONLY way to tell if readership is growing. Actual, human, individual readers. Even if some were groups of readers. If there is a work-around, we must have it. Publishers need feed stats. This is a world where people blog with FEEDS. People use feeds. Bloggers, especially. ALL the TIME. FEEEEEEEEEEEEDS, people.
All I’ve read is that WordPress won’t allow other stats counters. If this isn’t true, Please distribute/publish any work arounds which we can use.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 13th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
Boo.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:20 pm
R.I.P., Feed Stats. I’ll miss you dearly.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
What a shame. Although new to WordPress, I liked Feed Stats.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Too bad. I viewed the feed stats daily and found it of interest. I have to admit there wasn’t much one could do to improve the subscription stats (other than write more interesting posts), but it was interesting to watch the numbers change. I hope it grows up and returns.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:26 pm
Gee, that wasn’t nice. I looked at that info several times a day.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
drats. i really liked that feature.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
Well gosh! I liked Feed Stats! I admit I didn’t know how it compared to the other stats (e.g. do you combine the two to get the total viewers?) but now I don’t know how many folks read my blog through feeds. Sad, but as you say it isn’t the end.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
“So today we bid farewell to our good fried Feed Stats”
GOOD! I understand baked Feed Stats are better for us anyway.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:32 pm
Ah… I was just learning to use it. oh well…
June 13th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Bummer. I really liked that feature. It’s one of the things that sets wordpress stats apart from the other traffic meters.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
I’m sorry to see them go and I hope they come back. For a long time, it didn’t seem to me there was much point to them but then the stats started to diverge significantly. All of a sudden, a couple of weeks ago, the blog stat numbers took a nose dive and the feed stat numbers jumped. Apparently a lot more people are now using RSS feeders and not bothering to hit the site itself. W/out the feed stats, I have no longer have any real idea how many readers I actually have.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:44 pm
Pity – I really like the feed stats – though I’d like Google analytics even better.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Wow, I loved this feature. It really helped me gauge traffic to my blog. Besides Blog Stats, what other resources do you recommend?
June 13th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
That’s a real pity, I looked at it every day, subscribers are important to me.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
thats sad…I used it everyday…
June 13th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
I will miss them, I used them often.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Feed stats, I will mourn thou.
Yeah I kinda thought it needed axing too. Cool, but not necessary.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Hm. I always checked this feature out. I shall miss it.
June 13th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I agree that Feed Stats wasn’t good enough as it stood. I was hoping that you guys would improve it someday but I guess it isn’t top priority. But why not leave it at its current stage instead of retiring it?
June 13th, 2007 at 8:59 pm
A minute of silence.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
matt feeds and the war of the roses.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
Drats! I really loved that one.
More people read my feed than visit directly, so it was a nice boost.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
I don’t have a way of detecting if something I use is at a teen-age stage (and besides that’s not so bad). The Feed Stats were very helpful to me. Removing them wasn’t helpful. BUt then again, it’s free. I’ll adjust and trust. Thanks, Great tools! E
P.S. I don’t understand the replacement but that’s okay.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
poop
my feed stats were starting to look buff while my blog stats remain scrawny…
oh well… I can continue to labor in obscurity if it will help WordPress…
June 13th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
im not so sorry to see you go, feed stats. you were a friend that long stayed out your welcome. good riddance.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Can live without them – but hope to see more cool new futures soon ( :
June 13th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
It’ll be fine.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Oh what a shame – I really liked the feed stats, but hopefully they’ll return revamped and refreshed.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
sod’s law, just when i was about to check mine
June 13th, 2007 at 9:20 pm
Drat! I did use that feature. Oh well.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
I’ve actually been using the Feed stats a lot more than the Blog stats recently. Sad to see it go.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
well, i’m new in this stuff but i got used to it very fast. It’s a pity, guys! why was it that didn’t work properly?
June 13th, 2007 at 9:31 pm
I did use them, though I wasn’t sure how much they really told me.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:32 pm
fade in
Cinderella – You Don’t Know What You’ve Got Til It’s Gone
fade out
June 13th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
I liked it, and hope you can resurrect it soon. In the meantime, are you working on getting the incoming links information to work accurately?
June 13th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Sniff… I will miss it – although it never grew up from being a teenager, I was really looking forward to it. Any ideas on how to keep track of our dear subscribers?
June 13th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
I did always want mine breaded, but thanks for the thought.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:43 pm
I hope it returns, because I liked it. I’m not sure what you think was wrong with it. It worked for me, and I found it informative and easy to access. If it ain’t broke…get rid of it(?) Whatever…
June 13th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Gosh, I was very happy with my feed stats as it saved me having something else in place. Sorry to see this go – now i have to get something else I guess – it would have been nice to have a recommendation, or the option to buy an effective option. Previously things I tried were’nt easily plugged into wordpress – something discrete down the bottom for example? Thanks anyway for all your ongoing work. I hope that people with good recommendations will post them up here.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Sleep tight feed stats (I had wondered) Hope you return in one form or another some day.
June 13th, 2007 at 9:56 pm
Ah poop, I liked that feature and checked it a lot. Perhaps one day something could be integrated into Blog stats? A seperate line of a different color on the same chart, where you can click a button to see “All readers” in one color, or spread them out into multiple lines of varying colors for the various well known readers etc?
