Piwik is a free open source alternative to Google Analytics.
Google Analytics may be a free platform, but it is still based on proprietary technology, which assumes that from time to time you will have to receive messages that Google deems necessary to send, and the potential audience for some of these mailings are users of other Google services (for example, companies, using AdWords). Using Google Analytics implies that in the future you will be tired of working with Google. Pay attention to Piwik , a project that is positioned as a free alternative to Google Analytics and has open source code. This is a subsidiary of OpenX, an alternative open-source contextual search server that can replace Google Ad Manager. [note: we started using it on RWW]
While OpenX has proven itself successful and popular, is Piwik a project that is frankly green? and users are just looking at this platform. Was it first introduced to the public as PHPMyVisites? and the current version has an index of only 0.1.5, which is a hallmark of software stability.
The birthplace of Piwik is France, but this project was mainly interested in users from the USA. It is planned that the platform will also become popular in Japan, China and Europe. They say that developers of Piwik are immigrants from such large companies as Amazon, Intel and even Google.
Piwik involves the use of PHP and MySQL. This is not a problem for specialists, but a wide version is needed for a wide range of users. Some companies offer something similar. You will also need plugins for WordPress and other blogging platforms, all this is easily solved.
Open source products tend to become popular, even though they are often raw. All this is justified by the fact that alternative solutions are quite expensive and impose certain restrictions on you. Google Analytics is absolutely free software, so bloggers and small advertising companies are unlikely to stop working with Google. Most likely, large companies that use the expensive services of Coremetrics, Omniture and Visual Sciences / Websidestory will do this.
Large companies will think a little before moving to Google Analytics. IT analysts will find at least 2 reasons for this kind of reflection. All because of the user agreement (yes, in large companies it is MANDATORY to familiarize themselves with this information):
“2. PAYMENT FOR SERVICES. In accordance with article 15 of this agreement, the service is provided to you free of charge with a limit of 5 million page views per month for one account. If you have a valid agreement with AdWords, then the Service is provided to you free of charge without restrictions on the number of page visits.
Google has the right to change the tariffs for the provision of services by the Service from time to time. The cost of services may include Google’s costs associated with the location of the service consumer, importing data from search engines and other Google’s costs or expenses of Google’s wholly owned subsidiaries associated with third parties, cooperation with which is necessary to add data to the Service’s reports "
So, in order not to pay Google for AdWords, you just need to not exceed the limit of 5 million page views per month. But the fact that “Google has the right to change the tariffs for the provision of services by the Service from time to time” may serve as an incentive for the IT department and the legal department to refuse this kind of transaction.
Next item:
“6. COPYRIGHT AND ADVERTISING. Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Policy (published at www.google.com/privacy.html or any other link that Google is entitled to report from time to time), Google and its wholly owned subsidiaries may collect and use information that will be available when you use the Service. Google agrees not to disclose your personal data or data related to your site to third parties except as follows:
1. If you have received consent to disclose this data
2. Unless otherwise provided by law, or if access to this information, its safety or disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property and safety of Google, Google users or the public.
3. If access by third parties to this information under certain conditions is necessary for third parties to fulfill their obligations to Google (for example, statistics accounting or data storage services). However, third parties are entitled to use this information only to fulfill their obligations to Google. After fulfilling their obligations to Google, they use the information based on instructions from Google in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and take measures necessary to ensure the confidentiality of the information received. ”
In short, they have the right to use your data. For a long time we lived in a world where Microsoft and other companies forced to pay for software and very tightly controlled intellectual property rights, but they never tried to get the right to use the data about you. Google decided to go further. Google is pleased to grant you the right to use their software for free, but only in return do they request the right to use your personal information. Individuals and small firms may come to terms with this, but this is categorically unacceptable for large companies.
Pikwik is working hard to become a friendly company for its users, moreover, relying not only on the openness of the program code. They declare 4 advantages of their product:
1. An open application programming interface
2. An architecture that supports the use of plug-ins
3. Work with abstract data types
4. Customizable toolbar
However, the decisive factor for most large companies will be a non-disclosure agreement. That's why Piwik is positioned as an alternative to Google Analytics, even if at first only a few firms refuse to work with GA. Due to cost reduction requirements, IT departments are likely to pay attention to Google Analytics as an alternative to the currently used analytic applications and abandon solutions based on TOS restrictions. And some wise men will enter into the Google search engine the query “google analytics alternative with open source code” and see Piwik at the very top of the search results.
