Matrix metrics — the six calculation modes

The metric decides what the color intensity of a cell represents. All six metrics work on the same data — they only show it from different angles.

Default. How much of the activity in this row falls on this column?

Formula: cell value / row total
Color: darker = higher share of the row
Use: highlights where a source or topic had its focus. A source with five posts and one with a hundred look alike when the distribution is similar.

How much of the visible grand total falls on this cell?

Formula: cell value / grand total
Color: darker = larger share of the whole
Use: shows where the most is happening overall. Small activity fades in color — the hotspots stand out.

Available only in views with category rows (for example Sources (grouped by categories) over time).

Formula: cell value / parent category total
Color: darker = larger share of the category
Use: answers “which source dominates inside its category?”. On flat views it would coincide with Total share — there it is not selectable.

Count

The raw number — no share.

Formula: cell value
Color: darker = more Updates
Use: when frequency matters, not distribution. A post is a post, regardless of what happens around it.

Compared to reference period

Compares the current value with the same cell value from a reference period.

Formula: cell value - reference cell value
Color: green = more than before, red = less, neutral = similar
Use: trend question. Where is there more going on today than three months ago? Where has a source gone quieter?

The Reference period is picked automatically by default (same length, immediately before the current period). You can also set it manually in the Filters popover.

Market comparison

Only available when the Ownership filter is set to All — that is, your own and competitor sources together.

Formula: normalized comparison own activity per own source vs. competitor activity per competitor source
Color: green = your sources post more per source than the market, red = the market posts more per source
Use: answers “are we more visible than our competitors, in proportion?”. Cancels out the effect that you have fewer of your own sources than the market has competitor sources.

Which metric when

Goal	Recommended metric
Where did whom put the focus?	Row share
Where is the most going on in the market?	Total share
Who dominates inside their category?	Category share
How often — plain numbers	Count
Where is activity shifting?	Compared to reference period
Are we more visible than the market?	Market comparison

Cells with value zero

Zero-value cells are rendered differently depending on the metric:

Share metrics (Row / Total / Category share): white / empty
Count: white / empty
Δ metrics: neutral for similar values, colored for larger deviations

A completely empty row (a source with no activity in the period) disappears from the Matrix. If the whole Matrix is empty, the Filters popover is the fastest fix — usually the time range is too tight or a filter is too restrictive.