Thank you to all who took the time to reply to the short Google survey I posted earlier this week. I was expecting about 200 replies and got (at the time I downloaded the stats) 389.

A little bit of context: I posted the survey mostly for fun. I thought it would be a great chance to get some feedback from you guys, and I figured many of you would enjoy filling it out and seeing the final results.

The nature of posting these results for the public necessitates I talk about this site. While I’m sure some people are interested to read the info and my thoughts on it, it is a bit awkward for me.

From my point of view, I always enjoy reading about the statistics and what is going on behind the scenes of the websites I follow, but I always fear when posting my own information it may come across as arrogant; hopefully that will not be the case here.

Top Answers

Of the 389 people who took the survey, here is the general consensus:

• 45% found my site through Daring Fireball.
• 87% are subscribed to the RSS feed. (Which means about 15% of this site’s total subscribers took the survey.)
• 58% of those subscribed to the feed, chose to because of the overall content.
• 48% most like the articles because of my writing style.
• 48% like the link list type posts because they are a good “filter” for other content on the web.
• 41% would most like to see a continued combination of topics on freelancing, reviews, design / web / trendy stuff and interviews.
• 81% are nerds.

I was surprised to see Daring Fireball as the number one referrer. Most of the reviews I’ve been writing lately have been linked to by TUAW and Daring Fireball — but not on the same day. The day after TUAW would link the article my subscriber stats would jump by about two or three hundred. However, the day after a DF link, the numbers would only jump by about one hundred.

My assumption was that the majority of current feed subscribers came from TUAW. I suppose there are two possibilities: (a) Those referred from Daring Fireball are over-represented in the survey, or (b) many found this site via DF and TUAW, and chose the DF affiliation.

But here’s a head-scratcher: as you’ll see in the detailed breakdown below, TUAW came up as the 2nd to least referrer.

Other than that, the rest of the top answers were about what I expected. I am glad to see that most people enjoy my writing style, though I’m bummed that my wit and humor isn’t more dominant. (ha!)

Individual Answer’s Breakdown

I got quite a few emails from readers stating they wish they could have have chosen “all that apply” on certain questions instead of having to pick one. But I did it that way on purpose; I wanted to get just one answer. Since you had to pick just one, which one?

Under each question are the various answers, the number of ‘votes’ each one received and the percentage of the total that number represents.

1. How did you find shawnblanc.net?

• Daring Fireball: 174 (44.73%)
• Don’t Remember: 98 (25.19%)
• Other: 52 (13.37%)
• TUAW: 35 (9.00%)
• The Fight Spot: 30 (7.71%)

2. Are you subscribed to the RSS feed?

• Yes: 338 (86.89%)
• No: 49 (12.60%)
• No answer: 2

3. Why did you subscribe to the RSS feed?

• I liked the overall content and topics: 225 (57.84%)
• I liked the detailed reviews: 84 (21.59%)
• I am not subscribed: 49 (12.60%)
• I liked the site’s design: 19 (4.88%)
• I subscribe to every feed I see: 10 (2.57%)
• No answer: 1

4. What do you like most about the articles?

• Writing style: 186 (47.81%)
• New information: 118 (30.33%)
• Tips and tricks: 49 (12.60%)
• Wit and humor: 27 (6.94%)
• Pictures: 6 (1.54%)
• No answer: 3

5. What do you like most about the shorter link list style posts?

• They are a good “filter” for finding cool new stuff: 188 (48.33%)
• I don’t pay much attention them: 87 (22.37%)
• I like the commentary that goes with them: 83 (21.34%)
• I have N.A.D.D. and need something to click: 27 (6.94%)
• No answer: 4

6. What future topics would you most want to read?

• More software reviews: 84 (21.59%)
• More design / tech / trendy stuff: 58 (14.91%)
• More freelancing advice: 41 (10.54%)
• More interviews: 11 (2.83%)
• All of the above: 161 (41.39%)
• I’m impartial: 33 (8.48%)
• No answer: 1

7. Are you a nerd?

• Yes: 314 [80.72%]
• No: 75 [19.28%] 1