I love to keep an eye on my web sites and see how they're doing traffic-wise. I also like to have a look at the more geeky stats, such as how many of the visitors have JavaScript enabled, what screen resolutions do they use and what their choice of operating systems is.

One of the web sites that I host (and that Monika did a wonderful job putting together) is the Everest Trek 2010 web site.

I think the web browser that you use says a lot about you and your geekiness. That's why I call that browser overview my "Geek Index".


Now higher on that list doesn't mean more geeky, but there's something to be read from that chart.

Let me got through the top three individual browsers on that list and tell you my thoughts about them:

1. Safari - the Mac browser. What this chart doesn't say is that the Windows portion of these 48.93% is only a minor fraction. So I guess it's fair to assume that this part of the audience are mainly the podcast listeners, as that also still seems a little Mac-centric.

Are Mac users especially geeky? Yes and no. There are those who want the ease-of-use and the "it just works" thing, but then there are people like me who also love it for the fact that it's a Unix system that has all the important tools, scripting languages, terminals, process control etc. available, that I just need in my every-day life. The split between these two groups eludes me, but I'm sure there's at least some geekyness here.

By the way, I'm one of these Mac Safari users and I'm proud of it.

2. Firefox - the customizer's browser. Tons of add-ons, themes, extensions, plug-ins, name them whatever you like. I guess the most customizable browser on the market. It also managed to become the de-facto alternative to Internet Explorer.

Is it geeky? Sure, but again, I don't know the percentage of users who use it just to not have to use IE, and the users who use it because it allows this extreme level of customization.

As with Safari, it comes on both Windows and the Mac. In case of the Everest Trek website, Windows makes three quarters of the Firefox traffic, the Mac stays well behind here.

3. Internet Explorer - the Windows browser. This is interesting. Only 15%? On the one hand I would've expected a higher number, just because IE is still the market leader. On the other hand, the average podcast consumer is more likely to be a Mac user and IE doesn't have any relevance on the Mac. Or is it because I'm a geek and I attract other geeks, and IE is just almost by definition a non-geek browser?

I guess we'll never find out, but maybe you have an opinion? Let me know in the comments!