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Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

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Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#561

Post by JumpCrisscross »

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…

> the internet only tracks the defenseless people and is then built to serve them (and or exploit them)

Believe it’s Scott Galloway who said advertising is a tax on the poor and technologically illiterate.

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#562

Post by tehjoker »

tastyfreeze wrote: post #536
eru wrote: post #444

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.…

When I was first living on my own barely making rent, PBS documentaries were the most interesting thing on broadcast TV. Infinitely more entertaining than drivel like the Bachelor. Other than available time and offered free content I doubt preference of documentaries is different among income classes.

It's crazy how many people believe being poor means you're stupid. Not true! Thank you for pushing back!

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#563

Post by 542354234235 »

Closi wrote: post #242
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…

> They faked the ratings away from stupid trash TV towards some higher quality stuff, documentaries, culture, ... Obviously in the movie then the country saw a renaissance, everyone got smarter, yadda yadda, you get it. > I feel like this is similar. All tech savvy people block ads and analytics and at least the known tricks they use against us. So the internet only tracks the defenseless people and is then built to…

> The advertiser has a tracker that it places on multiple sites and tracks me around. So it doesn't know what I bought, but it does know what I looked at, probably over a long period of time, across many sites. Using this information, its painstakingly trained AI makes conclusions about which other things I might want to look at, based on...

> ...well, based on what? …Probably what it does is infer my gender, age, income level, and marital status. After that, it sells me cars and gadgets if I'm a guy, and fashion if I'm a woman. Not because all guys like cars and gadgets, but because some very uncreative human got into the loop and said "please sell my car mostly to men" and "please sell my fashion items mostly to women."… You know this is how it works, right? It has to be. You can infer it from how bad the ads are. Anyone can, in a few seconds, think of some stuff they really want to buy which The Algorithm has failed to offer them, all while Outbrain makes zillions of dollars sending links about car insurance to non-car-owning Manhattanites. It might as well be a 1990s late-night TV infomercial, where all they knew for sure about my demographic profile is that I was still awake.

> You tracked me everywhere I go, logging it forever, begging for someone to steal your database, desperately fearing that some new EU privacy regulation might destroy your business... for this? [1]

[1] https://apenwarr.ca/log/20190201

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#564

Post by al_ak »

deergomoo wrote: post #93
thinkingemote wrote: post #58

One of the reasons for mobile apps is that adblocking is disabled. Explains why Reddit promotes it so much. Similarly, wrapping websites like Discord or Slack in Electron also gives the website owners full telemetry and tracking that they can't get in a tech savvy browser. Would an always on VPN, a remote pihole be the only way for privacy?

> Explains why Reddit promotes it so much It must be very disheartening to work on reddit's mobile site. Not only is it deliberately made a miserable experience by forcing you through AMP via Google and insisting you "continue in browser" every time, but then you're greeted with a banner that outright says "this page is better in the app".

Reddit literally does not care about the usability of their mobile site: https://old.reddit.com/r/mobileweb/comments/o7wo1s/this_subr...

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#565

Post by ipaddr »

JohnFen wrote: post #540
ipaddr wrote: post #532

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The hobbiest websites will not go away. Open source existed long before the internet. What you are left with is the hobbiest websites or the mega brands that want to funnel you into their ecosystem. To offer anything that cost resources that you are willing to spend you must be a megabrand using this as a loss leader opportunity. I don't think we want that world. We may think we do but look at what happened in Mr. Ro…

> I don't think we want that world. That's the world we have right now, though, just with the addition of the spying that advertising brings.

The spying still happens regardless. We just don't have advertising (benefits and drawbacks)

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#566

Post by nine_k »

joeframbach wrote: post #528
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…

"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" To nitpick. Starting with 3/100 FF, times 8 unaccounted for, you get 24/121, 20%.

Why 121? I suppose visitors are counted by more reliable web server logs.

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#567

Post by nine_k »

bluGill wrote: post #344
DocTomoe wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel this heavily depends on your goal. IMHO, this points at Firefox being used mostly by ad-averse, tech-savvy users, while the less-adverse, less-savvy users prefer Safari and/or Chrome. If your objective is to maximize ad revenue, the most obvious approach would now be to ignore Firefox completely and focus on non-FF browsers. Of course, following web standards would be the Golden Way, and more selfless actors f…

> If your objective is to maximize ad revenue, the most obvious approach would now be to ignore Firefox completely and focus on non-FF browsers. No, your best approach is to test firefox carefully to ensure it is broken. That way you encourage people to use something more friendly to you. I hope I didn't give anyone ideas.

It's less of a joke than it sounds.

I have to keep Chromium around not just for testing in it, but also to make certain purchases, reservations, etc, because some sites just fail to work in regular Firefox, even with enhanced protection off. Not many, maybe 0.1%, but in a pinch there's no other way than to fire up MISE^W Chromium.

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#568

Post by errantspark »

a4isms wrote: post #352
bluGill wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is always the problem with data: it is reactive. Sure the average watcher is 65, and wants easy to understand stuff: that is what the data shows (I'll assume for discussion that is what the data shows, but I have no insight into if it is true or not). What the data doesn't show is if content would draw in day 25 year olds, they need several years of trying those other shows to see if it makes a difference - a ve…

This the same problem as interviewing people for a job nd collecting data about which “features” from interviews correlate with job performance… Without tracking the performance of any of the candidates who weren’t offered jobs—or turned down an offer. Something, something, a diagram of a plane showing where the damage was on those that returned from missions.

> Something, something, a diagram of a plane showing where the damage was on those that returned from missions.

Ahahahah I love this dogwhistle. You always know you're in good company when someone waves their hands around and says "put the armor where there AREN'T bullet holes" and gives you a significant look. XD

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#569

Post by bluGill »

muffinman26 wrote: post #541
bluGill wrote: post #324

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is always the problem with data: it is reactive. Sure the average watcher is 65, and wants easy to understand stuff: that is what the data shows (I'll assume for discussion that is what the data shows, but I have no insight into if it is true or not). What the data doesn't show is if content would draw in day 25 year olds, they need several years of trying those other shows to see if it makes a difference - a ve…

In the US there's actually an FCC requirement that television channels air news. From https://www.fcc.gov/media/radio/public-and-broadcasting : "virtually every station has an obligation to provide news, public affairs, and other programming that specifically treats the important issues facing its community." The details are specific to the license, but almost every station is required to air at least an hour of news…

Does the requirement mean air news during prime time though, or can they do it at times when most people are not even able to watch TV?

Re: Tech-savvy audiences block Google Analytics

#570

Post by vel0city »

touristtam wrote: post #370
KallDrexx wrote: post #336

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So I found out my neighbors were proud to be participating in some new Neilson study. Apparently they pay you to wear these boxes in your pocket that pick up sound. At the end of the day it syncs what it heard to their servers and you get points, which eventually translates to money. Essentially the stated purpose is so that it can pick up what music you listen to throughout the day, but in reality it's picking up ev…

Oh so like a cell/mobile phone, but only with the purpose stated out right?

Nah, they get paid to have the box in their pocket, you pay to have your box in your pocket.
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