Learning From Your Searches: Ideas for Future Posts

[...] This is the first in a series of posts inspired by interesting Google searches that led people to this Blawg. [...]

How do you find out what searches are leading people to your blog? I use Blogger and I do not know how to go about this. Haven’t been able to figure out how to get an RSS feed on my blog, either. Thanks.

Good questions. A number of free site statistics options are available. I am currently using statcounter,
http://www.statcounter.com/.

It provides, among other things, information on key words used to find your site. First you must establish an account and paste some code into your sidebar. Then you can click on the little button and view your stats.

I see you have an atom feed. I’m no techie, so I don’t know much. But I understand there are varying tech standards for newsfeeds, notably RSS and atom.

To the rescue comes feedburner, which takes your blogger feed and automatically translates it to suit the viewer, whatever their requirements. At least that’s my understanding.

Feedburner provides many other nifty features, all free, including stats that will not show up on your other stats because they are subscribers to your feed, not visitors (they may not visit, but just read the feed).

[...] Often I read a new decision by a federal court of appeals and the outcome seems to be such an obvious application of well-established principles of employment law that I wonder why the case was even appealed. In significant part, this impression is created by the court, as it takes a large factual record and writes an opinion designed to make it appear that the decision followed clearly from application of established legal precedent to the facts. In reality, these cases usually are not nearly so simple. In any event, these cases that break no new ground legally often present fine examples for teaching employment law basics. As I observed a few months ago, searches for basic information on evidence and proof of discrimination have led people to this Blawg. Accordingly, today and in two subsequent posts I will use a relatively bland Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision from earlier this month to illustrate a few very basic points regarding proof of discrimination. If you think you know it all already, consider it a quick review. Bear in mind that this is only one case from one Circuit, and there are many subtleties and variations on each point, and differences between the circuits on some. This case involved race discrimination and retaliation claims by an employee of the Cook County Sheriff’s Department. The employee complained of discriminatory and retaliatory disciplinary suspensions for attendance violations (reporting late). The Seventh Circuit affirmed the granting of the department’s motion, thus ending the case in favor of the employer. The Seventh Circuit summarized the black-letter law on proof of discrimination as follows: Discrimination may be proven either directly, such as by an admission by the defendant, or indirectly under the burden-shifting method established in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, 411 U.S. 792, 802-04 (1973). . . [...]