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Why the NYT "Most Emailed" list should really be titled "Most Emailed by the Least Savvy People."

In the comments on another post today, John Althouse Cohen makes a great point:

The NYT has no way of knowing which articles are most emailed.

Jason (the commenter) thinks John doesn't get it:

If they have an "email this article" link they do. I see many publications keeping track of stories this way.

That was John's point:

No, that button keeps track of how many people use that button. I email articles on a regular basis and never use that button. I don't understand why anyone would use it. The NYT has no way of knowing when I send a NYT URL to someone.

MayBee snarks:

I hope Althouse updates her post to include this vital information.

John stands his ground:

Yes, the NYT gives a false picture of what it knows about how popular its pieces are. The NYT perceives its internal emailing system as the be-all-and-end-all of popularity. But they're only detecting the behavior of the tiny group of people who are more comfortable with the NYT's convoluted messaging system than with the more straightforward practice of sending a URL. There are all sorts of ways this could be demographically skewed; it probably leaves out more young (maybe liberal) readers. I actually think that's important. Maybe not as important as the very serious matter of what Brooks was talking about in his comments about his thigh, so I don't know if it's worthy of an update in the post, but I think it's worth pointing out in the comments section.

Well, I think its worthiness exceeds post updating and warrants a new post!

I suddenly realize that I have no interest in what the dorks who use the "email" button think somebody they know should read. I'm also not surprised anymore that the Brooks column did so well. Indeed, I'd been wondering for a long time why Brooks columns are always ranking so high on that list. Now, I understand that Brooks and "email" button-pushers are on the same wavelength ? and it is not a cool place to be.

Full post as published by Althouse on July 12, 2009 (boomark / email).