Comments on: Google Analytics — the deep web http://floatingsun.net/2006/09/06/google-analytics-the-deep-web/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=google-analytics-the-deep-web Sun, 20 May 2012 06:51:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: adsense tools http://floatingsun.net/2006/09/06/google-analytics-the-deep-web/#comment-1807 adsense tools Sat, 16 Sep 2006 03:44:25 +0000 http://floatingsun.net/blog/2006/09/06/738/#comment-1807 your blog about google is interesting your blog about google is interesting

]]> By: Boris Gruschko http://floatingsun.net/2006/09/06/google-analytics-the-deep-web/#comment-1740 Boris Gruschko Fri, 08 Sep 2006 08:08:38 +0000 http://floatingsun.net/blog/2006/09/06/738/#comment-1740 @Diwaker: it's not like this is a big concern for me either. Google has all my personal mail written in the last two years. This should be sufficient, to know pretty much everything about me :) @Diwaker: it’s not like this is a big concern for me either. Google has all my personal mail written in the last two years. This should be sufficient, to know pretty much everything about me :)

]]> By: Diwaker Gupta http://floatingsun.net/2006/09/06/google-analytics-the-deep-web/#comment-1737 Diwaker Gupta Fri, 08 Sep 2006 02:16:50 +0000 http://floatingsun.net/blog/2006/09/06/738/#comment-1737 *@boris*: perhaps I'm missing how cookies work, but I don't see why a cookie set by Analytics should store any information about what other websites I visit. My understanding is that cookies are website specific. So if I visit a web page that has the Analytics JS snippet, it may set a cookie on my browser. But why would that cookie be updated if I visit some other web page? Actually scratch all the above. I just read your example, and I think you're basically saying the same thing in a different way :-) I would be really interested in finding out if Google is doing this kind of reverse lookup -- figure out the browsing profiles of individuals. As for Google being able to figure out my identity -- I don't think thats a big concern at this point. Google already knows more about me than even I probably do. *@gregor*: Thanks for that pointer, I didn't know the PDF was online already. I was just searching for the big table paper a couple of days back :) *@boris*: perhaps I’m missing how cookies work, but I don’t see why a cookie set by Analytics should store any information about what other websites I visit. My understanding is that cookies are website specific. So if I visit a web page that has the Analytics JS snippet, it may set a cookie on my browser. But why would that cookie be updated if I visit some other web page?

Actually scratch all the above. I just read your example, and I think you’re basically saying the same thing in a different way :-) I would be really interested in finding out if Google is doing this kind of reverse lookup — figure out the browsing profiles of individuals.

As for Google being able to figure out my identity — I don’t think thats a big concern at this point. Google already knows more about me than even I probably do.

*@gregor*: Thanks for that pointer, I didn’t know the PDF was online already. I was just searching for the big table paper a couple of days back :)

]]> By: Gregor J. Rothfuss http://floatingsun.net/2006/09/06/google-analytics-the-deep-web/#comment-1736 Gregor J. Rothfuss Thu, 07 Sep 2006 19:52:26 +0000 http://floatingsun.net/blog/2006/09/06/738/#comment-1736 http://labs.google.com/papers/bigtable-osdi06.pdf#page=10 200TB, growing quickly. http://labs.google.com/papers/bigtable-osdi06.pdf#page=10

200TB, growing quickly.

]]> By: Boris Gruschko http://floatingsun.net/2006/09/06/google-analytics-the-deep-web/#comment-1729 Boris Gruschko Thu, 07 Sep 2006 08:27:39 +0000 http://floatingsun.net/blog/2006/09/06/738/#comment-1729 Actually I think, It's not about your site at all. The thing is, that analytics sets a cookie on every user's browser. Much more powerfull source of information is, that now google gets to know, which pages an individual visits, regardless of his referal source. Consider the following scenario: User U visits sites A, B and C. A and C use google analytics. Now google has got to know, that U visited A and C. Without A and C being actually affiliated with google. Now, this certainly can be used, to optimise adds for the user U. His identity can be easily determined, by for example correlating analytics data with U's gmail account. The power of this, is that probably a good portion of websites will be using google analytics, due to it's origins (everyone loves google products). The benefits google gets from all this information is certainly exponential to the number of sites using analytics. Actually I think, It’s not about your site at all. The thing is, that analytics sets a cookie on every user’s browser. Much more powerfull source of information is, that now google gets to know, which pages an individual visits, regardless of his referal source.

Consider the following scenario: User U visits sites A, B and C. A and C use google analytics. Now google has got to know, that U visited A and C. Without A and C being actually affiliated with google. Now, this certainly can be used, to optimise adds for the user U. His identity can be easily determined, by for example correlating analytics data with U’s gmail account.

The power of this, is that probably a good portion of websites will be using google analytics, due to it’s origins (everyone loves google products). The benefits google gets from all this information is certainly exponential to the number of sites using analytics.

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