Do You Use And Have A Use For Google Web History? Options

[Ruud]

10 days later I wonder if anyone is using Google Web History. And of course why or why not?

[JohnMu]

I don't use a Googlebar. I have a PR plugin in my Firefox, that's all I need. I wonder if that works for tracking? That said, I might have been able to use it a handful of times in the last year. Certainly not enough for me to go to an extra effort to get it to work.

John

Added: nope, it doesn't count with the 3rd party PR plugin (at least it hasn't so far). But I got "Total Google searches: 15900"

[iamlost]

I have yet to hear a (good) reason for anyone to use it.
Actually I still have not heard an acceptable (to me) reason to use gmail.

Google sends masses of minimally converting traffic and they will pay for traffic conversion when there is nothing better available.

The rest is unnecessary and always invasive.

[DCrx]

I'd rather see Google merge something like the cache and tinyurl to offer something to decrease the incidence of broken links.

Instead of linking to an external web page, you would link through Google. During the normal course of updating its database, Google would provide you with a continuous good external link. Call it googleURI for Uniform Resource Indicator.

Your googleURI would track the new location of old pages, automatically either directing you to the cache or new url. This would decrease the likelihood of users encountering broken links and missing pages, make the web more of a seamless experience, and further integrate Google structure into web design.

This post has been edited by DCrx: May 5 2007, 09:01 AM

[bwelford]

Why not call it Guri. That would be a suitable name to honor your well-recognized status as a guru.

[sanity]

I've used the Google History few times and really appreciated it - which I didn't expect. In both instances it was to find a search I'd done for a site and couldn't remember for the life of me the site's URL. It was a huge help.

That said I also know to surf anonymously when I want to cover my tracks.

[JohnMu]

Tsk, tsk, if you never do anything bad, why would you want to hide your tracks? (just kidding!)

I once used my Google search history to notice something really interesting. I forgot to log out of my Google account on my wife's laptop. I bet that messed up their statistical analysis, lol. At least now I'm fairly certain that I'm not logged into my G-Account anywhere else.

John

[AjiNIMC]

Yes I do. I have added my experience to my blog, here is the snippet

Our knowledge comes from what we have learned and many a times we refer back to our old books for solutions as we know we saw it there. Same applies for web history, you search from your own memory (visited sites), can I call it an extension of my memory? Recently I used Google to fix one typical apache/xen related problem. I lost the useful referral website which later I could get it from the history, it was a great time saving for me. We are using to our browser history search, google history search is just an advance version of it.

More at http://www.idealwebtools.com/blog/google-webhistory/ (also it covers the other aspects of web history including adsense, analytics). There is more to come from Google, so better play safe. See all the discussions we had at WMW.

[Ruud]

It does happen that I think "I read that somewhere!" but now can't find it back again. Can't find the right search I did or whatever. A record of my web wandering could help but why not use your own permanent web history then? Using Scrapbook and AutoSave you get pretty much what Google delivers minus the privacy agony.

Google's Firefox bookmark sync tool -- now that was handy. I'm not sure web history delivers the same value.

[AjiNIMC]

>> A record of my web wandering could help but why not use your own permanent web history then?

Then why del.icio.us is so famous, we could have used browser bookmarks? It is browser independent, computer independent so it is smoother and global.

>> Using Scrapbook and AutoSave you get pretty much what Google delivers minus the privacy agony.
Whenever you are asked to do more work you don't. Google history is automated, you don't have to do extra.

May be there can be a third party services to diversify the privacy concern but as said they already are doing it, now web history is whether you want to see what they are seeing.

[A.N.Onym]

With a huge amount of data, it'd help to see a human search patterns from your own statistics.

It'd be nice to see other peoples' web history, if done by personal permission (not Google's).

At least it is now easier to see and understand how Google may track and assess human and web search interaction.


I don't think G used the toolbar - maybe the option is off?

This post has been edited by A.N.Onym: May 8 2007, 04:51 AM

[Ruud]

Then why del.icio.us is so famous, we could have used browser bookmarks?

At this point I'm neither for nor against web history. I'm just curious as to what it solves. With del.icio.us it is clear what problem is being solved, what people are using it for -- and it is clear why people feel comfortable using it.

Short term I do see the value of web history, instant recall, but long term I believe they'll need to introduce additional operators such as "time:today" or "time:last month". Trying to recall a site you saw will eventually become just as much a needle in a haystack once you've used web history for 5 years...

I don't think G used the toolbar - maybe the option is off?

What do you mean?

[AjiNIMC]

>> they'll need to introduce additional operators such as "time:today" or "time:last month".

As I told Matt, one option will solve almost all the problems - Del, atleast a delete from the visible area of web history.

[A.N.Onym]

Was replying to Pierre about the toolbar.

The G Toolbar has an option to send usage statistics to Google and I have it off in my settings. With the option being on, I'd imagine G would be able to glean a bit more on my website using.

Then again, I only use Firefox, when a website doesn't work in Opera.