posted on Jun, 29 2007 @ 07:02 PM
I'm using that to initiate some custom programming as a means to identify absolute unique users on ATS.
There is a significant "controversy" brewing in the world of online technology and advertising about what is an "absolute unique" user, how to
measure users, and how to report on a site's audience.
Companies like ComScore and Neilson like to convince the industry that their panel-based traffic estimates are the way to go because people delete far
too many cookies (in reality, cookies expire). And traffic reports don't do a good job of identifying a "unique."
But their panels don't do well for the millions of niche websites, and they significantly under-rate sites like ATS.
I'm scheduled to speak at an Internet technology conference on the art of accurate analytics in September. Part of my presentation will cover what
I'm learning through the code you noticed.
I'm logging a NEW unique user as someone with a combination of --
1- unique IP
2- unique Browser identifier
3- unique OS identifier
4- hits ATS from an offsite referral
If a new user has a unique combination of the first three *AND* comes to ATS from a link (not a bookmark), they are counted as a "new unique
user."
None of the data collection, nor my planned presentation, conflicts with our
Privacy
Policy in any way.