> This data comes from a unified Google Analytics profile
I wish my tax dollars were not being spent to help a for-profit entity track me across the Web.
I wish my tax dollars were not being spent to help a for-profit entity track me across the Web.
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout
It says, "Available for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8-11, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Opera".
Personally, I prefer this to having my tax dollars spent on reinventing web analytics. Especially given that it wouldn't be cheap; Google bought what is now Google Analytics in 2005 for circa $30 million [1] and has put a lot into improving it since. And now that I think about it, I'm not sure that tax dollars are, net, being spent here. GA is very easy to install, and good analytics typically help save money through better decisions and focusing effort on what's actually being used.
[1] http://searchenginewatch.com/sew/news/2062461/google-to-acqu...
The government shouldn't be inserting a 3rd-party -- Google -- into my communications with them!
As for this:
> ... and good analytics typically help save money through better decisions and focusing effort on what's actually being used.
Pffft. That's only true for startups whose sole goal is maximizing traffic/retention/whatever while absolutely minimizing the amount of creativity they expend on moving those "key performance metrics".
I'd think you would be surprised to discover that the government has been using 3rd parties for years to manage various services. Did you know the government also uses Oracle databases to store your information?
Btw, using Google Analytics is a lot different than using an Oracle database - Oracle isn't privy to what you're storing.
Do you work at Oracle? Are you 100% sure this is true? Have you audited all the hosted 3rd party solutions for the Government, and interviewed every employee to ensure that they aren't privy to your data? Have you ensured that all code written for the US govt has no cryptographic errors?
The claim that the US Govt. shouldn't use google analytics because Google can read their data is hardly any different than arguing they shouldn't use managed Oracle solutions because some Oracle exec has access to their data. Where does it end? Should the US Govt. now spend and build their own analytics infrastructure? Should the US Govt. write their own databases? Print their own silicon? And what about everyone else? If a US company isn't trusted by the US Govt to keep data secure, what about insurance companies? Or Healthcare companies? Should these companies too, be also printing their own silicon? How is this a solution?
If the problem is privacy, the solution is to create processes that respect privacy. Sitting in the dark because electricity might burn your house down is not a solution.
And God forbid that the Govt coerces Google to share data on how people are using their own servers and that they are already making public.
30M isn't much, considering the scale at which they run, and considering that it would be something freely available to the public as well. There's also the fact that open source alternatives exist today.
Even the government needs analytics friend