I don't know how many of you use google analytics to track your blog stats - but my husband has brought this to my attention. When I bristled at the suggestion that I'd do such a thing, he said "Yeah, but you might want to...share?"
Basically, fellow bloggers, if you use google analytics to track the blogs where you wish to remain anonymous, make sure it's completely separate from any tracking of non-anonymous blogs. If you use the same analytics account to track both kinds, then someone can quickly and easily find out who you are.
Read about it here
Never even heard of it. However, you have piqued my interest and I may explore further.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DYx
Does this google analytics track on its own or do you have to ask it to track something? I've never asked google to track anything, so I honestly have no idea how to avoid what you're talking about.
ReplyDeleteIt's a separate thing that you sign up for. If you've never heard of it you have nothing to worry about.
ReplyDeleteIt would never have occurred to me to use the same analytics account to track a blog wherein I am not anonymous as one in which I am - I don't want my two identities linked at all - but apparently a few people have done that.
I have no idea what google anal is (haha), but for shits and grins I plugged underhishand.com in their search engine. I don't have any other blogs but I wanted to see what it would say. It linked my IP addy to about 150 other sites?blog?whatever. So I'm just not sure of the accuracy of whatever they're using.
ReplyDeleteOf course this stuff is so far over my head as to be ridiculous so there is that, too. -nods-
Kaya: Yeah, that's not uncommon - that's just other sites hosted on the same IP (server) as yours, doesn't have to be related at all.
ReplyDeleteGoogle analytics gives you a unique ID, like... GY5THK6, which then goes into the code of every page that you're tracking. So if you have it on two different blogs, someone can find both of them.
Oh, okay, so if you sign up for Google analytics, and then have them track traffic at two blogs, one with your real name and one with an alias, they'll both be under the same Google analytics ID and give you away?
ReplyDeleteI have a question then. If you have a Google analytics account, how would people get your ID and be able to see that the same ID is connected to both blogs?
That how it works, right!
ReplyDeleteIn order for the tracking to work, you put a a bunch of code which includes the ID on each page. You can't see it when just looking at the page, but it's there. If you right click on this page and choose "view source" or "view page source" then you can easily see everything that makes up the page, what makes it look like it does. The google analytics ID is in there too.
I have two blogs, but I also have two separate google analytics accounts, so my IDs are in no way connected.
ReplyDelete