Archive for August, 2011

When John, Adam, and I announced the ACCELERATE conference last week we really didn’t expect the response we got, much less that the seats we had planned for would fill in just over a day. Once we got over the initial shock we set about trying to figure out how to accommodate more of the over 300 people who have already registered for the event … and we’re getting closer every day to solving that problem.

We are continuing to take provisional registrations and being on this list is the most sure way to be able to join us in November. If you’re interested, please sign up for the ACCELERATE 2011 wait list.

In the interim we wanted to call your collective attention to our “Super Accelerator” session at the end of the day. Unlike our main speaking slots where brilliant practitioners from companies including Sony, Nike, Expedia, Autodesk, Symantec, Salesforce.com and more will be sharing “Ten Tips in Twenty Minutes”, the Super Accelerator is designed to allow up-and-comers in our community to share a single idea in five minutes or less.

Five minutes! How easy is that?

Just think about the amazing things you could share with ACCELERATE attendees in five minutes? Off the top of my head:

• The Number One Reason You Should Join the Web Analytics Association
• The Best Way to Get Your Manager to Think About Web Analytics Data
• How to Make I.T. Your Friend (and How That Will Help You as an Analyst)
• How to Take Advantage of Web Analytics Wednesday for Social Networking
• The Most Important Hashtags Analysts Should Follow in Twitter
• Why Strategy is Important to your Company’s Investment in Web Analytics

That list goes on and on and on, and I’m sure the best ideas are those that I’m not even thinking of!

We already have five people signed up for the dozen slots we have but we are looking for seven more folks who meet the following criteria:

• Really want to attend ACCELERATE 2011 (since if you’re presenting, you have to be there)
• Are willing to commit to creating and presenting a three-slide, five minute talk
• Have a true passion for digital measurement, analysis, and optimization
• Love to present, or want to learn to love presenting
• Love awesome technology …

If the last criteria seems out-of-place, you need to know that the audience will be providing real-time feedback on each Super Accelerator session (thanks to our friends at OpinionLab) and the presenter who earns the best overall score will get a $500 gift card from Best Buy!

How cool is that? I know!

If you’re interested in joining us at ACCELERATE 2011 and being part of the Super Accelerator session I would encourage you to do the following RIGHT AWAY since we expect this session to fill up fast:

1. Go to the ACCELERATE 2011 web site and REGISTER (you’ll be put on the wait list)
2. Go to Twitter and tweet “I want to present at #ACCELERATE 2011 as a Super Accelerator! http://j.mp/accelerate2011 #measure”

We are watching the #ACCELERATE tag and will get back to you ASAP. These slots are filled on a first-come basis so DON’T DELAY and sign up today!

Yesterday we announced that Web Analytics Demystified was bringing an entirely new type of event to San Francisco in November: ACCELERATE!

Today I am chagrined to announce that ACCELERATE 2011 in San Francisco is SOLD OUT!

Suffice to say, we didn’t expect to sell out overnight, nor did we expect to have so many people traveling to the event from around the globe. We have registrations from as far away as London, Spain, Shangahi, and India; we have registrations from New York, Boston, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Boulder, and more!

We are still accepting provisional (“wait listed”) registrations but will likely stop doing that by the end of the week. If you want to join us I strongly recommend registering for the ACCELERATE 2011 wait list IMMEDIATELY.

Also, if you’re already on the list, you will help ensure your seat at the table by joining our “Super Accelerator” session at the end of the day. More details are available at the ACCELERATE mini-site under the “LEARN MORE” link.

As our clients, prospects, and friends complete their registrations we will develop a better sense of exactly how many we can accommodate. At that point we will email registrants directly and provide confirmation.

On behalf of John, Adam, our sponsors at Tealeaf, OpinionLab, and Ensighten, and especially myself we are grateful for the community’s response to ACCELERATE and will do everything possible to get as many folks to the table as we can.

We are incredibly excited to announce that registrations are open for our newest community initiative designed for digital measurement, analysis, and optimization professionals, ACCELERATE!

The first event will be held this year in San Francisco on Friday, November 18th at the Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF, and thanks to generous support from Tealeaf, OpinionLab, and Ensighten, ACCELERATE 2011 is completely free.

Our agenda is still being finalized, but we will have thought- and practice-leaders from amazing companies including Nike, Symantec, AutoDesk, Salesforce.com and, of course, Web Analytics Demystified. Also, since we recognize that some of the brightest talent in our field works for solution providers, we’ve invited a few practice leaders from the vendor community to present as well, thusly ensuring great content across the board.

The format at ACCELERATE is completely new, and we believe our “Ten Tips in Twenty Minutes” style will create the maximum number of insights possible for attendees of all backgrounds. What’s more, we have a dozen ten open slots for new speakers in our “Super Accelerator” session to showcase up-and-coming talent — and we’re having those folks compete for a $500 gift card from Best Buy based on audience votes.

Did I mention that ACCELERATE 2011 is completely free?

If you’re interested in joining us we encourage you to visit the ACCELERATE 2011 mini-site sign-up register today. Space is limited to the first hundred or so folks who sign up and we’ve already had registrations from New York, Boston, Seattle, Portland, Columbus, and San Francisco.

Go to the ACCELERATE 2011 site and register to attend right now!

EVENT DETAILS:

Location: Mission Bay Conference Center, San Francisco
Date: Friday, November 18, 2011 from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
Registration: Open now, limited to the first hundred or so folks who sign up

If you have any questions about ACCELERATE 2011 please leave comments below or email us directly.

Much to my chagrin, having been outed by the local newspaper for my original dismissal of Google+, it appears that the web analytics community is prepared to go “all in” in the social network. What’s more, because we’re no longer bound by 100-odd characters (after we @respond and #measure tag), suddenly some incredibly bright minds are able to rapidly contribute to an emerging meme.

Interested? I knew you would be.

Head on over to my stream at Google+ and catch up on the conversation stemming from Tim Wilson’s recent critique of Adobe SiteCatalyst 15. Certainly the thread has diverged somewhat but if you’re in web analytics and on Google+ we would all welcome your contribution.

>>> Web Analytics Platforms are Fundamentally Broken

If you’re not on Google+ click on this link as I have bunches of invites I can share.