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View Full Version : Enlightening Analytics Humor



vangogh
08-23-2012, 11:58 PM
The is a video promoting Google Analytics, which is why I'm posting it in this section, though it's not specifically an analytics video. It's someone in the checkout line at a supermarket as seen through the lens of shopping online. It's pretty funny and I'm sure you'll recognize most everything as something that did happen you while shopping online.

The video also makes you think a little. Much of what happens in this scene feels like standard practice in ecommerce sites. If you do some of these things you may want to consider how someone on the other end of your cart feels.


http://youtu.be/3Sk7cOqB9Dk

billbenson
08-24-2012, 12:23 AM
It's funny.

I'm not necessarily the best reference on online transactions as most involve some telephone consultation, but I will comment on the difficulty of the purchase. Particularly the captcha.

After three times of not entering the captcha correctly, I usually leave a site. I suppose without it bot's would have a field day. But most sites use it. Since most sites use it in a hard to read form, why do you need to do the same. Use an easy to read captcha or just put a submit button in js.

I've had about 8 years in online business and had about one fraudulent purchase. In the cases of small business purchases for the small businesses here, the cure might be worse than the disease.

If everybody abandoned the captcha that would change things, but that's unlikely.

vangogh
08-24-2012, 12:44 PM
I thought it was funny too. The two actors do a good job with the back and forth.

I'm with you on captcha. I hate it. Sad thing is spammers have broken it so it's not as effective as it once was or as people think. I know I use it here still, because what else are you supposed to do, but there has to be a better way. The problem with making them easier to read is the easier to read the easier for the automated spam to guess correctly. There's a balance between making it too hard for bots and not too hard for real people. I think some are moving toward the .js solution, but even that's not perfect as legitimate people have legitimate reasons not to be using .js at times.

Hopefully something better comes along.

KristineS
08-24-2012, 12:52 PM
Oh, that made me laugh, and I needed a laugh today.

I hate catchpas as well. They've gotten more and more elaborate and harder to read. It's so annoying to try and do something and then have to squint to try and decode a stupid catchpa. It seems like there would be a simpler way.

Love the bit on the video about the bread insurance too. That was too funny.

vangogh
08-24-2012, 01:00 PM
Yeah I figured it would be something fun to post on a Friday. I've been saving it since earlier in the week.

I like when the cashier times out and when the customer finally gets him back he has to start the whole purchase over.

billbenson
08-24-2012, 01:26 PM
The reason I suggested the js or easier to read captcha are that the members on this forum are less likely to get hit. There is very little info to harvest and there is very little damage to do on a large scale. Ya, maybe bots just go site to site destroying whatever is in their way, but if they are smart enough to to trash sites, they must be smart enough to determine if the site is worth trashing?? The only problem I ever had was when they took my shared hosts server down including my site.

As far as I know the js email contact on my site has never been hacked.

vangogh
08-24-2012, 02:32 PM
Get hit by what? The captcha is just a check to see if your human. It has nothing to do with people getting emails. No one here has to allow people to contact them via email and if you do, your actual email address isn't shown unless you decide to show it somewhere. I'm not following what would be protected.

billbenson
08-24-2012, 05:32 PM
Capatch is used in most cases to protect forms from spam. Many people use forms for email including capatcha to prevent email spam or harvesting. I'm just pointing out that
1. js works pretty well to keep out email harvesters in my experience.

2. Do those of us on this forum really need the hard to read capatcha's? I understand your point about bots getting pretty good at cracking capatchas, but are we their target?? Because if I'm not their target, why use a bazooka when a 22 will do?

Harold Mansfield
08-25-2012, 10:20 AM
That is funny.

And captchas do suck. I can deal with a normal "type this text in the box" ones. It's the squiggly letters captchas that are THE WORST. I get irritated just seeing them, even before I try to guess what the hell it is.

Once I've gone through it the first time and signed up, I don't even want to see that captcha again, and yet, so many companies are insistent on making you go through it every time you log in and it is completely asinine to me. Especially knowing that it irritates people.

Pack-Secure
08-25-2012, 04:00 PM
Funny Stuff. Thanks for sharing. I agree with you all on captchas. Easy to read or add these sums ones are fine with me, but the squiggly are so frustrating.

vangogh
08-27-2012, 11:15 AM
@Bill - My point is that what captcha is trying to do and what the .js solutions are trying to do are 2 different things. They're trying to solve 2 different problems. The captcha stuff isn't about email harvesting at all. It's to determine if there's a legit person filling out the form. The .js stuff you mention is about masking the information to make it hard for bots to read.


Once I've gone through it the first time and signed up, I don't even want to see that captcha again, and yet, so many companies are insistent on making you go through it every time you log in

That's the part that bugs me. I just proved I was a real person. Do I have to do it again and again and again. Another thing that gets me is when captcha is used to protect something not worth protecting. I've seen them on forms where there shouldn't be an issue with a bot filling out the form.