Those of you in the WAA are hopefully aware that due to Avinash Kaushik’s untimely resignation the Web Analytics Association is currently having a special election.  While the entire organization without a doubt misses Avinash’s charisma, spirit, and great passion for measurement, a great slate of folks have been nominated to replace Mr. Kaushik.  While I don’t know all the candidates personally, I have had the great pleasure to work with one for several years now: John Payne from Coremetrics.

I first met John years ago while he was at IBM SurfAid and I was at WebSideStory.  I was privileged to work directly with John and his team while I was an analyst at JupiterResearch, as I am again privileged to work with John on occasion now that I have started my own company.  And while I have tremendous respect for Akin Arikan, Dennis Mortensen, and Mark Wachen based on my past interactions with each, I can think of few people who would add more value to the current WAA Board of Directors than John Payne.

John was gracious enough to answer a few questions I had about his candidacy and qualifications despite being on a well-deserved vacation in Alaska.

EP: Tell us briefly about your work in the web analytics industry?

JP: Well I am probably the one with the most tenure in web analytics … note I avoided saying the oldest, which is also true ;-) I co-founded IBM’s Web analytics solution (SurfAid) in 1996.  In that role I have been involved in all aspects of delivering web analytics.  I am intimately familiar with the data and the challenges associated with performing meaningful, actionable analysis.  I am currently responsible for Product Management at Coremetrics.

EP: Why are you running for the WAA Board of Directors?

JP: Because of my experience in working with the data and how to build a viable solution around this data, I bring a unique and seasoned perspective to WAA. I am at a point where I want to help the larger web analytics community become more productive and effective.

EP: What three things do you believe make you the one candidate to vote for in this election?

JP: I am hands on … I know the data, the challenges,  the level of effort required to make the reports meaningful.  While I have been doing this a long time, I also see a vision for how this can evolve in the future, to capabilities such as analytics across domains that result in targeted content and predictive modeling for more effective content delivery.  Thirdly, my experience will help guide WAA to deliverable that will hopefully have higher value to its members and the larger web analytics community.

EP:  How do you feel about term limits for WAA Board members?

JP: Term limits are a great idea because a regular infusion of new energy and talent will keep the WAA more vital and relevant.

EP: Some have accused the WAA of being somewhat close-minded and having a “not invented here” attitude, something that has the potential to negatively impact the community as a whole. Can you tell me if you encounter this how you might approach the problem?

JP: Each idea needs to be assessed on its own merit. I would encourage full review and dialogue of all new ideas before any rendered decision.

EP: What is your favorite thing about web analytics?

JP: I really enjoy “playing” with the data and “torturing it until it confesses!”  Really, web site visitor behavior does not lie, and I enjoy finding the story that causes the web marketing team to grim with excitement as they lay out a strategy and measure their success.

EP: What is your least favorite thing about web analytics?

JP: I am always disappointed by some portion of the community who just wants answers without being willing to “bond” with their data and the tools that they need top use.  I guess my disappointment stems from the fact that I enjoy doing “deep data dives” so much!

EP: Thanks a ton John, now back to your vacation and best of luck in the election!

Those of you in the WAA should have an email from the association titled “Re: WAA Board of Directors Special Election - Voting Period Now Open” with your ballot ID.  Hopefully all of you will take the time to vote in this special election and show your support for John, Akin, Dennis, Nicholas, or whichever candidate you choose.

VOTE NOW IN THE WAA SPECIAL ELECTION (you will need your ballot ID and to log in to the WAA extranet)

In 2007 when Eric Enge asked Google’s Avinash Kaushik about me I was humbled when Avinash responded, “You know that Eric is obviously a leader in the industry. We are all following the trail that Eric has blazed. He is just an awesome guy and a really great thinker.”  But while I appreciate the sentiment, I think that Avinash got one part of this wrong: We are all following the trail that Jim Sterne blazed.

Jim, for the three of you who don’t know him already, is an accomplished author, an internationally known public speaker, the founder of the hand’s-down most popular conference on web analytics and marketing optimization, and a co-founder of the Web Analytics Association.  And did I mention that he is without a doubt the nicest guy in the entire industry.

Yep.

