2.0 and web stats, oh the irony

I fully embrace the idea that statistics are open for interpretation -- numbers without context are essentially meaningless. Fine. I don't, however, understand why I can't find reliable stats on just about anything happening on the web.

What's the average age of a Facebook user? Not sure. Facebook gives limited data and even some of ComScore's data has been called into question. Oy.

Want to compare apples to apples across sites. Good luck.

There's something ironic about this. The web, particularly the "social web" that so many of these sites are a significant part of, is about open conversation and the democratization of information. It would make sense (to me at least) that these sites would agree to make their states open. The lock-down these sites put on their numbers just doesn't seem in line with their mission.