Patterns in How People Use the Web

Ken Kovash

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Introduction

• Ken Kovash, The Numerator at Mozilla Corporation, (aka

Manager of Analytics)

• Prior to joining Mozilla…

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Where in the World are Internet Users?

• 75% of Firefox users are outside the U.S.

• Here’s a great visualization from Many Eyes putting global

internet usage in perspective

Source: data from internetworldstats.com, chart from http://manyeyes.alphaworks.ibm.com/manyeyes/visualizations/global-internet-population-penetrati

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Internet Usage Fluctuates During the Week

• Based on what we see with daily Firefox usage, we can

estimate fluctuations for the entire internet population

Source: http://blog.mozilla.com/metrics/2008/01/03/what-factors-affect-firefox-usage/

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An Urge to Shop Online

• Cyber Monday seems to affect internet traffic

• On the Monday after Thanksgiving, we’ve seen a usage

spike of about 6%

Source: http://blog.mozilla.com/metrics/2008/11/19/using-firefox-after-eating-turkey/

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Using Your Laptop while Watching TV

• We were able to prove the existence of the Colbert Bump

• On the day Firefox 3 launched last summer, Stephen Colbert said

“Firefox 3 just got the Colbert Bump” at minute 23 of the broadcast,

and here’s what ensued:

Source: http://blog.mozilla.com/metrics/2008/07/08/colbert-bump-firefox-3-proves-its-existence/

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The Role of Mozilla’s Mission

• For the Internet to continue to benefit the public good…

• We have a front-row seat to world events. By being open with metrics, we’re in a position to potentially enhance everyone’s knowledge about what’s happening around the globe.

• Here’s a nytimes story about Google…

“In mid-February, for instance, the group was taken aback when they saw the number of searches drop unexpectedly. With their antennas keenly tuned for any sign that the economic slowdown could be hitting Google’s business, members of the team rushed to come up with a diagnosis. That meant poring over statistics, calling field offices and checking data centers to ensure none were afflicted by bugs.

The team determined that Google had suffered from a series of unrelated minor ailments. Mardi Gras and the Chinese New Year kept people away from their computers, while bad weather knocked out electricity in parts of China, Mr. Varian said.

Other events have given Google unexpected increases in traffic because they kept people at home, like heavy rains and flooding in England last summer and a strike in France last fall.”

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/02/technology/02google.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&sq=google%20fox&st=nyt&scp=1

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kkovash@mozilla.com

blog.mozilla.com/metrics

Thank You