Jim is one of my personal heroes and he has had a greater influence on my career than anyone I know.  Jim was among the first to learn I was leaving Visual Sciences for greener pastures and has provided me invaluable advice over the past year.  So imagine my glee when, after his inviting me to participate in his conference for six years, I was finally able to repay the favor by inviting Jim to join us at the 2008 X Change conference in San Francisco!

He accepted.  Ecstasy!

In preparation for the X Change event I have been interviewing some of the great people who will be joining us.  While those interviews are being shared with other bloggers, I decided to keep the Jim Sterne interview all to myself.  Read on and learn a little more about “the Godfather of Web Analytics” …

EP: For the three people who ** don’t ** know you, tell me a little about yourself and how you got involved in the web analytics industry?

JS: My first life was in sales - business computers to companies that had never used one before. This was pre-PC and they were expensive, confusing, and confounding. It was great fun explaining to people just what they could accomplish with one. I love watching people’s eyes light up. That led to a life in marketing - software development tools mostly. Print ads, brochures, trade show booths, direct mail. That was pre-PowerPoint so we produced overhead transparencies on a copy machine.

In 1993 I saw my first website (Sun Microsystems) and got wildly excited. I kept asking webmasters from large companies for examples of good online marketing strategy and they kept asking me for my opinion. My opinion ended up coming out in the form of books, PowerPoint presentations and corporate workshops.

In 2000, after presenting at Matt Cutler’s NetGenesis user group meetings and a couple of national tours, we decided a white paper was needed to explain this stuff from soup to nuts. That led to the book which led to the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit which led to the Web Analytics Association which…. Oh - you asked for a “little” about myself. Sorry - got carried away.

EP: Honestly, did you think that the Emetrics white paper you did with Matt Cutler would have the impact it did?

JS: I love being at the leading edge, banging the drum to get people to understand what’s just over the horizon. I wrote five books about online marketing but they were just part of the noise. I had no idea that E-Metrics Business Metrics For The New Economy would be the only thing out there for so long and attract such attention.

EP: What made you decide to start a conference for web analytics folks? Had you done conferences before that?

JS: I got most of my consulting business from public speaking but the conference industry was very slow in 2000 and 2001. This was the “Dot-Bomb” era after all, I decided to produce my own conference in the winter of 2001 but pushed it off until 2002 due to September 11. Web analytics was the most interesting subject to me and so few people were paying attention. It was something that needed a drum and a flag and a parade.

EP: Which of your books are you most proud of? What other author’s book do you wish you had written yourself?

JS: Nobody ever forgets the first time - even if it takes three editions to get it right. Being introduced as “author of” for the first time is a head rush that is only equaled by handing a copy of the first edition to my father. But the most fun I had was writing a little volume for Lyris - the email company - called Advanced Email Marketing. It’s a work of fiction about a guy hired into a bicycle company to get them into email marketing. He has to explain how the numbers are of value to each of the different managers and executives in the company. Good story, not much of a plot but there’s a happy ending with a twist.

Which other authors’ books do I wish I had written? The usual suspects spring to mind: Yours, Avinash’s, Jason and Shame’s, and anything on Amazon’s Top Ten list.

EP: Corry Prohens from IQ Workforce recently asked me about “the Eric Peterson brand.” How much do you work to manage the “Jim Sterne” brand?

JS: I believe branding is the result of everything you say and do. Think whatever you like, but every time you make a statement, an appearance, or a product you are expressing your brand to the world. Form is as important as function. The means are as important as the ends. Therefore the answer to your question is; All the time.

EP: Which of the Web Analytics Association’s accomplishments in the past few years are you most proud of?

JS: I am ridiculously proud of approximately 300 people who are actively working all around the world to create value for other WAA members. I helped raise the flag, but all these people are energetically and enthusiastically building something to help the next generation of web analysts. I posted a list of WAA accomplishments as a Letter from the Chairman but it’s really the fact that so many people are donating their time and talent to the cause that has me beaming.

EP: Tell me, when you’re not making things happen in the marketing optimization industry, what do you do to relax?

JS: I love to travel - sick I know, given the frequent flier miles I’ve racked up. I collect meerschaum pipes, play Mah Jongg, edit church sermons, design jewelry and monitor some 4,500 Komodo dragons in the wild through a network of webcams and RFID tags from my iPhone.

EP: If you could change ** one thing ** about web analytics, what would that be?

