Alexa Ranking: What is it? Does Alexa matter?

If you are a regular netizen and have been associated with the Internet for some time now, perhaps I do not need to reintroduce Alexa to you. Alexa has been there, is still there (in fact with a new look now) & hopefully would remain there for a long time now. Apart from being a search engine (which is powered by Google), it does offer a unique service called "Alexa Traffic Rank". Well, I agree it is not exactly unique, keeping in mind Google offers something in the same line, known as Google PR (or Page Rank), but it is indeed special on its own terms.

Those who are in Indian Media or Indian Publishing industry should be familiar with the terms TRP (or Television Rating Points) and TAM (Television Audience Measurement) or INTAM. These are similar classes of rating mechanism (well of course, for Indian Televison), where different authorities come up with their own benchmarks and technologies of providing ranking.

How does Alexa define the traffic ranking?

Firstly, we need to understand that Alexa's ranking is driven by the fact that it calculates browsing pattern of the segment of Internet population who uses Alexa Toolbar. In other words, the browsing habits of a small portion of the Internet population are monitored through Alexa's client-side installed browser toolbar and then multiplied by the estimated total Internet user population to determine total traffic to a particular website. Want to see a live example? Check the top 100 website from India (as on May 15, 2007).

The story sounds quite reasonable so far. We should be happy now and start some research on how to get a good position on Alexa. Isn't it? But does the above logic really stand strong? Or does it have any pitfall?

Let us go through a scenario:

Assume, out of the Internet population across the Globe (& beyond - if any) 100,000 people are using the Alexa Toolbar. Now, on an average ONLY 1 of them go to your website. Under this situation, as per Alexa's logic, your site will have a pretty pathetic ranking. However, what this rank won't portray is the fact that perhaps every day, you actually have 1000 visitors on your website (and as said before, only 1 out of this 1000 actually has Alexa Toolbar installed). So, from your perspective you will understand that Alexa has a poor Toolbar penetration amongst the Internet population (as only 1 out of 1000 visitors to your site actually has Alexa installed). Whereas, from Alexa's perspective, your site is pathetic, as out of its toolbar user-base of 100,000, only 1 went to your site. :) Now do we get the facts straight?

Does Alexa ranking matter?

In order to understand the importance of Alexa ranking, we need to put ourselves in the shoes of the Internet Advertising fraternity. Assume, you want to place ads on good websites, which has appropriate content and attracts descent traffic. The question here is, how do you validate a site as "good"? How do you know the traffic pattern? How do you get information about its reach to Internet users? The raw server stats can well get manipulated (as the server is not in your control). Right? This is when Advertisers are generally left with no other option but to rely on a 3rd part tool (like Alexa) to measure the effectiveness of potential advertising sites. The logic from the publishers point of view is simple, they are using the same tool to measure all sites. So, be the tool be good or bad, it would affect all sites and the winner will get the deal. Though quite reasonably some will dispute the validity of Alexa Rankin, major advertising networks such as AdBrite and Text Link Ads use Alexa ratings regularly to price advertising on publisher websites. Even in India, the not-so-matured Online Marketing would go by the Alexa ratings before taking a call on setting the price cap on advertisement pricing. I must also add that in India the online advertising industry is still in is infancy and is largely driven by Agencies like Mediaturf et al.
So, end of the day it does mean that you should care about your Alexa rating, and check it regularly! It could well become a deciding factor for your next probable advertiser. :)

Air Travel is Safe: Is it?

Though statistically flying is nowadays an extremely safe form of transportation, accidents do occur. The relative rarity of such incidents coupled with the often dramatic outcome, is definitely one reason why such incidents still make breaking news across the globe. Even though the odds of actually getting caught in a plane crash are nowadays distinctly low (the odds of dying on a commercial airline flight are as low as 9 million to 1!) compared to other means of transportation, the probability of not surviving such a disaster are notably higher. And it's an open secret that a lot can go wrong at 33,000 feet above the ground, and if you’re unlucky enough to be aboard when something does, the decisions you make could mean the difference between life and death. If we look at the air disaster events of last year (i.e. 2006), it does force you to think twice while deciding about air travel.

Air Disaster Events of 2006:

Date	Airline/Location	Location	Aircraft Type/Registration	Fatalities
01.19.2006	Slovak Air Force	Hejce, Hungary	Antonov AN-24B	42:43:00
			5605
03.31.2006	TEAM Transportes Aéreos	Saquarema, Brazil	Let 410UVP-E20	19:19
			PT-FSE
04.16.2006	Transporte Aéreo Militar - TAM	Guayaramerín, Bolivia	Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M	1:31
			FAB-91
04.27.2006	LAC - SkyCongo	Amisi, Congo	Convair CV-580F	8:08
			ZS-SKH
05.03.2006	Armavia	Sochi, Russia	Airbus A320-211	113:113
			EK-32009
07.09.2006	Sibir Airlines	Irkutsk, Russia	Airbus A310-324	127:201
			F-OGYP
08.22.2006	Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise	Donetsk, Ukraine	Tupolev TU-154M	171:171
			RA-85185
08.27.2006	Comair	Lexington, Kentucky, USA	Bombardier Canadair CRJ-100ER	49:50:00
			N431CA
09.01.2006	Iran Air Tour	Mashad, Iran	Tupolev TU-154M	29:147
			EP-MCF
09.29.2006	Gol Transportes Aéreos	São Félix do Xingu, Brazil	Boeing 737-8EH	155:155
			PR-GTD
10.10.2006	Atlantic Airways	Stord, Norway	British Aerospace BAe-146-200A	3:16
			OY-CRG
10.29.2006	Aviation Development Corporation	Abuja, Nigeria	Boeing 737-2B7	96:105+1
			5N-BFK
11.17.2006	Trigana Air Service	Puncak Jaya, Indonesia	de Havilland DHC-6Twin Otter 300	12:12
			PK-YPY
Registration Number: The unique registration number of the aircraft involved in the accident. Registrations are prefaced with a country code such as 'N' for the United States, 'G-' for Great Britain, or 'SU-' for Egypt.
Courtsey: Airdisaster.com

