Client-side Tracking Revisited

Robert Katzki recently asked me if I still hold on my lack of Google Analytics/other tracking.

I was fortunate enough to be tested on this front with the popularity of the “Open Protocols” post on Hacker News. Honestly, I did have a couple moments during that time when I wished for a live visitors counter. But that wish was only for personal interest and, probably, vanity. It would have served no real purpose.

To be sure, I had an unfair advantage. I have had projects/posts hit the front page of Hacker News in the past. I know (more or less) the number of visitors that popularity drives to a site. If I had never seen the live traffic driven by Hacker News, I definitely would have wanted to watch that. You can find other people’s data on this, though.

Still no overly-compelling reason for me to have analytics tracking on my site. I do keep it on my product sites. But that is for client error tracking, customer service, and feature evaluation.