3 ms·

why have analytics at all? don't track your users in any capacity. the only justification is to optimize something. don't optimize. simple, and free.

Kiro 4y ago
Why run a website at all? Don't. Simple, and actually free.
- endisneigh 4y ago
  false equivalence. you can run a website without tracking anyone or storing anyone's data - aggregated and anonymized, or not.
  - Kiro 4y ago
    Why would I do that if I can't even see if anyone visits it? That's like screaming into the void.
    - coldtea 4y ago
      You don't need analytics for that. A counter will do.
      - sgtfrankieboy 4y ago
        That's analytics...
        coldtea 4y ago
        In the sense that saying "leave me the fuck alone" to someone and punching them down and kicking them are both "aggresive"... So, yeah, they can keep this "analytics".
    - yencabulator 4y ago
      Are you seriously asking why e.g. a restaurant should provide a menu online?
    - xigoi 4y ago
      You put your contact details on the site so that people can voluntarily reach out to you if they like the content.
    - MiddleEndian 4y ago
      You can just check your Apache/Nginx logs. No need for some elaborate system that gives info to third parties.
- coldtea 4y ago
  Most companies shouldn't.
prophesi 4y ago
The worst is when the analytics is used to hamper UX to let users return to your site for a potential hit of dopamine and better serve ads.
snowwrestler 4y ago
You don’t need to track users individually to do analytics. A simple example of “why have analytics” is if you are selling physical goods through website, you need to keep track of sales so you can plan your next resupply of inventory. If you don’t know which t-shirt is selling the most, you won’t order enough of that one. Now you might say “that’s not analytics” but you would be wrong. Analytics and tracking are different things; that’s why we have different words for them. And the use of analytics predates tracking by decades.

Kiro 4y ago

Why run a website at all? Don't. Simple, and actually free.

endisneigh 4y ago
false equivalence. you can run a website without tracking anyone or storing anyone's data - aggregated and anonymized, or not.
- Kiro 4y ago
  Why would I do that if I can't even see if anyone visits it? That's like screaming into the void.
  - coldtea 4y ago
    You don't need analytics for that. A counter will do.
    - sgtfrankieboy 4y ago
      That's analytics...
      - coldtea 4y ago
        In the sense that saying "leave me the fuck alone" to someone and punching them down and kicking them are both "aggresive"... So, yeah, they can keep this "analytics".
  - yencabulator 4y ago
    Are you seriously asking why e.g. a restaurant should provide a menu online?
  - xigoi 4y ago
    You put your contact details on the site so that people can voluntarily reach out to you if they like the content.
  - MiddleEndian 4y ago
    You can just check your Apache/Nginx logs. No need for some elaborate system that gives info to third parties.
coldtea 4y ago
Most companies shouldn't.

prophesi 4y ago

The worst is when the analytics is used to hamper UX to let users return to your site for a potential hit of dopamine and better serve ads.

snowwrestler 4y ago

You don’t need to track users individually to do analytics. A simple example of “why have analytics” is if you are selling physical goods through website, you need to keep track of sales so you can plan your next resupply of inventory. If you don’t know which t-shirt is selling the most, you won’t order enough of that one. Now you might say “that’s not analytics” but you would be wrong. Analytics and tracking are different things; that’s why we have different words for them. And the use of analytics predates tracking by decades.