The emphasis is mine, but the Google Analytics figures are critical here.Google Analytics is widely used by many sites, so in theory these figures in the mix should deliver reasonable results based on fact.

So what can you learn from Google Trends for Websites?

Omnidrive joined the deadpool in January

Despite Nik from Omnidrive claiming that May was a record month for Omnidrive, Google Trends shows the site flatlined in January. I checked the front page of Omnidrive: the service is using Google Analytics, so if there was any traffic it would be on this graph.

Propeller (formerly Netscape) moved ahead of Reddit in April for the first time, giving Propeller the number two spot in the social voting space. New comer Mixx is still a fair way behind, but is growing well. If you’re wondering why Digg isn’t in the chart, it’s because including Digg squashes the other lines flat.

Silicon Alley Insider is growing faster than the competition

If you take the two market leaders, TechCrunch and Mashable out of the equation, and look at the next biggest startup/ web 2.0 blogs, Silicon Alley Insider is growing the fastest.

People stopped using Megite. All at once

This could be a quirk in terms of the chart (maybe they stopped using Google Analytics?) but for a short time Megite was more popular than Techmeme, then the traffic stopped. Completely stopped. Tailrank is also showing no traffic as of mid April. Deadpool time perhaps?

Digg is more popular than the Australian Press

User generated content hating Australian journalists (not all journos, but some of them) should suck on this chart

Twitter may have officially jumped the shark

The graph seems to indicate that Twitter has peaked and is coming down the other side… only just, and it may change.

FriendFeed and Plurk have similar numbers

FriendFeed has solid, steady growth where as Plurk is a rollercoaster. Still, both are looking good

I’m catching up to Centernetworks!

I’ve always been obsessed by numbers and benchmarking (I spent too long working in jobs with KPIs), and the one site I really wanted to emulate in terms of traffic and position was Allen Stern’s Centernetworks. Great site, top bloke, and a great benchmark to aim for. I’m getting there. I don’t for one minute believe that The Inquisitr is pumping more traffic than Centernetworks, my guess is if I was doing half I’d be lucky, but it’s still really rather cool to have a chart that says I’m competitive with Allen. Now I just need some more links to improve the Technorati rank where I’m 9023 to Allen’s 1456. Enough self indulgence…must go back to working harder

Related posts:

1. Google Unveils New Website Traffic Tool
2. Bing continues to surprise, drives traffic to blogs
3. Google Flu Trends Acts As Online Flu Tracker

Ostriches Don’t Succeed in a 2.0 World

Omnidrive, and Nik by extension (and as perhaps the companies only remaining employee outside of some Romanian sub-contractors) for what ever reason decided to take the ostrich path (burying your head in the sand) when things started going wrong. Indeed Nik’s sole communications path has been to only comment on blogs when others have written the company off, as opposed to pro-actively discussing the issues upfront from the start, and from a marketing/ message perspective leading/ melding/ controlling that discussion.

In a 2.0 world of blogs, social networks, microblogging, FriendFeed, chat, Skype not offering transparent information is a dangerous strategy. People will always talk about your startup/ site/ and even personal life, you can participate in that discussion and even seed it, but ignoring it means your message never gets the platform it deserves.

It’s sad that Omnidrive has gotten to this stage, but instead of opening up and being transparent, Nik has turned people away who would have supported him, and others in the community who may have sympathized with his position.

Cultural Issues?

Even if we accept that Omnidrive has a future, no one doubts that something went wrong with the company last year and into this year, and yet as far as I’m aware Nik has never once conceded this (with the exception of failing to renew the Omnidrive.com domain). I wonder, particularly after the concept came up on a panel at CeBIT yesterday, whether the Australian culture of never admitting failure and where failure is frowned up (as opposed to the Valley) is holding Nik back?

The People Equation

It’s one thing not admitting failure, it’s another thing feeding yourself and not paying staff for 5 months; that’s Phil Morle’s story and as it has been made publicly it can be repeated. In not paying a staff member Nik has someone who is well liked in the Australian tech community making it clear to everyone what they think of him. Phil is walking/ talking negative PR for Omnidrive, and the longer the pay dispute has gone on the more damage his story has caused. It’s impossible to completely avoid staff leaving on bad terms, but pay (or lack there of) should never be a thing they can use against you.

What should have been done differently

Nik should have been talking about what was going on. He could have explained what was going on, walked through the reasons why, and even at the worst case closed the company before the losses had gotten out of hand. The same is true of any startup: if things are going wrong you need to be talking about them, as Twitter (as an example) is sort of learning at the moment after another serious web lynching. Ultimately Nik could have failed with grace and maintained some respect in the broader community.

Disclosures: I’m not an investor in Omnidrive, however I was previously a contractor to Michael Arrington who is. I also have options in a site part-founded by Clay Cook, another investor, although I ceased to participate in the site in December 2007 following Cook deciding to visit his Nik frustrations on me. I also regularly podcast with Mick Lubinskas, who is Phil Morle’s business partner.

Related posts:

1. Omnidrive Officially Placed In The DeadPool…We Think
2. Republicans game Google: Worst Failure Ever = Obama Administration
3. A failure to communicate: the closure of TechCrunchIT