Traffic
Report
How many people read
Slate
? Last August, in a "Webhead" column by our then-Program
Manager Bill Barnes, we attempted to answer that question, while at the same
time explaining why any claims about the popularity of Web sites are inherently
suspicious. With that same caveat, we offer an update. In August, we were
serving an average of about 90,000 pages a day, seven days a week. In recent
weeks, we have been serving about 140,000 pages a day. As that Webhead column
explained, the design of a site can drastically affect the page count. (A Web
"page" is of no fixed size, and the same material can take few or many pages.)
We think a better measure is "unique browsers": the number of individual
computers that visit a site. (Each computer is counted just once, no matter how
many times it visits.) In the month of August, we had about 80,000 individual
readers by this measure. In the month of November, we had close to 140,000.
This doesn't count the 22,000 who get
Slate
delivered by e-mail
every Friday morning (if you wanna sign up, click here), or the thousands who get e-mail delivery of "Today's Papers"
five days a week (click here to sign up).
Why the growth? Naturally
we'd like to attribute it to our excellent editorial product and to the
kindness and enthusiasm of
Slate
readers in spreading the word.
But we suspect that other forces are at work as well. There's the steady
increase in the number of Internet users, who nonetheless account for barely 15
percent of the adult population. And there's the particular boost
Slate
has been getting from our beloved distribution partners:
America Online, Hotmail, and the Microsoft Network. To whomever we owe thanks,
thanks!
And if
you're one of our new arrivals, welcome.
New
Stuff
Slate
continues to be an experiment in magazine journalism on the
Web. We try things--sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. This week we
inaugurate no fewer than three new features:
"Reply All" is an
update on the old-fashioned epistolary novel (fiction in the form of letters,
such as Les Liaisons Dangereuses , the 1782 novel by Choderlos de Laclos
that was turned into a play and two different movies a few years ago). Our
version is fiction in the form of e-mail among three characters: one in
Washington, one in New York, and one in the Bay Area. Each character's mail is
written by an author in that city. In another throwback to earlier forms, Reply
All will be written and published in weekly installments. Chapter 1 is posted
now.
"International
Papers" is a worldwide version of our popular Today's Papers
column, synthesizing and commenting on what leading newspapers outside the
United States are saying about the major news stories (Al Gore was a bust in
Kyoto, apparently), and noting stories that are being ignored in the United
States but loom large elsewhere. (Did you know, for example, about the
beauty-queen boom in India or the controversy about transsexual athletes in
Australia?) At least for now, International Papers will be updated just twice a
week, on Monday and Thursday evenings, PST. The author is Alexander Chancellor,
a distinguished columnist for the Guardian of London and former editor
of the Spectator . By its nature (not to mention Alexander's nature),
International Papers will be less structured than Today's Papers. Rather than
analyzing the same five front pages every day, it will flit around the world,
courtesy of the Internet, looking for trends and patterns. The language barrier
will be a challenge, but our author is about as well qualified as anyone to
take it on. Although he doesn't know much Chinese or Urdu, he is fluent in
French, German, and Italian. Oh yes, and a bit of English.
"Cheat Sheet" is a
spinoff of the "Hackathlon" (see below). It is on tryout as a replacement for "The
Gist." We're looking for ways to bring readers quickly and painlessly up to
speed on issues in the news they haven't followed closely, or have found
confusing, or--frankly--are bored by but feel guilty about it. For the
Hackathlon, a hack writing contest for journalists, Deputy Editor Jack Shafer
provided a "cheat
sheet" of information the contestants could draw upon in each of four
rounds. The cheat sheets were so entertaining and informative that we thought
we'd try this form as a regular feature. The first one, about the Arlington
Cemetery flap, is posted now.
As part of the ebb and flow of
Slate
features, two have concluded their runs. Don't miss this week's breathtaking
conclusion to "Doodlennium," the cartoon saga of the chicken people by Mark Alan
Stamaty. (And of course, the entire year-and-a-half-long series is available in
"The Compost.")
