Reliably Doug Hall
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Reliably Doug Hall
@fastbloke.bsky.social
Vegan. Food. Data. Flying. Cycling. Motorsport. Tall. Bald. I'm just one shiny pixel in the bigger picture trying to make a difference.
After last week’s GA4 latency breakdown, I took a closer look at a question many of you asked: Do GA4 360 and Standard server-side exports match up?

Quick answer: mostly yes — but the timings tell a story.
Full details:
When the drop hits -Act #2
In my last post, I shared some observations about the latency of our raw GA4 data landing in BigQuery.That sparked a wave of thoughtful follow-up questions. Thanks to everyone who reached out with insights and curiosities.ArchitectureAll of the datasets we’re analysing come from a single site: DugaDigital.com.The site is dual-tracked with two server-side streams: • One for GA4 360 • One for GA4 StandardWhich brings us to the core question:Are these two datasets actually comparable?Compare rows a
www.dugadigital.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Ever get that "spidey-sense" your GA4 data drop is late?

We did. So we built a tracker.

The results surprised us: GA4 360 is faster (~7 hrs) than the Free tier (~9.5 hrs), but its delivery delay is far more volatile.

We've got the charts to prove it.
When the drop hits
Building a real-time tracker for GA4 data delivery timesI have a low tolerance for the misuse of instant messages.You know the type. The single "Hi" in a chat, followed by an agonising silence. Or worse, the classic late-Friday manager message: "We need to talk." That one sends a whole weekend's worth of anxiety spiralling, even if the "talk" is just to offer praise.But when messaging systems are used well, they're brilliant.At Duga Digital, we love good, timely, automated communication. Our tea
www.dugadigital.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Happy Birthday #GoogleTagManager - you're now a teenager!
October 1, 2025 at 9:25 AM
This is a fascinating, and exciting direction for ecommerce - www.cbc.ca/news/busi...

github.com/agentic-c...

Intrigued to see where this takes analytics, data collection, and privacy.

cc: @tobi @ShopifyDevs @ShopifyEng
September 30, 2025 at 9:59 AM
"Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissions"

www.theguardian.com/...

The analysis methodology is sound, powered by AI, checked by humans - a vital step.
Meat is a leading emissions source – but few outlets report on it, analysis finds
Sentient Media reveals less than 4% of climate news stories mention animal agriculture as source of carbon emissions
www.theguardian.com
September 29, 2025 at 2:55 PM
When did @MeasureCampLDN become a rampant sell fest?
September 19, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Your phone is not the real world
September 19, 2025 at 8:25 AM
GA4 fans, foes, foibles, fantastic! If you know, you know and I’ve been through every version. Join me on a wild ride of brilliance, bugs, and buried features at the Digital analytics Summit in October.

Buckle up. #GA4 #IYKYK

digitalanalyticssumm...
August 22, 2025 at 12:36 PM
OH: ChatGPT says publishing a change in GTM caused Google to index new pages.

Send help.
August 1, 2025 at 12:16 PM
No. I don't think I will. No.
July 30, 2025 at 8:08 AM
ProTip: If we all tracked our billable client time like we track our exercise in Strava, agency billing accuracy would be a dream!

Reality: Most time tracking tools could learn a ton from Strava!

Thought: Maybe use Strava as a time tracking tool?
July 29, 2025 at 10:38 AM
🚨 Your GA sessions might be breaking right now (and you don't even know it)

Why did a test spawn 100 organic sessions AND 100 "Unassigned" (not set) sessions.?

Question: Who/what caused this?

Solution: www.dugadigital.com/...
The Two-Minute fix that might save your GA attribution data
Just as Julius Fedorovicius of Analytics Mania debunked the myth that user_engagement before page_view does NOT cause (not set) (#gamechanger), I came across a peculiar instance where user_engagement appeared to be related to (not set) and merited investigation.  Spoiler: Julius is 100% correct, and this cautionary tale may include insight that you might not be aware of regarding GA configuration.I was running a test one day…We experiment regularly, and in doing so, we recalibrate our analytics
www.dugadigital.com
June 19, 2025 at 8:32 AM
I fucking hate iframes.
June 11, 2025 at 10:04 AM
Safari's new ATFP is a clear signal: user-level attribution is becoming unsustainable.

