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My question then would be, why do you need to use especially Google Analytics for that? Stats like "visitors per country" are a core feature of all major analyt

by Kovah 7y ago

My question then would be, why do you need to use especially Google Analytics for that? Stats like "visitors per country" are a core feature of all major analytics suites. I set up analytics for many site on my job and I never experienced a use case where GA offered that specific feature no other software had.

ryanmercer 7y ago
GA is free and takes seconds to set up. Not everyone knows how to code, not everyone is a professional web dev or CS ninja, not everyone has piles of VC money to throw at such things. GA works, is well organized, and is often integrated with a lot of cart/web builder services where you simply have to plug in a short string and pop over to the GA website. I needed a vegetable knife recently. I could have (and I do have the skills, and have made many knives over the past 25 years) purchased some appropriate steel and made one myself in 3-5 hours and had it incredibly sharp but I opted to buy a Mercer stainless steel one on Amazon for 20$~ because it required much less effort. I also couldn't care less about Google or the NSA or Lectroids from another dimension tracking me so I don't rush to go "I'd better cater to the small percentage of my potential customers that want to leave zero trace on the internet, there are countless tools out there they can use to minimize that trail of breadcrumbs. This data is usable to me and Google makes it easy" and I imagine, even the company in question was like "some people want privacy but those that are concerned can easily block this with a browser extension, in their hosts file, and/or at a hardware level so we'll go ahead and use it and save a bunch of time".
- Nextgrid 7y ago
  You're essentially saying that violating your users' privacy is OK because not everyone has the skill or money to do it the right way? In this case would you also say it's OK to be stealing in stores because it's cheaper than getting things the correct way by paying for them, and that stores concerned about theft should just do a better job at preventing you from stealing by using the real-life-equivalent of a hosts file to prevent you from entering the store?
  - ryanmercer 7y ago
    >You're essentially saying that violating your users' privacy is OK I'm not holding a gun to their head and telling them to visit my site. If I walk into a business, or someone's house, I assume I'm being monitored. Websites are the same thing.
    - JohnFen 7y ago
      If I walk into a non-Google business or someone's house, I don't assume that Google is the one monitoring me.
    - tripzilch 7y ago
      > I'm not holding a gun to their head and telling them to visit my site. And I'm not threatening to skin you alive if you don't stop it. How are threats of violence okay again?
  - bryan_w 7y ago
    I think his point is that he doesn't consider it a violation of privacy and that the people who do usually are better at controlling the data that is leaving their computer anyways.
    - ryanmercer 7y ago
      Exactly. The people making all the fuss in this thread, are the people that are probably already blocking via one or more solutions. "Don't track me!" I can't, you are blocking it "You shouldn't be tracking me!"
- tripzilch 7y ago
  > GA is free and takes seconds to set up. Not everyone knows how to code, not everyone is a professional web dev or CS ninja, not everyone has piles of VC money to throw at such things. Imagine if restaurants had this attitude about hygiene. I mean not everybody is a professional cleaner ninja or has money to hire them. Just wiping the counter a little is all everybody sees anyway, and everybody can do it. If you're simply not skilled to do it properly, does that mean you get to earn the profit of doing it over your customer's backs anyway? Your attitude really reminds me of, say, street food carts in some places. Because some of people just didn't receive food hygiene training, and they only have to get out there with a cart and something that looks edible.

by Kovah 7y ago

ryanmercer 7y ago

GA is free and takes seconds to set up. Not everyone knows how to code, not everyone is a professional web dev or CS ninja, not everyone has piles of VC money to throw at such things. GA works, is well organized, and is often integrated with a lot of cart/web builder services where you simply have to plug in a short string and pop over to the GA website. I needed a vegetable knife recently. I could have (and I do have the skills, and have made many knives over the past 25 years) purchased some appropriate steel and made one myself in 3-5 hours and had it incredibly sharp but I opted to buy a Mercer stainless steel one on Amazon for 20$~ because it required much less effort. I also couldn't care less about Google or the NSA or Lectroids from another dimension tracking me so I don't rush to go "I'd better cater to the small percentage of my potential customers that want to leave zero trace on the internet, there are countless tools out there they can use to minimize that trail of breadcrumbs. This data is usable to me and Google makes it easy" and I imagine, even the company in question was like "some people want privacy but those that are concerned can easily block this with a browser extension, in their hosts file, and/or at a hardware level so we'll go ahead and use it and save a bunch of time".

Nextgrid 7y ago
You're essentially saying that violating your users' privacy is OK because not everyone has the skill or money to do it the right way? In this case would you also say it's OK to be stealing in stores because it's cheaper than getting things the correct way by paying for them, and that stores concerned about theft should just do a better job at preventing you from stealing by using the real-life-equivalent of a hosts file to prevent you from entering the store?
- ryanmercer 7y ago
  >You're essentially saying that violating your users' privacy is OK I'm not holding a gun to their head and telling them to visit my site. If I walk into a business, or someone's house, I assume I'm being monitored. Websites are the same thing.
  - JohnFen 7y ago
    If I walk into a non-Google business or someone's house, I don't assume that Google is the one monitoring me.
  - tripzilch 7y ago
    > I'm not holding a gun to their head and telling them to visit my site. And I'm not threatening to skin you alive if you don't stop it. How are threats of violence okay again?
- bryan_w 7y ago
  I think his point is that he doesn't consider it a violation of privacy and that the people who do usually are better at controlling the data that is leaving their computer anyways.
  - ryanmercer 7y ago
    Exactly. The people making all the fuss in this thread, are the people that are probably already blocking via one or more solutions. "Don't track me!" I can't, you are blocking it "You shouldn't be tracking me!"
tripzilch 7y ago
> GA is free and takes seconds to set up. Not everyone knows how to code, not everyone is a professional web dev or CS ninja, not everyone has piles of VC money to throw at such things. Imagine if restaurants had this attitude about hygiene. I mean not everybody is a professional cleaner ninja or has money to hire them. Just wiping the counter a little is all everybody sees anyway, and everybody can do it. If you're simply not skilled to do it properly, does that mean you get to earn the profit of doing it over your customer's backs anyway? Your attitude really reminds me of, say, street food carts in some places. Because some of people just didn't receive food hygiene training, and they only have to get out there with a cart and something that looks edible.