among the reasons I use my hosts file to blackhole the web bugs from analytics services, is that one of the more-common applications of web and mobile analytics is to determine what is in the public consciousness.
Most webmasters and mobile developers regard analytics as a way to find out how people are using their sites and apps. While strictly speaking that's true, most analytics SDKs are provided free of charge.
The ones who actually pay for the analytics are commonly politicians and large companies.
During the last presidential campaign I discovered that each major candidate's website contained dozens of web bugs from several distinctly different analytics companies.
Sorry, I should have been more clear. The OP asked whether there was a way to determine what is in the public consciousness.
There are many ways. Among the most popular these days are web and mobile analytics.
I did some consulting on a data visualization tool that was employed by one of the world's largest corporations to determine what the public had to say about its products. In that individual, specific case while I felt uncomfortable accepting the work I don't regard it as outright evil.
However I do regard it as evil for a political party to do the exact same thing.
What I learned about the way analytics are used led to my ardent effort to convince others to blackhole analytics servers. It's also the reason I don't list any of my favorite books or movies in my Facebook profile.
Most webmasters and mobile developers regard analytics as a way to find out how people are using their sites and apps. While strictly speaking that's true, most analytics SDKs are provided free of charge.
The ones who actually pay for the analytics are commonly politicians and large companies.
During the last presidential campaign I discovered that each major candidate's website contained dozens of web bugs from several distinctly different analytics companies.