From Woopra to Google Analytics, and everything in between, there’s a lot out there for website traffic analysis. Because of the nature of a new project I’m working on, I was looking for a script I could host myself locally and have some flexibility with. Within a couple seconds of Google searching, I came across Piwik which pretty much solves my needs. Although I’ve only loaded it on my test server, I’ve set it up to track multiple websites to get a better feel.

So far, Piwik seems to be pretty thorough. Not to the point of hosted services, but it’s still in beta (0.5.4) and is really fast. Not only does it work well, it’s carries a minimalistic design which is easy to navigate and allows the user to jump right in. Since it is self hosted, the software suggests a minimum of 128mb RAM allowance to operate for “medium to high traffic websites.” While I have it installed on a dedicated server, I think it could work on most shared hosted environments (if your website can run on a shared host).

The software allows you to configure multiple sites, as I mentioned before. This means that you can use one instance to manage traffic from multiple sources, without having to rely on third party solutions.

Finally, the software is free and open source. Not only is the price right, however because it is open source, there is a lot of potential for the script to grow from out side development.

Oh, and it installed in less then 5 minutes.

Writing an opinion about a product that hasn’t been released is a difficult thing. The most difficult task is determining what features would be the most useful, considering it’s a new type of product. It is this reason I wanted to wait until after the rush of opinions, whether I agreed with them or not they distracted me from forming my own thorough opinion.

First, the way I see it, the iPad is more then just a large iPod touch and significantly less then a laptop. Most people are comparing the iPad to these two products, but the greatest differences are found in the uses for the devices. While the device will run a modified iPod firmware, the developers have the room to make it a thousand times more useful. The with a larger screen, more processing power and a greater battery life the applications can be more demanding and usable. Without running a full operating system, the tablet won’t be utilized like a laptop or netbook. This is not a bad thing.

A lot of people have complained about Flash support and lack of multitasking. Looking beyond Hulu, I don’t have much of an interest in Flash support. Don’t get me wrong, I would love the concept, but as time goes on I am finding less and less of a need for it. To me, the iPad wouldn’t be another media device rather a tool I’d use for work. I am sure I’d watch the occasional movie on a long plane ride, but it’s primary application would be reading and business related tasks. This brings me to my next point, multitasking and the illusion of increased productivity.

As someone who is a self-proclaimed master multitasker, I will admit it gets in the way of productivity. I could see someone wanting to listen to Pandora while reading their favorite blog, but when it comes down to it you don’t need a Twitter application running while you are working.. especially when your phone is right next to you. The reason the iPad doesn’t multitask is the same as the iPhone, they want a seamless user experience without overloading the system. I think this works for the iPad, but not the iPhone because I think people are more likely to multitask on a phone then they are a tablet.

Naturally, Google outdoes its announcement of Buzz yesterday by introducing a new service today. The announcement of their new fiber optic ISP trials, offering up to 1gb connections, comes as little to surprise to those following recent news. In the recent weeks, Google has made claims that the internet speeds in the US are lacking in comparison to where they should be. In their blog post Google even mentions that they’ve “urged” the FCC in encouraging faster speeds.

A lot of people I know are screaming “not again,” referring to Google as trying to own every aspect of technology. I see the ISP trial as a step to push regular ISP’s into offering a more competitive environment to help the end users. With the idea that by introducing the ultimate competitor, current ISP’s will be forced to improve their speeds and lower the barrier for such connections.

While I don’t see market trials forcing ISP’s to change their practices, I think it will open the demand for fiber optic at home connections.

The next question that comes to mind, is how Google plans on operating the service competitively with other carriers. Introducing a 1gb/s connection to markets limited at 15mb is going to disrupt the market, entirely, regardless of price. Most ISP’s at this point aren’t able to maintain comparable speeds on their back end, and I’m sure aren’t terribly interested in making such an adjustment.

So what are your thoughts? Is this a fair move on Google’s part? Will ISP’s change their ways after being bullied by Google?

Visiting http://buzz.google.com from my G1 shows a table of compatible devices (and operating systems). When looking at the list, the first reaction is YAY Android gets all the functions.  Second glance, and you realize Android 2.0+ gets all the functions. Furthermore, there is no mention of pre-2.0 devices. This leaves me with the assumption that the support will only come with Google maps and not through the browser.

The issue as I see it, is that Google is segregating the OS instead of building an app for use on all android devices. As a G1 owner, fan-boy, it might come off like I am screaming UNFAIR.. However, my G1 is well past its life expectancy, so I can cope. The greater issue is that devices are still being produced, and developed on earlier versions of the OS.  for instance, the Sony x10, releases next month on 1.6. A long with a handful of other devices, the Sony will arrive to the market behind the times and possibly missing support of future Google Services.

Ok, not really for my personal sites, however I do find that checking Google Analytics and server based scripts to be a little difficult to comprehend/believe.  With most statistic tracking systems I’ve used in the past, the majority of them have been “too much” for smaller sites.  This was the case until I stumbled across Woopra, several months ago while it was still an invite-only beta.  I applied for an invite and was accepted within a week, so I was introduced to the desktop application and comprehendible statistics.

Ok, I’m really not a newb.  I have years of experience with Google Analytics, working with sites which generate enough traffic to justify all the information provided by GA, but for my personal sites it just isn’t the case.  If you’re brave enough to look at the other sites shown in Woopra, you’ll notice they are all in development and for the most part barren (except my blog!).

Woopra, to me, is the perfect starting point for tracking any website as it’s in development and getting started.  It provides accurate information instantly to your desktop and even gives you the power to interact with your audience. While some might see this as a novelty, I see it as a great tool to react relatively quickly knowing your audiences habits.  For me, I’ve seen significant traffic coming from my Android related posts specifically “Android Screenshot applications,” which means that it’s an area I’ll want to focus on.  Over the next couple weeks if this articles doing well, I’ll write more on development and design.

While it could be just as beneficial with larger sites, the highlight comes with personal sites where the owner has the ability to pivot quickly.  I’d also imagine that as a site starts gaining a lot of traffic, the immediate information would become overwhelming. However, like any other analytic tool, Woopra provides a plethora of information beyond the immediate resources.  For free users, the history is limited to 3 months, however with the premium service (required for bigger sites) the history can be extended up to 3 years.

Beyond the awesomeness of the immediate information, Woopra really shines with its organization for the individual user. If you aren’t preparing reports for clients and just want to know the facts, everything is there in plain sight and easy to understand.

Unfortunately, all the sites I have in the screenshots are sites in development/preproduction. I’ll try to get some screenshots of soon of more populated sites.