Konstantin Weddige

How many websites use strictly client-side tracking vs. how many rely on server-side tracking (log analysis)?

Or to look at it from the other side: Do enough people use #TrackingBlockers to significantly change the demographics that go into the KPIs that then influence the content that is produced?

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May 28, 2024 at 6:59pmWeb
Show threadKonstantin WeddigeMay 28, 2024

Websites that rely solely on #GoogleAnalytics to see what content is well received will never know what I am interested in. @Vivaldi blocks trackers by default, which means that Vivaldi users will be severely under-represented in editorial meetings. But even with server-side analytics, the demographic that is being analysed is skewed: @Mastodon discreetly drops the referer, while Twitter proudly boasts who delivered the traffic.

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Show threadKonstantin WeddigeMay 28, 2024

I do not want to argue against privacy, because the problem is not too much #privacy. The problem, as it is all too often, is too little data literacy and an acceptance of bad data. I want to argue for better tracking: I want to see a comeback of log analysis as the default. I want to see fewer cookie banners (especially the one with 800 partners who care about my data). And I want websites to accept that they cannot have all(!) my data.

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Show threadAndrewMay 28, 2024
@weddige I feel like the enshittification shenanigans of big techs partially stem from the excessive use of analytics for business decision.
Show threadKonstantin WeddigeMay 28, 2024
@antran22 especially the use of far too few indicators for complex problems. If you optimise for conversion, you get clickbait; if you optimise for time on site, you get a maze. But you'll never get a valuable site.
Show threadAndrewMay 29, 2024
@weddige It boils down to the misalignment of incentive. Good products sometimes doesn't mean better metrics, but good numbers mean better funding.