Archive for 'Web Analytics Blogs'

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.

I suspect by now many of you have noticed but this week we made two pretty amazing announcements here at Web Analytics Demystified. Now that the dust is settling I have some time to take a step back and offer up some comments on the announcements and what I believe they mean for our clients, our prospects, and the web analytics industry in general.

On Tuesday we announced that respected industry veteran Adam Greco had joined John and I as a Senior Partner. Adam is well-known to many in our community thanks to his high-visibility work during his tenure at Omniture, his popular “Omni-Man” blog, and his fine, fine work on the Beyond Web Analytics podcast series.

For John and I bringing Adam on board was a no-brainer. The guy is as bright as they come, he is articulate, and most importantly he knows how to squeeze every last drop of value out of the most widely deployed digital measurement solutions in use today — Adobe SiteCatayst and Google Analytics. Adam is committed to extending that expertise to all of the popular platforms as quickly as possible, and our hope is that by mid-year he will be providing the same great insights he has for SiteCatalyst to Webtrends, Unica, Coremetrics, Nedstat, and other customers.

Adam will be running our Operational Use Audit and Framework Development practice as well as providing custom training and generally supporting the rest of the Demystified service offerings.  Which brings me to our second announcement …

On Wednesday we announced an exclusive partnership with tactical and technical consulting practice leaders Keystone Solutions. Keystone is a slightly better-kept secret than Adam Greco, although their current clients certainly know who they are. Founded years ago by former Omniture super-star Matthew Gellis, Keystone has grown into a talent magnet comprable to, well, Web Analytics Demystified.  Matt Wright from HP, Kurt Slater from Expedia, Rudi Schumpert from Ariba, and a host of other amazing analytics technicians.

We have doubled-down with Keystone for one simple reason: in our experience they are the best of the best when it comes to providing fundamental and foundational support for any digital measurement practice. Especially against those same two “most popular” solutions — Google Analytics and Adobe SiteCatalyst — Keystone delivers in a way that few others out there are capable, and that is the kind of talent we prefer to work with in the field.

Through this partnership Web Analytics Demystified clients will be able to benefit from a dramatically expanded set of web analytics consulting service offerings ranging from on-the-ground implementation support to ongoing reporting and analysis to some pretty amazing custom solutions. They will also be taking the lead on our Tag Management Systems Audit and Deployment practice, an offering I expect to be red-hot in 2011 and beyond.

Now, unfortunate as it is, we were not able to pursue this type of relationship with Keystone without some cost. The immediate fall-out is that Web Analytics Demystified will no longer be participating in the X Change conference. While this breaks my heart after having put three years of sweat equity into the event, relationships change and so it is time to move on.

I do, however, promise every one of the hundreds of consultants, vendors, and practitioners we have personally invited to this conference over the past three years that we will be back, live and in-person, with something far more “Demystified” in nature. Based on our work with Web Analytics Wednesday, the Analysis Exchange, and hundreds of other events around the globe, we have a pretty good idea of what is truly missing from the web analytics event landscape … and now, thanks to Adam and the team at Keystone, we have the means to deliver.

I welcome your comments and questions about both pieces of news, and I hope you’ll keep your eyes open in the coming few weeks for even more news from our growing company. It is exciting times, indeed.

Following up on last week’s thread about how the web analytics industry is on the cusp of becoming our own worst enemy as the tide of public opinion increasingly turns against online and behavioral analytics I wanted to make good on my offer to help the Web Analytics Association. I fully support the efforts of the Association to create a solid community for web analytics professionals around the world and have long been a contributor to their work, be it turning the Web Analytics Forum (at Yahoo! Groups) over to WAA management, opening the doors for WAA participation in Web Analytics Wednesday, and providing other “behind the scenes” support when asked.

To this end I composed a preliminary “Web Analysts Code of Ethics” that I had planned to work on here in my blog (with you all) and then turn over to the Web Analytics Association. Much to my surprise, according to my partner John Lovett (who is a Board member) the Board of Directors loved the preliminary code and asked to have it publish at the Web Analytics Association blog.

Easy enough, and so I would like to redirect all of you over to the Association blog where I and the WAA both would like to hear what you have to say about this early effort. The comments have already started over there, and of course if you’re more comfortable commenting here then by all means, I welcome  that.

As I mentioned a few times in my recent Beyond Web Analytics podcast (not live until early on September 13th), I believe that we need to start advocating on our own behalf and I see this code as one small step in the right direction. Hopefully the WAA Standards Committee, the Board, and all of you out there whether you’re in the Association or not will join me in this effort to help the wider world understand what we all do (and what we do and will not do.)

So go do two things right now:

1. Read and comment on my “Web Analysts Code of Ethics” at the WAA Blog
2. Listen to my interview with Adam Greco and Rudi Shumpert at Beyond Web Analytics

Those of you who have been following the Web Analytics Forum at Yahoo! groups will no doubt be as excited about this announcement as I am: I am delighted to let you know that Paul Holstein, co-founder, Vice President, and COO at CableOrganizer.com will be taking over for Daniel Shields here at the Web Analytics Demystified weblogs.  Paul has been a long-time contributor to the Forum, both in the conversation and behind the scenes, and despite the fact that he once told me that “web analytics was just a hobby” he has demonstrated his expertise time and time again.

What happened to Daniel?  Dan has taken a big step forward in his career, co-founding Wicked Business Sciences with Paul, and Nicolas Dubus and getting into the consulting game.  Given the list of service offerings these guys have already I have little doubt they’ll be hugely successful.

I will keep Dan’s posts up for the time being but they’ll be in Paul’s blog (although their original URLs should work just fine.)

Paul has indicated that his style will be short-and-sweet, touching on a relevant subjects as they creep up in his business, in the Forum, and at great conferences like the X Change (where you can meet Paul in person!)

Paul’s “welcome, Demystified” post is up and I would encourage you to check it out if for no other reason to add Paul’s blog to your RSS feeds.  (I have already added Paul to the “All Web Analytics Demystified Weblogs” super-feed, just in case you want to subscribe to our writing en masse … http://feeds.feedburner.com/AllWebAnalyticsDemystifiedBlogs)

If you’re considering coming to San Francisco for the X Change conference on August 17, 18, and 19 but are still wondering what the conference has to offer you may want to check out these interviews I did with Lars Johannson last week and Larry Freed this week.

Both guys asked good questions — my favorites were Lars asking “If someone only has the money and time to attend one conference, how should she choose between industry “default” event eMetrics and challenger X Change?” and Larry’s “With a “total absence of sales messaging and sponsored talks”, who will pick up the bar tab?”  Larry’s question reminded me that June, David, and I should probably start planning some kind of conference-associated Web Analytics Wednesday event since we had such a great turnout last time we were in San Francisco!

Check both posts out when you have a chance:

• Eric T. Peterson Answers Questions About X Change
• An X Change with Eric Peterson

If you’re interested in the conference, check out the official web site at Semphonic.