Rants, Raves, and Rhetoric v4

Tag: Google

  • Undercounting Stats

    Michael Feldstein posted on Twitter: Seeing signs that Google Analytics significantly undercounts. Any recommendation for easy, reliable db-based WordPress analytics? I knew Google Analytics relies on JavaScript to measure what users are doing. Bots typically do not execute JS, so go undercounted. That is OK, probably even great depending on how much they annoy me.…

  • TED Talk: What we learned from 5 million books

    Google Labs’ Ngram Viewer lets us look at the use of phrases over time. For example, my name, Ezra, appears to have been most popular usage peaks back in the 1600s and 1700s, but has been more consistently used since the 1800s. This kind of thing can get me lost for hours at a time.…

  • Why I Love The Internet

    Everything is out there. From the most profound to the most mundane, whatever I need to know when I need to know it. Last week I set my DVR to record a series. I knew it was in re-runs and British. The DVR sucks in the sense it gives an original air date but not…

  • TED Talk: The power of introverts

    I to really need to pick up Susan Cain’s book Quiet. I watched her talk at Leading@Google a couple weeks ago because I could not find her TED. Now the TED is available. My family very much was the one where we would hang out together reading. I’ve always been the one to hang back and watch…

  • Collusion on Firefox

    As we browse the Web, our browsers picks up cookies. Many sites will give our browser advertiser’s cookies. More importantly, the advertiser’s servers can look to see whether we have their cookies and where we obtained them. This is how they record our browsing habits. The more places they advertise, the better they are able…

  • Check Your Google Web History

    The EFF posted an article with screenshots on how to remove your Google web/search history. This is because their new privacy policy exposes what you have searched for in the past to your connections. They say to use the Remove all Web History button. Instead, I am using this as an opportunity to learn about…

  • Information Diet

    Do we consume too much information? I might. Lately I have thought about reducing the amount of following I do. Typically I hit this point when I realize it takes me all weekend to catch up. To be fair I reach this point by getting all caught up over a long weekend and seeking out…

  • Follow on Google+ Too…

    Nearly two weeks ago, Google+ launched Pages, a version of a person profile for non-people. (Google does know the Supreme Court deemed corporations people too, right? So corporations should have a person profile.) Companies desiring a social media presence have created a page in addition to their Facebook pages, Tumblr, and Twitter accounts. Over the…

  • Open Letter to UX Designers

    Do not move things right before I click on them. Windows this means you. Opening up a new window steals focus from my mouse to the new one. Opening a new window when I did not explicitly request it and while I am typing or navigating something in order to do something critical infuriates me. Facebook this…