The future is aggregated campaign measurement, not individual tracking.

Attribution isn't dead—it's evolving.

www.dugadigital.com/...
When Safari breaks The Internet
In a case of this-is-not-really-news, attribution is hard. No, that's not a shock, and nor is the reality that attribution is only going to get harder unless you change your game.Fundamentally, accurate and scaled 1-to-1 marketing and attribution is not possible in a privacy first manner. Regulation and technology are both growing challenges that prevent reliable id resolution for mass volume individualised marketing. Even with AI!Even today, opening up everyone's favourite echo chamber/busin
www.dugadigital.com
June 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Have a nice quiet/productive Monday morning.

slack-status.com/202...
June 9, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Will Google Beam be the tiping point for RTO?
blog.google/technolo...

Still doing video calls but more-or-less in person?
Google Beam: Our AI-first 3D video communication platform
Project Starline is becoming Google Beam, a platform that uses AI to turn 2D video streams into realistic, immersive video calls.
blog.google
May 22, 2025 at 9:59 AM
🚨 Waiting AGES for GTM tag changes to go live? You’re losing data—and you don’t even know it. 😱

sGTM INSTANTLY updates tags (no more stale data, no more waiting!). Want to know the secret sauce that top analytics pros are using to stay ahead? 🔥

🔗 www.dugadigital.com/...
Make INSTANT tag changes using sGTM
SummaryWhen you publish changes to your Google Tag Manager (GTM) container, it is possible the changes are not instantly live.This post demonstrates two techniques that enable instant changes to GTM containers - 1 desirable, one to watch out for!GTM versions get cachedBrowsers can cache assets like images, and JavaScript libraries. That's good because it makes the internet feel faster. It also means changes to your GTM container may not get refreshed immediately. Our handy chart of GTM con
www.dugadigital.com
May 21, 2025 at 8:57 AM
🚨 Cookie banners: Are you guessing or actually compliant?
Regulations are changing-fast. Risks are real.
Join me & Lars on May 28th to learn how to de-risk your cookie banner and act with confidence.

👉 Register now - webinar.cookieinform...

#CookieCompliance #Webinar
New ICO 2025 cookie banner warnings: Here’s how you adapt - Cookie Information
Is your website ready for the ICO’s crackdown on non-compliant cookie banners?In early 2025, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) issued formal...
webinar.cookieinformation.com
May 16, 2025 at 12:56 PM
🚨 BREAKING: Google changed a cookie format! Panic everywhere-but your data is probably fine. Change is the only constant in digital, so check your tagging, adjust if needed, and move on. 😎🍪 Embrace change, don’t panic!
🔗 Read more on LinkedIn
May 15, 2025 at 1:36 PM
TTJOAC was about 3 minutes ASW today. How's your day going?

ASW: After Starting Work - start the clock when the machine wakes up.

TTJOAC: Time To Jump-On-A-Call - how long until you get an email or Slack requesting this corp delight.

#LOL

C'est pas grave :-)
May 14, 2025 at 8:12 AM
3P Cookies to stay in Chrome - www.theverge.com/new...

Say "cookieless" one more time. I mf-ing dare you.

Thoughts: www.linkedin.com/pos...
Google is scrapping its planned changes for third-party cookies in Chrome
The Privacy Sandbox is over.
www.theverge.com
April 23, 2025 at 8:34 AM
If you're in the UK, before signing off the work week, remember to tell your colleagues "See You Next Tuesday".
April 17, 2025 at 6:25 PM
Yeah, I'll happily own up to being a nerd's nerd.
April 17, 2025 at 3:46 PM