June 13th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
hmm, that’s bed news. I really like Feeds ;-(
June 13th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Sorry, don’t like this decision at all. Please bring it back.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:02 pm
I used this feature and would like to see it return soon. I am little confused though. Do blog stats reflect the subscribers who read postings via feeds?
June 13th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
That’s to bad. I used that feature all the time to monitor my… feed stats. Was it inaccurate?
June 13th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
June 13th, 2007 at 10:08 pm
That’s too bad. I understand, but my feed stats were sometimes the only thing that gave me hope that someone was actually reading what I wrote. I hope they return someday soon.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Hmm… shame to see it go. For example, I got a rough idea that a significant portion of people reading my blog feed were using Google Feedfetcher. However I think that the feed stats page wasnt as reliable as the blog stats page. Maybe in future, we’ll see it again..
June 13th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
But how will I know how many people are subscribed to my blog?
June 13th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
I never really understood how Feeder Stats tied in with Blog Stats. Is it too late to ask?
June 13th, 2007 at 10:20 pm
Bad WP admins, no cookies tonight. Oh, and nice job spelling ‘friend.’
June 13th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
It is too bad about the feed stats as it gave me an indication of how many readers I was able to retain over the first month of the Blog.
In fact just today, the number broke the previous day’s total which represnted a promising start of going in the right direction.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
i was used to always check my feed stats.
i hope that you can take it back soon
June 13th, 2007 at 10:24 pm
i think thats a shame it didnt work out
i kinda liked checking my stats for the feed
less to check for me now
NTS
June 13th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I liked the feed stats, would like to see them back better than ever
June 13th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
Ah, this makes me sad. The feed stats seemed a way to gauge the number of regular/returning visitors.
I will miss you, feed stats, even though you were naught but a gawky, gangly youth. Please come back to me some day.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:27 pm
nothing happens;)
June 13th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
Please don’t get rid of blog stats, though.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
That’s a huge shame as I used those statistics daily. Is there any other way to track them for those of us out here that use them?
June 13th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
That is all right. I wonder what will replace that feature in the meantime?
June 13th, 2007 at 10:39 pm
While I’m glad the feed stats code isn’t dead (but only taking a break) I will miss the feed stats data profoundly.
No matter how imperfect they may have been, WordPress’ feedstats were valuable to me. They clearly showed how more and more people signed up to my RSS feed or read my posts through sites/feed aggregators, valuable data no other blogging platform provided.
Even if they probably weren’t perfect, they did provide a most valuable insight.
I do hope they will return as soon as possible. Keep up the great work.
June 13th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Prune baby prune! Remember though to fertilize! (Thinking… Google Analytics 2.0 and maps)
June 13th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
But why? How can I now know who is reading my feed?
June 13th, 2007 at 11:05 pm
I was hoping it was just a bug. I hate to see it go.
June 13th, 2007 at 11:08 pm
oks!. farawell feed stats, I miss you now XD!
June 13th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Well, I only used them once or twice anyway, so not a big deal. Next time it comes around, can you let us apply the feed stats on our blog views so we can see how they compare side by side?
June 13th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Personally I must say I’ll miss Feeds Stats. I really used to look at it every day, or even several times a day, exactly like the Blog Stats. I’m a bit surprised when you say it wasn’t very used frequently!
Anyway on the whole I’m quite happy with WordPress.com. Keep it up!
Well, the only problem is: why don’t you allow scripts in the Text widget?
June 13th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Noooo, I used that all the time. Why not just keep it?
June 13th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
guess i’m unusual, but i looked at feed stats every day!
June 13th, 2007 at 11:31 pm
That sucks for me. I found I got an average of 25-40 visits via my feed and that’s not represented on blog stats. FWIW, I’d like to see it come back.
June 13th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
why, Matt? WHY???
I love Stats! It was one of the things that made me change from Blogger to WordPress! And now the feed stats are gone… How can we see who has our blog in a feed and who hasn’t?
June 13th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Ya, to tell you the truth, I hardly click to see the Feed Stats…hardly yes but sometime once in a blue moon, I click it.
June 13th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
I like the Feed Stats though. Kind of surprised to see this was gone.
June 13th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Hi, and thanks for this. It was never a really reliable guage of subscriber interest, as results used to gyrate wildly from one day to the next, for no apparent reason.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:00 am
perhaps from the blogging experts’ point of view feed stats isn’t as useful as compared to the rest of the features in dashboard, but i don’t agree personally. i check both my blog and feed stats every day without fail. feed stats show me the other audience i have that do not visit my blog; these numbers represent what i like to think are my long-term readers and i want to keep track of that. the feed stats cheer me up when i have a low blog stats day. i really want my feed stats back.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:01 am
Hope to see the feedstats back someday soon. I used them frequently; I love the wordpress site and am not whining about losing the stats function. I would like to see the function return is all.
And while I’ve got your eye and ear, I could also use . . . .
Never satisified, of course.
Thanks for a great site, though.
Wallaceamigo
June 14th, 2007 at 12:05 am
I used it daily, but can survive without. It was interesting.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:06 am
Ah,well, I’ll miss these because they were so encouraging, giving me the sense of enlarged readership!