Material taken from the site http://dirti.ru/ , the original news in Englishhttp://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/piwik_google_analytics_alternative.php
While OpenX has proven itself successful and popular, is Piwik a project that is frankly green? and users are just looking at this platform. Was it first introduced to the public as PHPMyVisites? and the current version has an index of only 0.1.5, which is a hallmark of software stability.
The birthplace of Piwik is France, but this project was mainly interested in users from the USA. It is planned that the platform will also become popular in Japan, China and Europe. They say that developers of Piwik are immigrants from such large companies as Amazon, Intel and even Google.
Piwik involves the use of PHP and MySQL. This is not a problem for specialists, but a wide version is needed for a wide range of users. Some companies offer something similar. You will also need plugins for WordPress and other blogging platforms, all this is easily solved.
Open source products tend to become popular, even though they are often raw. All this is justified by the fact that alternative solutions are quite expensive and impose certain restrictions on you. Google Analytics is absolutely free software, so bloggers and small advertising companies are unlikely to stop working with Google. Most likely, large companies that use the expensive services of Coremetrics, Omniture and Visual Sciences / Websidestory will do this.
Large companies will think a little before moving to Google Analytics. IT analysts will find at least 2 reasons for this kind of reflection. All because of the user agreement (yes, in large companies it is MANDATORY to familiarize themselves with this information):
“2. PAYMENT FOR SERVICES. In accordance with article 15 of this agreement, the service is provided to you free of charge with a limit of 5 million page views per month for one account. If you have a valid agreement with AdWords, then the Service is provided to you free of charge without restrictions on the number of page visits.
Google has the right to change the tariffs for the provision of services by the Service from time to time. The cost of services may include Google’s costs associated with the location of the service consumer, importing data from search engines and other Google’s costs or expenses of Google’s wholly owned subsidiaries associated with third parties, cooperation with which is necessary to add data to the Service’s reports "
So, in order not to pay Google for AdWords, you just need to not exceed the limit of 5 million page views per month. But the fact that “Google has the right to change the tariffs for the provision of services by the Service from time to time” may serve as an incentive for the IT department and the legal department to refuse this kind of transaction.
Next item:
“6. COPYRIGHT AND ADVERTISING. Pursuant to the provisions of the Privacy Policy (published at www.google.com/privacy.html or any other link that Google is entitled to report from time to time), Google and its wholly owned subsidiaries may collect and use information that will be available when you use the Service. Google agrees not to disclose your personal data or data related to your site to third parties except as follows:
1. If you have received consent to disclose this data
2. Unless otherwise provided by law, or if access to this information, its safety or disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property and safety of Google, Google users or the public.
3. If access by third parties to this information under certain conditions is necessary for third parties to fulfill their obligations to Google (for example, statistics accounting or data storage services). However, third parties are entitled to use this information only to fulfill their obligations to Google. After fulfilling their obligations to Google, they use the information based on instructions from Google in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and take measures necessary to ensure the confidentiality of the information received. ”
In short, they have the right to use your data. For a long time we lived in a world where Microsoft and other companies forced to pay for software and very tightly controlled intellectual property rights, but they never tried to get the right to use the data about you. Google decided to go further. Google is pleased to grant you the right to use their software for free, but only in return do they request the right to use your personal information. Individuals and small firms may come to terms with this, but this is categorically unacceptable for large companies.
Pikwik is working hard to become a friendly company for its users, moreover, relying not only on the openness of the program code. They declare 4 advantages of their product:
1. An open application programming interface
2. An architecture that supports the use of plug-ins
3. Work with abstract data types
4. Customizable toolbar
However, the decisive factor for most large companies will be a non-disclosure agreement. That's why Piwik is positioned as an alternative to Google Analytics, even if at first only a few firms refuse to work with GA. Due to cost reduction requirements, IT departments are likely to pay attention to Google Analytics as an alternative to the currently used analytic applications and abandon solutions based on TOS restrictions. And some wise men will enter into the Google search engine the query “google analytics alternative with open source code” and see Piwik at the very top of the search results.
Material taken from the site http://dirti.ru/ , the original news in Englishhttp://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/piwik_google_analytics_alternative.php