Archive April 2010
Does ‘Time on Site’ matter?
I’ve not been around much recently as I’ve been busier than a bluebottle – but I’ve dug this (admittedly short) little gem out of the pits of my mind for you to think about.
In recent weeks, I’ve been spending more and more time rummaging around in site analytics to work out what visitors are doing on a site and, more importantly, why they do them. It’s well-known (well, it SHOULD be well-known) that people use websites differently depending on what they’re doing: those that are researching, for example, will exhibit different behavior from those that’re buying.
One factor that’s always been a common reporting issue is ‘Time on Site’ (referred to as ToS from now on). It’s been assumed that the longer a visitor spends on your site, the better…but now I’m not so sure. Why? Read on and find out!
2So you want to encrypt filesharing/torrent traffic?
In light of the recent furore over the critically-flawed, Draconian, lobbyist-written Digital Economy Bill, the Internet is already rife with excited rumours that a mere 86 lines of C# code can indeed encrypt your torrent traffic. An article carried on The Register explains all, but a key excerpt is:
The code, sweetly named SeedFucker, is actually an exploit discovered last November that would allow a BitTorent user to fake the IP address of a server from where a file could be downloaded. It could also be used to flood a BitTorrent with dozens of fake peers. The sudden interest in the exploit follows measures in a new UK law, passed last week, where ISPs may be obliged to provide IP addresses to the authorities of files that are said to be infringing copyright.
The worst nightmare of the music industry is likely now to become true (or at least it would be their worst nightmare if they’d given this an ounce of thought): not only have they pushed filesharing underground, it’s going to become much harder to find.
*hands the music industry and the government a crutch to hobble on*
There you go: that should help seeing as you’ve just shot yourself in the foot.
0Digital Economy Bill = complete farce
How are we meant to have ANY confidence in this new piece of garbage legislation when:
- Stephen Timms (the Digital Minister for Britain), thinks an IP Address means ‘Intellectual Property address’?
- Labour MP Mark Todd thinks you can move house and keep your net access without telling your ISP your new address
- The ISP Talk Talk have openly stated they will not comply with disconnection requests
- The public have reacted angrily and openly refusing to recognise the bill
- Filesharers are statistically 10x times more likely to pay for music than those who don’t
- Making a law that’s been written by an industry body is quite clearly WRONG.
- Tech-savvy users will simply start to encrypt their traffic. Then the lawmakers are in trouble: massive (if not impossible) effort to decrypt Internet traffic on a simple suspicion of filesharing.
Plus this sets a worrying precedent for other countries to follow suit.
The takehome? CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL; DON’T PUNISH YOUR CUSTOMERS.
0Microsoft’s User Experience kit
I was about to go have a look at the new MS ‘User Experience’ kit – but what an amazing quality user experience I’m having before I’ve even loaded it:
Great user experience for me...
I’ll review it later when I’ve been forced to install bloody Silverlight (*vomits into his own shoes*)
0HTC Desire: better than the Nexus One
A little while ago, I almost completely embarrassed myself by spending some very important money I had saved for something very special…on a new phone: the Nexus One.
But I didn’t! Aha! I’m so good…and by NOT buying the Nexus One, this will no doubt reap rewards at a tantalisingly-close juncture when I present something shiny instead of a new phone to my loved one.
In the interim, though, it seems the Tech Gods have conspired against me in one last-ditch effort to tempt me from the decent thing to do…and have released THIS:
The HTC Desire. Wanky name aside, it’s meant to be a damned good phone – reviewed here on Register Hardware – and beats the Nexus One in many respects.
DAMMIT I WANT ONE.
1Digital Economy Bill looks likely to survive
You may or may not know that a bill of legislation has been rushed through parliament and looks set to become law – known as the Digital Economy Bill.
One of the key points in the bill is that filesharers will face being cut off from the Internet:
- A person need only be suspected of filesharing to receive a warning letter
- 3x warning letters and you’re disconnected from the Internet
- No evidence or proof is required – merely suspicion from a copyright holder
- Requires ISPs to effectively police their user’s web connections
Where is the sense in ANY of the above? It reads thusly:
- If you’re not tech-savvy and someone uses your wifi connection to download illegally, you could be cut off
- Entire businesses could face being offline because of the actions of one person (or the actions of a rogue third-party – see above)
- Since when has NO evidence been required to take drastic steps that could easily result in a person’s loss of livelihood?
- What if government computers/connections are suspected of illegal downloads? Will they be cut off like everyone else?
This also opens up a nice new niche of corporate/industrial sabotage: simply ensure someone is caught filesharing using a business’s Internet connection, and get them cut off: no evidence required!
This isn’t open to abuse AT ALL.
0E-Commerce trustmarks
Hello! It’s been a manic few weeks, so apologies for the lack of updates. Here’s something to mull over:
As a regular reader of the eConsultancy blog, the issue of e-commerce trustmarks and their efficacy has become a favourite point of contention of mine.
Trustmarks are small graphics provided by various companies that are meant to increase shoppers’ confidence in the online purchase process. Having read various accounts from both sides of the fence, I’m placing my stake in the ground firmly with this blog post.
Read on to find out where it’s stak’ed!
(is that even a word? it is now.)
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