JS: The same thing I’ve been trying to change all along: Get everybody to recognize the astonishing power and value of this information for improving customer experience.

EP: Given that your “Emetrics: Business Metrics for the New Economy” really got the ball moving in 2000, where do you see the web analytics industry in 2010?

JS: There will be more consolidation as larger web analytics companies buy smaller ones, business intelligence companies acquire web analytics companies and smaller firms drop off the radar in the wake of free tools. Some new tools and methods will come about but the Big Problem will continue to be growing awareness, in order to increase investment, in order to train more analysts. The people problem will be with us for some time to come because you can’t automate insight.

EP: Speed round: Short answers to the following questions …

Favorite food? Popcorn
Favorite hotel? Santa Barbara Biltmore
Favorite book? Cryptonomicon by Bruce Sterling Neal Stephenson
Favorite non-web analytics public speaker? Randy Pausch
Favorite professional athlete? Willie Mays
Favorite airline? United
Favorite saying? “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” - Woody Allen coupled with “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” - Thomas Edison

I hope many of you will be able to join Jim and I at the 2008 X Change in San Francisco, August 17, 18, and 19th. Learn more about the conference at the official web site.

Since summer is nearly here and since I am trying to be more European in my approach towards business (read: wanting to take long holidays during the summer) I have been somewhat lazy in my regular blogging (as opposed to my lazy-blogging on Twitter, where I have also been somewhat lazy …) But thinking about being more European brought my mind around to my idea of a European Web Analytics Association (EUWAA) that I proposed before the Emetrics Summit in San Francisco last month.

Since that post a few things have happened:

1. My good friend Mr. Jim Sterne, Chairman of the Board at the WAA held a nice meeting over drinks in London to discuss the idea with Europeans in attendance. You can read Jim’s summary of the meeting and some interesting notes about the WAA Board of Directors over at Jim’s blog.
   
2. The WAA held a more formal meeting on May 22nd with some very high-profile Europeans in attendance including Neil Mason (England), Jim Williams (Scotland), Marianina Chaplin (England), Vicky Brock (Scotland), Zeljka Stojanovic (England), Tim Leighton Boyce (England), Rene Dechamps Otamendi (Belgium), Oliver Schiffers (Germany), Julien Coquet (France), Miles Bennet (England)

I certainly wish I could have been at the meeting since it sounds like it was pretty productive. Still, I have one concern as I read the summary document provided by Board Member Vicky Brock — it sound like the pro-EUWAA conversation revolved around multiple local WAA chapters in Europe as opposed to a single, pan-European organization able to respond to the needs of “chapters” across the continent.

Perhaps I’m just reading the document incorrectly, and hopefully if I am one of the participants will write me and clarify the point. But if I am interpreting this correctly, I think this is a dangerous idea and one very likely to fail.

I suspect that the organizational process and volunteer commitment to create and maintain multiple local WAAs would be far greater than is reasonable. Were this not the case, I suspect the WAA would have a local presence here in the U.S., instead of ceding most local web analytics efforts to Web Analytics Wednesday. Web Analytics Wednesday works because it is A) low effort and B) high value. I suspect the establishment of several mini-WAA’s across Europe would be the exact opposite, at least in the short- to mid-term.

Instead, I would encourage those European’s taking the lead on this issue (Neil, Vicky, Rene Dechamps Otamendi from OX2) to focus on first creating a single, pan-European organization able to provide reasonable organizational structure for all Europeans. A single organization should be able to:

• Provide focus for Europeans working in the web analytics arena
• Create critical mass for EU-focused networking events, conferences, etc.
• Publish in more languages to accommodate non-English speakers
• Develop EU-focused content via blogs, social networks, etc.
• Streamline organizational processes like reimbursement
• Schedule meetings at a reasonable time of day locally

Fundamentally the idea of a single EUWAA was put forth to reflect the need for more value and more opportunities for European members of our global community. And while I have tremendous faith in Rene, Neil, and Vicky, I suspect that many more people will be necessary to provide the level of value I think the WAA is capable of providing.

According to the document, the WAA is planning to have a vote of Europeans in the next few weeks designed to gauge member (and potential member) response, theoretically to the idea of a separate EUWAA. It will be very interesting to see how the questions in this survey are worded and how the response is managed, but I suspect this process is in good hands.