Kenya Airways 737-800 Crashed

The Nairobi-bound Boeing 737-800 that departed from Douala airport early Saturday, an hour late because of rain, with 105 passengers and nine crew members on board had issued a distress call shortly after take-off. But then lost contact with the radio tower between 11 and 13 minutes afterwards, officials said. The wreckage was found about 12 miles southeast of Douala, along its flight path. Ironically, Kenya Airways is considered one of the safest airlines in Africa. The Douala-Nairobi flight runs several times a week, and is commonly used as an intermediary flight to Europe and the Middle East.

What Causes Air Accidents?
Approximately 80 percent of all aviation accidents occur shortly before, after, or during takeoff or landing, and are typically the result of human error and/or unregarded technical problems within an aircraft; mid-flight disasters are rare but not entirely unheard of. Among other things, the latter have been caused by bombs as in the 1988 Lockerbie incident, mid-air collisions such as in the 2002 Überlingen crash, structural failure as in the 1954 Comet disasters and 1988 Aloha Airlines incident, or in cases of (purportedly) mistaken identity where civilian aircraft were shot down by military (compare Korean Air Flight 007).

An accident survey of 2,147 aircraft accidents from 1950 through 2004 determined the causes to be as follows:

• 45%: Pilot error


• 33%: Undetermined or missing in the record


• 13%: Mechanical failure


• 7%: Weather


• 5%: Sabotage (bombs, hijackings, shoot-downs)


• 4%: Other human error (air traffic controller error, improper loading of aircraft, improper maintenance, fuel contamination, language miscommunication etc.)


• 1%: Other cause

*The survey excluded military, private, and charter aircraft.

A study by Boeing determined the primary cause of Airline hull loss accidents (worldwide commercial jet fleet), from 1996 through 2005, to be:

• 55%: Flight Crew error


• 17%: Airplane


• 13%: Weather


• 7%: Misc./Other


• 5%: ATC


• 3%: Maintenance

Top 10 Airline Safety Tips (by Airsafe.com)
Let us also look at how we could work towards minimizing the air travel risks.

• Fly on Nonstop Routings
  
  Most accidents occur during the takeoff, climb, descent, and landing phase of flight so flying nonstop would reduce exposure to these most accident prone phases of flight.


• Choose Larger Aircraft
  
  Currently, aircraft with more than 30 passenger seats were all designed and certified under the strictest regulations. Also, in the unlikely event of a serious accident, larger aircraft provide a better opportunity for passenger survival.


• Pay Attention to the Preflight Briefing
  
  Although the information seems repetitious, the locations of the closest emergency exits may be different depending on the aircraft that you fly on and seat you are in.


• Keep the Overhead Storage Bin Free of Heavy Articles
  
  Overhead storage bins may not be able to hold very heavy objects during turbulence, so if you or another passenger have trouble lifting an article into the bin, have it stored elsewhere.


• Keep Your Seat Belt Fastened While You are Seated
  
  Keeping the belt on when you are seated provides that extra protection you might need if the plane hits unexpected turbulence.


• Listen to the Flight Attendants
  
  The primary reason flight attendants are on an aircraft is for safety, so if one of them asks you to do something like fasten your seat belts, do it first and ask questions later.


• Don't Bring Any Hazardous Material
  
  There are rather long lists of hazardous materials that are not allowed, but common sense should tell you that you shouldn't bring gasoline, corrosives, poisonous gases, and other such items on the aircraft unless they were allowed by the airline and shipped in a proper container.


• Let the Flight Attendant Pour Your Hot Drinks
  
  Flight attendants are trained to handle hot drinks like coffee or tea in a crowded aisle on a moving aircraft, so allow them to pour the drink and hand it too you.


• Don't Drink Too Much
  
  The atmosphere in an airliner cabin is pressurized to about the same altitude as Denver, so any alcohol you consume will affect you more strongly than at sea level. Moderation is a good policy at any altitude.


• Keep Your Wits About You
  
  In the unlikely event that you are involved in an emergency situation such as a precautionary emergency evacuation, follow the directions of the flight attendants and flight crew and exit the aircraft as quickly as possible.

Related Articles:

• Interesting article on Surviving Plane Crash at Wikihow.com
• Want more information on Airline Crashes? Check Planecrashinfo.com
• Boeing Survey Indicates Most Air Travelers Feel Safe
• Are the skies safe enough?
• Fatal Boeing 737 Events
• Aviation Safety Network (get the latest news/updates on Air Incidents)