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If Rediff Is Number 5 on Komli’s Vizisense, Will They Validate It?
Komli Media has launched Vizisense, an online audience measurement system. Comscore, despite its reported inaccuracy and lack trasparency of its methodology, is an accepted audience measurement system in India, and IMRB International is also planning to launch their own audience measurement system in the next few months. Both of these systems are likely to be paid, so what’s really interesting is the fact that Komli has decided to make Vizisense available for free.
We spoke to Amar Goel, CEO of Komli, who told us that Vizisense is using three levels of data sources:
— Panel: they’re tracking the Internet usage of over 10,000 users
— Analytics: statistics from the websites which install the analytics
— Census Data: from the Indian census, in order to help triangulate findings
Now this data can be mutually exclusive, since not all publishers may be using Komli’s data tracker – but Goel said that they can still make valuable conclusions about websites based on consumer behaviour – for example, “Lets’s say you go to a site that is 90% male, and another site which is 90% male…we can conclude with some probability that you’re male.”
The data is available publically as well…search for a site here for its audience data.
The Differentiator: Demographic Data
Komli is thus providing publishers with key demographic data like Gender, Age, Income, Education level and Marital Status, apart from the usual stats which something like a Google Analytics or Piwik may offer. Mind you, no two statistics packages give the exact same information either. Satish Kadu, VP (Product Development) told MediaNama that Komli is planning to expand the sample base to 100,000 within a few weeks.
According to Goel, users have agreed to download a software on their desktop, and anonymously share their surfing habits. Komli will verify their demographic data using contest forms, or asking them to share inputs on a regular basis. The users were recruited using online marketing. Komli expects publishers to adopt Vizisense because it gives them additional information from this panel.
Accurate Data?
It’s important here to keep in mind that the demographic mix of the panel will have a significant impact on the data available to publishers. More than horizontals, demographic mix has a significant impact on niche portals. I spoke at length with Kadu, to get a better understanding of how this demographic mix is defined. He said that this is an iterative process, and the data will improve with time. They’re doing the maximum to ensure more accuracy:
1. Bigger sample – Planning to expand the panel size from between 10-15,000 to between 100,000 50,000-100,000 in a few weeks
2. Targeting varied audiences for the panel signups for a well diversified sample
3. Removing the self selection bias, by triangulation of information from the panel data, actual publisher data
4. Using advanced techiques like Monte Carlo simulation, for multiple randomly picked up test samples.
Update: Kadu had told MediaNama 4-5 times that Komli is targeting a panel of 100,000 users. Komli Media has since written in asking for that number to be changed to 50,000-100,000 users, with the following explanation: “Komli would like to have as many panelists as possible, but is targeting a minimum range of 50,000 to 100,000, which is deemed sufficient for its statistical uses.” We’ve updated the post accordingly.
Update 2: Alok Kejriwal, CEO of Games2Win points out in the comments to this post – there is a fundamental defect in the Vizisense business model in the sense that the want websites to place ad codes on their sites to track the same!
how can anyone believe reports when web site owners have the ability to manipulate the same?
globally, the best practice is to maintain external panels like comScore who measure traffic and demographics and sychographice by inference of the panel baheviour – NOT INFLUENCED by what the website wants!
i had asked the very same question to the 3 folks of Vizisense almost 3 weeks back and i am still awaiting their reply!
