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China

Why are China’s web stats so bad?

By thomascrampton ⋅ October 16, 2007 ⋅ Post a comment

Current and reliable stats on Internet traffic in China do not exist.
Very frustrating for anyone trying to understand China’s Internet. Why do they not exist? A few answers given here at AdTech by people who prefer not to speak in public, due to the sensitiveness of the issue.

Web panel measurement does not work…
US-style Internet ratings panels do not work since China’s Internet usage is 40 percent taking place in Internet cafes and schools. The government has very strong rules about what can be done on these computers, with no panel measurement software permitted to be downloaded. The result is that you miss 40 percent of the surfing population.

…so ratings companies must judge traffic via tagged portals and sites…
The major web traffic companies rate traffic in China by tagging the top sites. Since the top sites are still fairly concentrated, this can give a statistically relevant idea of what is happening on the Internet in China. As the number of Internet sites grows, however, this measurement method may lose its relevance.

…but Chinese web stats are considered political information…
Unlike the US, where web stats are considered commercial information, traffic in China has political overtones. Following an outbreak of nationalist sentiment against Japan, China’s authorities decreed that web stats showing trends of usage should not be published. The stats might show, for example, that Chinese are looking at sites or user-generated content that the government does not like.

…thus ratings companies know what is happening, but cannot make their findings public.
People involved in measurement hope that the Olympics will prompt China to open up stats again.

Any further thoughts on the topic?

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China, Media

Discussion

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  • Anon
    I am in China trying to work but its absolutely imposible to surf some US and European site they are simply blocked. For example to use wikipedia I have to use Annony Mouse.
  • In one session I attended, the observation was made, as I recall, that even if you know that the stats may be/are inflated (and it was opined that everyone does know the real figures) but you are courting venture capitalists, you do not want to be the first to set a new benchmark of more accurate stats, which would inevitably be lower than the perceived/touted industry levels. Sacrificial victim anyone?
  • There's an interesting post at the Oxford Internet Institute called "The Internet is local and Chinese do not link abroad":
    http://people.oii.ox.ac.uk/escher/2007/10/17/th...
  • Tiens ces jours-ci la Chine a réouvert l'accès à blogspot, mais fermé l'accès à youtube (snif déjà que googlevideo & dailymotion n'étaient pas accessibles...).

    Krapax de Wuhan.
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thomascramptonconf

Thomas Crampton was a correspondent for the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times for more than a decade, reporting from five continents, writing a column on Asia and covering Asian politics, economics and culture. Currently based in Hong Kong, he writes here about China, the Internet and New Media seen from Asia, while also advising companies on digital communication strategies. For more information click here...