There's an old saying, and I'm paraphrasing. You have lies, darned lies, and statistics. That is why we take extra precautions to make certain our web stats are accurate.

The Macon County Times promotes its web statistics aggressively because they are impressive - far more than any other news media in the area.

Here's how it is done.

We do not utilize one tool. Instead, we utilize multiple web analysis tools which include tools provided by our server host, Google analytics and a measurement tool that is relied on by more than half of the major publishers and ninety percent of the top media agencies in the United States.

We compare these analytics to ensure we have accurate numbers. If all the tools come up with the same numbers great! If they come up with a different number, then further evaluation is required.

So that when I tell you that during the one-day period of Thursday, February 18 alone, we had 651 individual unique vistors who accounted for 989 visits and over 4,100 pageviews, you can be assured that the information is from one source, verified by two other sources, and considered highly accurate.

Include our Facebook page, which at 787 fans and I think we have, without question, the most visited news web site in Macon County.

But there's something more. The stats are used to sell advertising. But what draws the readers to our site?

Lots of news. We update our web site with more news and information than anyone out there. Hands down.

Sports, news, breaking news, photos, births, anniversaries, letters, opinions, columns, announcements, calendar listings, video and more are all found on the site, which is updated throughout the day under my strict "web first" reporting policy.

But this is information you need. We're not about telling you what to think and do, we're about supplying you with information and letting you decide. That includes online as well.