An Argument for Data Collection (done right)

Alright, this is a long article about data collection. But after proofreading again and again, I’m having a hard time cutting it shorter without removing the message. Hope you find it insightful:

In college, I worked on the school website as a web developer. I regularly worked with the website’s UX team. They would create surveys for users to take. I code up the survey, connect it to their analytics, and publish it.

Except they got few responses. Like, sometimes in the single digits. They had to ask us developers to not take the survey to not sway the little results they had.

They didn’t just do website surveys. They walked around the college buildings, begging asking students to do various tests on the website: choose the better webpage design; use the website navigation to find a specific page; or answer how often they use various features.

However, not everyone likes the feeling of someone over their shoulder. At least, not in person. While the UX team could role out features to limited users initially, that still goes back to the problem of finding users willing to give feedback.

So what did that UX team implement? Website traffic analysis. This can be as simple as logging which webpages are visited, to as meticulous as logging users’ mouse cursor and clicks every few seconds.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t want companies to watch what I do!” And you start to block analytics, disable cookies, and use “private browsing” modes.

Feel free to still do these things. They are doable for a reason. In the words of Mission: Impossible, anonymity can be “like a warm blanket.”

Are there companies that abuse data collection and breach privacy expectations? Absolutely, positively, already been demonstrated in recent years months weeks. I don’t support unethical data collection and usage, period.

“But why bother collecting any data?”

Imagine getting turned down for every job you apply for. No feedback. You don’t even know if they viewed your resume. Every email you send goes out into the digital void, without response.

“Interviews” are just you sending video recordings of yourself answering questions (they do exist, by the way - I’ve done them before).

Imagine that every time you post on social media, you get zero likes. No comments. No one telling you that your words or art is good or bad.

Imagine your favorite app never responds to bugs, reports, or requests.

Chances are, many of you don’t have to imagine these. You may be living in a similar limbo right now. It’s demotivating. It can bring amazing, talented people to a crippling standstill in their growth.

You collect data from the world around you, through all your five senses. You need it to thrive as well as survive.

How companies and products collect data is important and worth discussing and calling out, if necessary. But the need for it is unquestionable.

The Goal: Get Feedback

While we must certainly call out unreasonable breaches of privacy, please remember: developers and product owners want user feedback, with as little bias as possible from both sides. Companies and open source projects can struggle with getting effective feedback for years.

And the solution is not for developers or owners alone to give the feedback. Even for add-ons, I’ve seen the dangers of thinking, “I am my own customer, therefore I can be trusted for all feedback.” 😄 Because I’m often wrong. I need another set of eyeballs, more often than I’d care to admit.

I once asked someone test Light Painter over video call. I expected her to set up studio or cinematic lighting, ie lights not directly seen.

The tester literally did the opposite: she painted physical lights for lanterns. No studio lighting; just diegetic mesh lights. It changed my mindset of how my add-on could be used.

Watching users is powerful. It can shift perspectives. And traffic analysis is one of the least intrusive ways of doing this.

Not all analysis is created equal. And some are more invasive than others. And no matter what I say, some will never be okay with traffic analysis, even if experts could view and confirm the implementation is ethical or at least legal.

You may think, “If they really want feedback, why don’t they just me ask for it?” I’ll add one final argument:

Because many don’t give feedback

This is the unfortunate truth I saw with the college site’s UX team. Anecdotally, there will be exceptions. You may know stellar customers that always respond to surveys or give feedback.

But most don’t. Businesses know this. They see the numbers firsthand. And it costs them money.

Free open source software (or FOSS) is founded entirely on the community and their feedback. But not everything is open source. And not all open source projects have a responsive community.

This is why I pity when an app asks me to do a quick survey. This is why I wonder if I should really be disabling analytic cookies for yet another website.

We users demand the very best from our software. But when we refuse to give feedback, we shut ourselves out of the feedback loop.

When enough of us do this, companies often either become more invasive in their data collection or, potentially worse, make decisions without us. They can literally alienate themselves from their own community — not because they didn’t ask for feedback, but because enough of us refused to give it.

We’d be doing the product a disservice. We’d be taking away our own vote.

But this argument is one we can undo.

Feedback does not happen in a vacuum. We can only correct by speaking up. We demonstrate love and care for others and the systems we use – political, virtual, and otherwise – by saying something.

So companies: be more open to feedback, bug reports, and feature requests. I know you’re worried about the flood of reports to come through. Give us a chance. Trust us.

And users, if you’re fine with companies and websites tracking you, I appreciate your willingness. If you are against it, don’t let them track you - and follow through on what you are willing to give. File that bug report. Take their survey. Donate time or money to your favorite companies and causes.

Because we are responsible for what we consume and how we give back.

That’s community.

What are your thoughts? I know some were personally hurt or otherwise affected by recent data breaches. This is a sensitive but important topic. Let’s make this a conversation.