Google This, Google That

Don't believe the hype: Google didn't make any of the traditional Web analytics vendors happy when it started giving away online analytical tools. But that doesn't mean the existing vendors don't have defensible "we're-not-afraid-of-Google" rhetoric to throw at analytics-buying customers.Google's foray into free online analytics, its limited form notwithstanding, raised plenty of eyebrows among the existing Web analytics vendors. Now those companies are floating their own rhetoric -- and it's exactly what you'd expect them to say: "Our stuff is better than Google's, so we expect their move to drive growth for our superior products."

That response is, of course, another variant on what every established vendor making just about anything says when a big, new, scary competitor enters its market. Still, it's worthwhile to hear out their case.

While we're on the topic of Google, let me stray a bit from strictly BI-related news. As you may or may not know, the U.S. Justice Department has been leaning on Google, Yahoo, MSN and America Online to get them to turn over search data. It seems the Feds want to use the information to help them battle child pornography.

That's all well and good, but I personally don't like the idea of Washington perusing yet another form of U.S. citizens' electronic communication. If you don't either, then you'll want to have a look at the five ways we've found to keep your own Google searches private.