Vicky concluded her letter with the following statement:

“Every action item in this report needs volunteers to step forward. If you would like to see any or all of the above come to fruition, please find something (research, identify, explore, review) and raise your hand.”

Nothing could be more true. Any association like the WAA or EUWAA depends on volunteer action for its lifeblood. Hopefully all of you who commented on my last post, and all of you who wrote me directly in support of the idea of a EUWAA, will take Vicky’s point to heart and step up when the time is right.

Since I’m not European I suspect my involvement from this point on will be tangential at best, although I’m not opposed to volunteering my own time, but I welcome your comments and critique of the ideas I put forth in this post. Also, if you’d like to know when the pan-European vote on this subject is, and if you’re not a WAA member, please don’t hesitate to comment or write me directly and I will make sure your email address is passed along.

I must say I am tremendously encouraged by the work that Jim, Seth, Neil, Vicky, Rene, and many others have already contributed to the general idea of providing more member value in Europe, especially in such a short period of time. I only hope the momentum will continue towards a product that everyone involved can be as proud of as Rand, Greg, Jim, Bryan, Seth, and the rest of the WAA founders surely are of their work.

Web Analytics Wednesday in San Francisco this week was an amazing success by every conceivable measure. But don’t take my word for it, here are the metrics and key performance indicators:

• Budget for the event: $10,000.00
• Actual amount spent: $14,500.00
• Percent over budget: 31%
• Percent extra expenses graciously covered by ForeSee Results and Tealeaf: 100%
• Planned number of sponsors: 4
• Actual number of sponsors: 5
• Percent sponsors interested in this event: 120%
• Estimated satisfaction of sponsors based on feedback sample: 100%
• Projected number of attendees: 200
• Projected expenditure per attendee: $50.00
• Actual number of attendees: 400
• Actual expenditure per attendee: $36.25
• Percent of actual budget spent on drinks: 50%
• Estimated number of drinks served: 1,450
• Estimated number of drinks consumed per attendee: 3.6
• Number of hours spent serving drinks: 1.5
• Estimated number of drinks consumed per hour:996
• Estimated number of drinks consumed per hour per person: 2.4

I think the key measure of success is really satisfaction but I totally forgot to ask Larry Freed’s folks at ForeSee Results to conduct a survey during the event, we weren’t tagged with Coremetrics tags, and SiteSpect wasn’t able to test due to incredibly cramped conditions so we’ll have to rely on your comments and June’s pictures for the time being to make that determination. Maybe someone will post Tealeaf-esque replay video so we can estimate satisfaction based on qualitative data…

Speaking of the sponsors, I really want to thank all five sponsors of the event for their participation, willingness to help out, and excellent attitude … especially when the crowd volume prevented them from getting a word in edgewise during their 15 seconds of fame.

Suffice to say we could not have thrown a party like this without the help of these fine organizations.

I was also really pleased to see some of our industry thought-leaders out for the event, folks like Gary Angel, Jim Sterne, Larry, Judah Phillips, Brett Crosby, and Avinash Kaushik who has never attended Web Analytics Wednesday as far as I know but who just joined Google full-time, eschewing independent consulting for good old-fashioned job stability — congratulations Avinash and congratulations Google!

I was even more pleased to see many members of the Web Analytics Board of Directors at the show including Jim, June, Avinash, Bryan Induni, April Wilson, Richard Foley and probably a few more I am forgetting. I think this is great since the WAA has what can only be described as an estranged relationship with Web Analytics Wednesday … hopefully we can get that relationship worked out in 2008 so these two great organizations can work together for the benefit of our entire community!

Anyway, thanks to June, David Rogers, and all the volunteers and sponsors who made this great event happen. Mr. Sterne hinted that he’d like Web Analytics Wednesday to happen concurrently with every Emetrics conference around the world so hopefully we can work that out and take this great party on the road.

