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You are Being Watched

I've installed Google's Web Analytics, so I just wanted to let readers - yes, BOTH of you - know that they are being tracked. I've plugged it into most of the areas of littleghost.com.

Ironically, this Google tool - which should certainly raise privacy concerns by those so disposed - isn't ruffling feathers the way GMail did ("They're reading my e-mail!!") .

Yes, there are questions, but Google seems to have avoided the wrath of the Net in this case. Interesting.

Right now, the performance of this tool is really uneven and sluggish.

11/20/2005 Update - Google's posted this on the analytics page:

Analytics has been successfully installed and data is being gathered now. The demand for Google Analytics surpassed even our highest expectations and as a result some customers may temporarily experience report-update delays. All data continues to be collected and no data has been lost. We are currently adding resources to ensure high-quality service. We apologize for any inconvenience.

However, the data it presents - and how it presents it/options to export same - is remarkable. I mean, holy crap. WebTrends must be curled up in a ball in the corner sobbing. They - and others - have per hit, per processor, per bandwidth yada yada costs; Google's offering currently has the following pricing structure: FREE. FOR ANYONE/ANYTHING.

Youch.

There have been many articles - some by me, if I recall - saying Google is (or isn't) the new/another Microsoft, and - to a degree - there's an argument to be made either way. Since this issue even comes up makes it an approachable issue, to a degree - hell, if I keep being compared to Donald Trump or Doctor Ruth, for example, well, probably not true but worth investigating....

However, there are two important differences twixt MS and Google, as this analytics tool clearly delineates:

• No Lock In - Installed base is huge, especially when docs have to be shared. That's why it's important to have MS Office and so on. An Excel doc is an Excel doc. Standardization is key. But - with tools like Google Analytics - there isn't such a issue. The reports are for you/your company - and Google offers export options (including Excel!). So a company can ditch this tool and go to AwStats, WebTrends and so on and there is little impact.


• Price Structure - I understand that MS has to make money - it's a business, dammit! So does Google. Each company is approaching the issue from a different direction. MS is tapping the end user; Google is using the end user's activity to fund its apps at no (up-front) cost to the end user. Merits to both views and I'm not going there tonight; I'm just saying these are fundamentally different approaches.

Damn. Where did this week go?