Liberated from Doodlennium, Mark will have an expanded role in illustrating the
rest of
Slate
. (Check out his drawing of Robin Williams and Matt
Damon in "Summary Judgment.") "Varnish Remover," Robert Shrum's analysis of a
TV commercial, has been suspended to allow Bob to concentrate on whatever it is
he does exactly as an international political and business consultant. But
he'll be back, we hope, either with Varnish Remover or some new feature, closer
to next fall's elections.
More New
Stuff
We need
your help with another new feature that starts next week. It is an advice
column, called "Dear Prudence." Although the author stands prepared to answer
questions on any topic, she is better qualified to share wisdom about morals
and manners, what youth can learn from age, and macroeconomic policy than about
how to get your brand-new, #$#@%&! $200 fax modem to work properly. Please
send your inquiries to [email protected].
Hacks
Americana
The first
annual
Slate
"Hackathlon" is over, after four
not-especially-grueling weeks for four not-really-so-hackish hacks. And the
readers have rendered their verdict. The New
York
Times
now has another honor to add to its string of Pulitzers. Michael Specter, a
Moscow correspondent for the Times , was judged to be the biggest hack by
a 37-percent plurality of
Slate
readers. Malcolm Gladwell of
The New Yorker came in second with 27 percent. British journalist
Geoffrey Wheatcroft, representing the nation that invented hack journalism and
whose journalists still pride themselves on maintaining their lack of
standards, got a disappointing 19 percent. And Hanna Rosin of the New
Republic came in last with 17 percent. But she's young: She has plenty
of years yet in which to compromise her integrity. For more details and
analysis of this historic sporting event, go to the Hackathlon
itself.
Slate Between Covers
Looking
for a good Christmas present? Allow us to suggest the following recent books by
Slate
authors (click on each title to order it from
Amazon.com ):
The Man Who Ate Everything, by Jeffrey Steingarten (Knopf). This
is a collection of hilarious and informative essays by the food critic of
Vogue . Only one of the pieces included comes from
Slate
.
But it is the title essay.
Degas in New Orleans: Encounters in the Creole World of Kate
Chopin and George Washington Cable, by Christopher Benfey (Knopf). This is the
tale of an 1872 visit by the Impressionist painter to the relentlessly colorful
Louisiana city. Benfey is
Slate
's art critic.
Fair Play: What Your Child Can Teach You About Economics, Values
and the Meaning of Life, by Steven E. Landsburg (The Free Press). Landsburg
writes the monthly "Everyday Economics" column for
Slate
, and
several of the essays in this collection first appeared here. (In fact, you can
still read them here.)
Trail Fever, by Michael Lewis (Knopf). Tales of the 1996
presidential race by the writer who is now exploring the new American economy
in
Slate
's "Millionerds" column.
The Factory of Facts, by Luc Sante (Knopf). This is a memoir
about growing up in Belgium and America by the prominent cultural critic who
writes often for
Slate
. It actually doesn't come out until
February, but you could always buy a gift certificate.
Slate
is pleased to have supplied so many outstanding writers to
the House of Knopf, and looks forward to a seasonal fruit basket. Actually, an
ad or two would go down well. For readers who (like the editors) found the
mental exercise in Steven Landsburg's most recent "Everyday Economics"
column a bit hard to follow, Steve tries a different version in
"E-Mail to the Editors" (scroll down to the third e-mail message and read his
response). You might find it more satisfying. We did.
Janet Is
From Mars, Bill Is on Venus
Corrections:
Slate
's "In Other Magazines" column incorrectly said
that The
New
Yorker said that President Clinton calls
Attorney General Reno "The Martian" behind her back. The New Yorker
actually said that Clinton aides call her this. Also, the Washington
columnist spells his name Rowland Evans, not Roland as
Slate
's
"Pundit Central" alleged last week.
Dear
Prudence:
I am just
a guy named Bill being pursued by a gal named Janet. Janet was also pursuing
another guy named Bill, but he somehow or other put her off the scent. She's
stopped chasing him, but she's still chasing me! Neither of us appreciates her
attentions. What I want to know is, why does she have this vendetta against
guys named Bill? And how did the other one manage to lose her? What has he got
that I don't got? Is life unfair, or what?
Sincerely,
Bill G.
Redmond,
Wash.
--Michael Kinsley
