10 ms·

Why does your small blog need an "analytics solution" in the first place, if you earn $0?

iLoveOncall 4y ago
Because I want to know where my readers come from, which Google terms they searched, etc.? There's a million reasons to want to know stats like this without earning money...
- stevoski 4y ago
  > which Google terms they searched, etc. GA doesn't tell you which terms they searched. They mostly stopped doing this in 2013. Google Search Console _does_ tell you the search terms, and without any tracking on your website.
- progman32 4y ago
  As a user, I don't want to give this info. I'm glad the EU is giving folks an avenue to express this preference.
  - iLoveOncall 4y ago
    I provide free tutorials and articles like this. If you don't want to provide this info then I don't want to provide you free content.
    - olalonde 4y ago
      That's the problem with GDPR. A lot of people are fine with this arrangement, but the GDPR is basically making it unlawful. GDPR is basically imposing the preferences of other people (e.g. progman32) on us.
      - Nextgrid 4y ago
        The problem that regulation is trying to solve is that if "personal data" becomes an acceptable form of payment then people won't actually have a choice and companies can force people to provide data by not offering any alternative payment methods. The GDPR effectively outlaws using personal data as payment which IMO is a good thing because unlike money, personal data is not a one-off transaction (the data can be valid long-term) and can be misused in all kinds of ways we might not even know about yet, thus the risk is too high. This doesn't necessarily mean advertising is banned - targeted advertising is generally beneficial to the user (if you're going to see ads, you're better seeing something you're interested about) so they could offer the user a way to set their ad preferences manually (and thus sharing personal data freely with no coercion).
        olalonde 4y ago
        This assumes that businesses hold all the power and can dictate payment methods to consumers. That's not how it works in a market economy. If there is a demand for alternative payment methods, businesses ignoring it will get outcompeted by competitors who do satisfy that demand.
        Nextgrid 4y ago
        In practice, they currently can. Tech companies have a monopoly in their respective verticals due to the lack of interoperability and use network effects to essentially force you to submit to whatever terms they choose. Keep in mind that regulation isn’t usually drafted in a vacuum and instead takes the real world into account. If tech monopolies get broken up by anti-trust regulation it would be a good time to review the GDPR (as privacy-friendly competitors can now interoperate with existing social media networks) but until then I’m happy to have it.
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      Then it's not really free content is it? Put your content behind a "paywall" where the payment is whatever information you're (illegally) collecting from GA and see how it goes; at least then the "payment" you're expecting from it will be clear and users can make their own decision.

Because I want to know where my readers come from, which Google terms they searched, etc.? There's a million reasons to want to know stats like this without earning money...

stevoski 4y ago
> which Google terms they searched, etc. GA doesn't tell you which terms they searched. They mostly stopped doing this in 2013. Google Search Console _does_ tell you the search terms, and without any tracking on your website.
progman32 4y ago
As a user, I don't want to give this info. I'm glad the EU is giving folks an avenue to express this preference.
- iLoveOncall 4y ago
  I provide free tutorials and articles like this. If you don't want to provide this info then I don't want to provide you free content.
  - olalonde 4y ago
    That's the problem with GDPR. A lot of people are fine with this arrangement, but the GDPR is basically making it unlawful. GDPR is basically imposing the preferences of other people (e.g. progman32) on us.
    - Nextgrid 4y ago
      The problem that regulation is trying to solve is that if "personal data" becomes an acceptable form of payment then people won't actually have a choice and companies can force people to provide data by not offering any alternative payment methods. The GDPR effectively outlaws using personal data as payment which IMO is a good thing because unlike money, personal data is not a one-off transaction (the data can be valid long-term) and can be misused in all kinds of ways we might not even know about yet, thus the risk is too high. This doesn't necessarily mean advertising is banned - targeted advertising is generally beneficial to the user (if you're going to see ads, you're better seeing something you're interested about) so they could offer the user a way to set their ad preferences manually (and thus sharing personal data freely with no coercion).
      - olalonde 4y ago
        This assumes that businesses hold all the power and can dictate payment methods to consumers. That's not how it works in a market economy. If there is a demand for alternative payment methods, businesses ignoring it will get outcompeted by competitors who do satisfy that demand.
        Nextgrid 4y ago
        In practice, they currently can. Tech companies have a monopoly in their respective verticals due to the lack of interoperability and use network effects to essentially force you to submit to whatever terms they choose. Keep in mind that regulation isn’t usually drafted in a vacuum and instead takes the real world into account. If tech monopolies get broken up by anti-trust regulation it would be a good time to review the GDPR (as privacy-friendly competitors can now interoperate with existing social media networks) but until then I’m happy to have it.
  - Nextgrid 4y ago
    Then it's not really free content is it? Put your content behind a "paywall" where the payment is whatever information you're (illegally) collecting from GA and see how it goes; at least then the "payment" you're expecting from it will be clear and users can make their own decision.