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The scourge of web analytics

stavros.io

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Re: The scourge of web analytics

#41

Post by yuhong »

gator-io wrote: post #30

I could never understand why any ecommerce company would use GA. They are collecting your user's data for ad targeting. Well, guess what? They target ads to your users for competitor's products. You browse a site that has GA on it looking to buy a bike, then that user get hit with bike ads on other sites that host Google ads. Almost every site owner I've spoken to about this issue was unaware of it. Server side analy…

Is that the main problem with GA or are there other problems? I have been thinking of a Google problems mailing list for while now.

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#42

Post by gub09 »

jastingo wrote: post #11

I fully agree with the sentiment (if not the tone) of this post; namely, consumer tracking across the web has run rampant without much consideration of its long-term cost to both consumer privacy and user experience. However, I do find the blog post's use of Google Analytics and the Facebook like button both indicates and perpetuates the very problem the OP is posting about. The simplicity and convenience to the cont…

In addition, the blog post uses Google Fonts and jquery from a Google CDN. Could people please consider using a non-Google CDN for things that affect webpage functionality? Those of us that block HTTP requests to Google servers will then also be able to use the website. (In this case the webpage content appears entirely usable even with jquery etc. blocked.)

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#43

Post by ge96 »

coalescedfrog wrote: post #38
ge96 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious how that pixel works... do you have to mouse over it, seems like if it was that case would be a bad approach/design, one pixel versus 1366x768 (at least). Also I wonder that code sample you posted isn't complete (realize why) but I wonder if it has bound JS or how it works technically (all in the source)... do you still have to include a script... I should just Google it haha.

Think it's been answered, but the link below might provide more information on tracking pixels/beacons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_beacon

Thanks for that, I've seen/heard of tracking pixels but haven't tried them yet.

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#44

Post by SimeVidas »

So the author assumes that the reader doesn’t use ad blockers, nor incognito mode for porn. Who is this post’s audience? Fox News viewers? Yes, websites are bloated with ads and trackers, but we have tools to eliminate them.

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#45

Post by js2 »

I’ve been making web apps since 2003, which means that I’ve been doing this for fourteen years now, or it means that I can’t count. So, there are few people more qualified than me to tell you this:

The web is shit.

I've been doing this since 1996. I watched the transition from server-side analytics (one of my first jobs was implementing access log collection and anaylsis for a decently sized group of sites) to client-side.

I remember solutions like analog and on up to Urchin and then Urhcin's transiton to client-side and finally its acqusition by Google.

By 2000, anyone paying attention knew it would not end well.

So here we are, bloated web. I'll be mildly amused if sites are forced to return to server-side log collection because enough folks have started using tracking blockers.

Everything old is new again.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_(program)

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#46

Post by smnscu »

js2 wrote: post #45

I’ve been making web apps since 2003, which means that I’ve been doing this for fourteen years now, or it means that I can’t count. So, there are few people more qualified than me to tell you this: The web is shit. I've been doing this since 1996. I watched the transition from server-side analytics (one of my first jobs was implementing access log collection and anaylsis for a decently sized group of sites) to client…

I hope to have time to work on a server-side ad + analytics framework, purely as an exercise. Might work as a business as well, as a "boutique" version of an ad network for blogs and businesses who care about privacy/not shitting in their users' browsers. I noticed this kind of small network with "premium"/"nice" ads a couple of years ago, but I can't remember any names. I really liked the idea tho.

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#47

Post by jackgolding »

I've worked in web analytics for the last 4 years. It's a bit annoying that OP doesn't differentiate "analytics tools" and "marketing tools", nearly every site I've worked on doubles the site load speed due to some arcane synchronous-only loading iFrame. Server side seems like a good idea until you realise how many bots there are on the internet (which the business doesn't care about), how hard it is to implement (one of the best and worst things about client side tracking is on a lot of sides it can be implemented and modified outside the deployment cycle) and how much information you get through these pixel calls.

There is a massive lack of technical talent in this field that companies are screaming out for. I'm very happy with it as a career. If you are interested in some advice on getting into it send me an email. Also happy to answer any questions.

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#49

Post by [deleted] »

ge96 wrote: post #37
StavrosK wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Analytics just allows you to GET a URL to send an event, which that tracking pixel does. Interesting that it actually returns an image, though, I didn't know that.

So that runs once when the page loads? It's not a continuous/real time tracker? Feel free not to respond as I said I can just Google. Thanks though.

[deleted]

Re: The scourge of web analytics

#50

Post by jackgolding »

ge96 wrote: post #37
StavrosK wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google Analytics just allows you to GET a URL to send an event, which that tracking pixel does. Interesting that it actually returns an image, though, I didn't know that.

So that runs once when the page loads? It's not a continuous/real time tracker? Feel free not to respond as I said I can just Google. Thanks though.

Nope it will fire again after 30 minutes but not continuously
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