Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics • Hacker News Board

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#441

Post by blablabla123 » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:47 PM UTC

atoav wrote: post #281

turbinerneiter wrote: post #15

There is a German movie about the system that is used to gather TV ratings. It's a special box that some users get which reports what they are watching. Small sample size goes into a big statistic (not sure how accurate the portrayal of the system in the movie is). These boxes are given to the people who pay the German public TV fee, which excludes i.e. students (they don't have to pay) and some other groups. This gr…

As someone who has been in one or another meeting with German TV stations I can assure you this is not completely far fetched. The people deciding what is running at these stations are of the mindset (a translated quote): > Our average viewer is 65 years old and watches TV while doing the dishes, we must not show things that cannot be understood by them and then they will serenade about how they would "love to have a…

I stopped watching TV more than 10 years ago because I was worried to turn stupid from it. Not so far fetched after all.

There are some high quality shows and TV stations though. Namely Phoenix (similar to PBS in the U.S.) and some of the news magazines that run in the late evenings. Of course there are also all the other public stations with higher quality programs but I find the program most of the time quite random and sometimes even a bit elitarian.

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#442

Post by mrfusion » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:47 PM UTC

Can I block this on safari on the iPhone.

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#443

Post by wintermutestwin » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:48 PM UTC

sidibe wrote: post #333

jeroenhd wrote: post #140

I expected these numbers to be higher. However, an even more interesting metric is the 88% block in Firefox. Firefox may not have a great market share, but based on these numbers it's market share may very well be eight times higher than your analytics report. This can change the argument of "it's only 3% of our users so we don't need to test on FF" to "it's a quarter of our user base, we should at least test it", de…

The reason Firefox is higher is probably because it's the easiest one to block ads on mobile. Most people I know who use Firefox on mobile do so specifically to have ublock origin. I personally use chrome on desktop but Firefox on mobile.

You have to be on Android to use addons with mobile Firefox. Since Android=Google, doesn't that mean you are giving Google all your data including browsing data and the fact that you are blocking ads?

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#444

Post by eru » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:49 PM UTC

tehjoker wrote: post #410

mattmanser wrote: post #316

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, you say that, but isn't that exactly why Netflix got rid of ratings? All the documentaries were getting really high ratings, so would display highly in searches, but not many people actually watched them. It's the same for most content, I read a huge amount. I do read some intellectual books, but only occasionally. The rest of the time I read utter, thoroughly entertaining, trash. I don't want to read about an…

That is how it is with documentaries. Just because they are getting lower viewing numbers doesn't mean you shouldn't keep promoting them. Certainly there should be a mix of entertainment and public interest stuff, but following audience preferences for entertainment creates a feedback loop that damages society.

Things like documentaries are mostly watched by already well-off people (mostly middle class and up).

In Germany, public TV is paid for by (nearly?) every household. [0]

Forcing everyone, including poor people, to subsidize rich people's taste for documentaries seems a bit.. off?

Similar arguments apply to public libraries and opera houses, though at least there the financing is done mostly via progressive taxation.

Of course, you can argue that we sophisticated people know what's good for those unwashed masses, and if only they watched their documentaries like they are supposed to, they would soon see the light. Colour me skeptical.

[0] As far as I am concerned, private broadcasters can and should do what they feel like.

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#445

Post by marcodiego » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:50 PM UTC

ipaddr wrote: post #439

turbinerneiter wrote: post #15

There is a German movie about the system that is used to gather TV ratings. It's a special box that some users get which reports what they are watching. Small sample size goes into a big statistic (not sure how accurate the portrayal of the system in the movie is). These boxes are given to the people who pay the German public TV fee, which excludes i.e. students (they don't have to pay) and some other groups. This gr…

I don't block ads. I remember what the internet was about to become before ads stepped in. Everything of value was going to be pull behind paywalls. Let's say everyone get their wish and ads go away. Everything will require a purchase. Those purchases are logged to a real name/address. You end up with bigger privacy leaks. People will still be tracking you the way they are now. And at the credit card level. As an adu…

I don't think the playing field is disleveled without ads. Wikipedia has no ads.

If you're willing to handle ads, they should at the least be untargetted.

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#446

Post by hollerith » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:50 PM UTC

ipaddr wrote: post #439

turbinerneiter wrote: post #15

There is a German movie about the system that is used to gather TV ratings. It's a special box that some users get which reports what they are watching. Small sample size goes into a big statistic (not sure how accurate the portrayal of the system in the movie is). These boxes are given to the people who pay the German public TV fee, which excludes i.e. students (they don't have to pay) and some other groups. This gr…

I don't block ads. I remember what the internet was about to become before ads stepped in. Everything of value was going to be pull behind paywalls. Let's say everyone get their wish and ads go away. Everything will require a purchase. Those purchases are logged to a real name/address. You end up with bigger privacy leaks. People will still be tracking you the way they are now. And at the credit card level. As an adu…

Your personal prosperity depends on a prosperous online ad industry; doesn't it?

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#447

Post by markosaric » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:52 PM UTC

mastazi wrote: post #432

I'm curious as to why Reddit users were considered a tech-savvy audience. While there are some tech-centered subreddits, many others are not.

the subreddit that drove the traffic to the post that was analyzed was /r/linux which should be more technical than the average subreddit out there

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#448

Post by wintermutestwin » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:54 PM UTC

happybuy wrote: post #27

As a developer of an ad blocker[1] our stats would seem to back up what Plausible has found: - Despite having equivalent desktop (macOS) and mobile (iOS) apps, most of our users (> 75%) use the app primarily on desktop - Most users say the key reason for use is for privacy protection; even with Safari providing some inbuilt privacy tracking protection - Our app is focused on providing a simple 'set and forget' ad blo…

It appears that Magiclasso is not open source. That being the case, how can anyone trust your claim that "Magic Lasso Adblock doesn't see or have access to any of your web pages or browsing history?"

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#449

Post by ddaalluu1 » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:55 PM UTC

isoprophlex wrote: post #30

Yuioup wrote: post #2

It would be 100% if I could do it on mobile.

NextDNS does comprehensive blackholing of tracking and ads, very limited battery impact. Works on ios and android. I think their free tier is very generous at 300k lookups/month; otherwise it's something cheap like 2€/month if you want unlimited lookups (i use this to block tracking on all my devices + home network)

Are you working for them?

When I want to "try for free" I'm assigned a unique ID which is then used in all DNS resolution requests. How is that even remotely tracking-safe?

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#450

Post by McDyver » Tue, Aug 31, 2021, 2:55 PM UTC

ipaddr wrote: post #439

turbinerneiter wrote: post #15

There is a German movie about the system that is used to gather TV ratings. It's a special box that some users get which reports what they are watching. Small sample size goes into a big statistic (not sure how accurate the portrayal of the system in the movie is). These boxes are given to the people who pay the German public TV fee, which excludes i.e. students (they don't have to pay) and some other groups. This gr…

I don't block ads. I remember what the internet was about to become before ads stepped in. Everything of value was going to be pull behind paywalls. Let's say everyone get their wish and ads go away. Everything will require a purchase. Those purchases are logged to a real name/address. You end up with bigger privacy leaks. People will still be tracking you the way they are now. And at the credit card level. As an adu…

While that speculation is plausible, another view would be that companies would offer quality content without tracking users and invading their privacy (how many paid services still flood you with ads?), and possibly free alternatives would start to come up.

From your point of view, free open source is something that wouldn't exist