A story about User X:

  1. User X subscribes to TechSite on Bloglines
  2. Google Reader v2 is released, tech people say how awesome it is
  3. User X imports feeds into Google Reader
  4. Bloglines and Google Reader both report User X as a subscriber to TechSite
  5. TechSite boasts large increase in readership

Repeat above * 500+ users for popular tech blogs. End result: an anatomy of inflated RSS stats.

I suggest FeedBurner allow you to insert a 1×1 pixel on every post. Track IP, get ‘unique readers’ and ‘pageviews’ for a post. This method has its own set of flaws, but it should be some interesting numbers.