Microsoft's "Gatineau" Web analytics tool to launch beta

[mandy]

Details of a new Microsoft Corp. Web analytics tool, including when the beta version will be released and how the company will get its demographic data, have leaked onto the Internet.

Microsoft plans to release a beta version of its Web analytics tool called "Gatineau" this summer...

The tool, which is aimed at taking on Google Inc.'s Analytics product, will allow users to segment Web traffic by both age and gender...

full article: http://www.computerworld.com/action/arti...ticleBasic&taxonomyId=9&articleId=9027638&intsrc=hm_topic

From a Microsoft employee's blog:

Demographic data
One of the reasons we wanted to wait for our own announcement around the beta functionality is because we wanted to explain where we get our demographic data from. Beta 1 will include the ability to segment data by both age and gender buckets, so you can get more of an idea of what kind of visitors you have. Questions are already being asked on Dave's blog about where we get this data from; the answer is that we do get this information from users' Live ID (formerly known as Microsoft Passport) profiles, but I would stress that we get this information anonymously, and there is no use of PII (Personally Identifiable Information, such as name or e-mail address) in the product.

full article: http://www.liesdamnedlies.com/2007/07/mi...gatin.html

[FiberGuy]

:

Ehhh.... they're only about two years behind.  Tough spot to be in, tackling the well-entrenched Google Analytics user base.

Just *more* proof that Microsoft isn't an innovator.  They're more of a "buy out and ruin" or "imitate and fail" sort of company. 

[bargainbloodhound]

Just *more* proof that Microsoft isn't an innovator.  They're more of a "buy out and ruin" or "imitate and fail" sort of company.

You just described eBay.  ;D

Google is better at buying out (Urchin/Analytics) and imitating (AdSense/AdWords...the idea stolen from Overture and Google paid $$$ after it was sued by Yahoo)

Tough spot to be in, tackling the well-entrenched Google Analytics user base.

I won't be switching.