Regular readers know that I travel to Europe twice a year to do business and work with my partners Satama and LBi/OX2. During my most recent trip I was delighted to have more time to talk at length with a wide variety of companies, practitioners, and thought leaders and a few things stood out in my mind after these conversations:

1. The European market is not unlike the U.S. market in terms of practitioner experience and overall thought leadership. I reported this after my last trip based primarily on survey data, but have been delighted to verify that there are some really amazing people doing some truly great things “across the pond.” This includes end-users and analytics managers inside companies and thought and practice leaders like Steve Jackson at Satama, Aurelie Pols and her team at LBi/OX2, Dennis Mortensen, Lars Johannsen, Oliver Schiffers, Marianina Chapin, Brian Clifton, and a whole lot of folks I’m forgetting to list! In a way, Dennis Mortensen recently became the “Avinash Kaushik” of Europe, a full-blown analytics evangelist!
2. The European market is different than the U.S. market in terms of investment in web analytics, although less so that I previously believed. After countless conversations about technology, people, and process, I kept coming back to the same conclusion: Europe is somewhere between two and four years behind the U.S. in terms of investment in web analytics. More specifically, I believe that the northern countries (Nordics, UK, Holland, primarily) are more like the U.S. in terms of their investment and, broadly speaking, the lag-behind time increases as you move further south. My evidence is anecdotal to be sure, but when I tested the theory most people working for pan-European organizations agreed — do you?

Based on these two points I come to the inevitable conclusion that Europe is about to really take off in terms of the adoption and use of web analytics. Those of you keeping track will recall that it was about two years ago that the practice of web analytics really started to accelerate here in the U.S. I think that the northern European countries especially are about to begin this same type of rapid adoption/expansion we’ve seen over the past two years, which is excellent news!

Now, some of you are certainly saying “well duh, Peterson” either because you work for a U.S.-based vendor who has been bulking up in Europe for the last 12 months, or more likely because you’re European and are experiencing what I’ve described first hand. Fair enough. But my point is not that Europe is running behind the U.S. in adoption of analytics; my point is that European practitioners, consultants, and vendors are in a different place than their U.S.-based counterparts and thusly would benefit from a different support organization than we benefit from here in North America.  Specifically, I believe that Europe should have its own Web Analytics Association.

Yep, I think we need a EuWAA.

Because the needs of European practitioners, vendors, consultants, and even the European media are different, I increasingly suspect that a North American-based WAA may not be best suited to provide the same type of great opportunities, educational events, and benefits we appreciate in the U.S. and Canada. And, while I agreed to not name names, I think some European WAA members don’t disagree with this assessment and would relish the chance to provide/receive additional value from a more locally run association.

A sister organization in Europe, one governed by a European Board of Directors and funded primarily by European vendors and consulting firms, would invariably be better able to serve the needs of specific markets at different stages of analytics maturity. The EuWAA could set country-specific pricing, have both regional and pan-European events, and make decisions that were carefully focused on the needs of different European constituencies.

I’m not saying anything is wrong with the current WAA; I think that the current and past board’s of directors have done a good job working to include European members in the decision making process and overall value chain.  I’m saying is that there is an opportunity to “think different” (to quote Jim Sterne) and consider how a more regional focus might be better for everyone. The NaWAA could focus on North American events, opportunites, outreach, and issues and create even more value for members here in the states and Canada.  And the NaWAA and EuWAA could work together to provide value for emerging markets across the globe.

In terms of funding, I would propose that A) there are a ton of European vendors who would be willing to support the EuWAA, B) that the U.S.-based vendors looking to expand into Europe would be motivated to support the group, C) European companies and practitioners would be more likely to support a European organization focused on the specific needs of European businesses and D) it would be very appropriate for the NaWAA to provide seed capital to this new, sister organization.

Web Analytics Demystified would gladly join as a founding member since we’re a global organization!

I don’t want to get into more specifics here, but if you have an open mind you might see that the idea makes a ton of sense and that a lot of the necessary work has already been done. And while I’m not 100% sure which of the European citizens running for the WAA Board have been elected, between those fine folks, the European thought leaders, and forward thinking European vendors and consultancies, I firmly believe that EuWAA can be done successfully.

I also believe, while some will argue this, that the Web Analytics Association in general will be better for breaking up into regionally focused sister organizations. Because our practice is still relatively young, there is undoubtedly differential geographic maturation and I think this needs to be recognized and treated appropriately.

Anyway, I just wanted to put the idea out there. With the annual meeting/party happening in a few weeks in San Francisco it seemed like as good a time as any to bring EuWAA up and get people talking.