callyway's score

More on the social side of life

So we were talking ... several different folks have weighed in on the "what's up with Facebook" discussion. 
Some think: who cares?
Others think: yeah, well, I wasn't really using it anyway.
And then there are those that bring up the idea of "blur" -- something I had thought about only briefly really (thanks, Jamie).  Interestingly, the very next day I see an interesting article on that very subject: the blurring of our relationship lines -- work versus personal versus other areas of our lives ... it's all blending.

How comfortable are you with that?
The article made me laugh at times -- and so I'm dropping in the link to the Information Week article by Cory Doctorow.  You may not laugh -- but it's interesting and very timely.

Do you want everyone at work to know that you're <fill in appropriate descriptor>?
Is there anything in one of your social accounts that you really want to keep separate from your colleagues?

When things flow …

Starting with the alarm, the day began perfectly.  I actually heard the alarm and we headed out by within 5 minutes of the plan.  In fact, we arrived at the airport, found parking and made it into the terminal all with amazing ease.  At first, it seemed that I would have to say goodbye while he was waiting in the Frontier line -- since my flight was via American and there was quite a line.

We re-connected at security though - he was being scanned and I had the dubious distinction of an upper body pat down.  Neither of those things matter; not really important to the story except for the fact that we re-connected thanks to the TSA need to randomly examine travelers.

The best part: our gates were only 3 apart -- so I was able to sit with him for about 20 minutes before his flight (his left at 6.25, mine at 7.05).  That was sheer joy.

Who is the he?
My newly minted Marine -- my son Chris.

He was headed back to the next phase of training -- while I was headed to discuss the future in a completely different part of the country.  The beauty of all of this though was the unexpected connection that we were able to snag.  Looking back on those moments - it actually all just seemed to flow to that connection point.

And, as usual, this reminds me of something important in the Web Analytics world.

During the implementation phase of your Web Analytics tool -- you may be worried that you’re missing something -- that you won’t be able connect all of the dots -- make the appropriate connections.  If you have a deep understanding of the tool’s capabilities coupled with a more than cursory understanding of your business goals -- you will be fine.  In fact, you must “get” both in order to make the effort worth your while (I love that saying: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well) -- else you’ll have a tool that merely drops a few data points in your lap; or, possibly worse: one that gives you so much that you’ll be overwhelmed (and then stop looking at the metrics).

You can make a connection with your reporting tool: snag a little time, learn the capabilities of the tool (work with your vendor, take a course, read / read / read) and then map your goals to your tool.  Connect the dots, let it flow -- you will get more meaning from your reporting tool -- and that is a beautiful thing.

Why would I care?

Why would I care about the Facebook beacon stuff anyway?
I don't use Facebook all that often ... particularly after using Twitter and loading the Twitter update application.  I still use LinkedIn too -- and, in fact, have very few friends in Facebook -- so why am I concerned?

Because this ad-plan is way out there on the privacy front: in that I am only given an opt-out option when I visit an affiliate site -- and I can't see which sites are affiliate sites are until I happen upon one!  It's crazy to me that the Facebook folks would actually choose to opt-everyone-in by default rather than the other way around!

I wrote the privacy email address that is available within the privacy section of the Facebook site and stated that I would not be using their tool again until I know that I don't have to opt-out ... and here is what I received in response:
"Facebook is now affiliated with  a variety of websites, all of whom can, with your permission, send the actions you take on their sites back into Facebook. These actions will appear in your Mini-Feed and may appear in the News Feeds of your friends.

If you are logged in to Facebook and take an action on an affiliated site, the website will alert you that it has a story it would like to send to your Facebook profile. You can then choose to take the following actions:

  1. You can click the ‘Learn More’ link to find out more about that story or edit your privacy settings for these external stories.
  2. You can click the ‘This isn’t me’ link if the Facebook account does not match the person using the external site. In this case, Facebook will never publish the story or otherwise share any information with the user’s friends on Facebook.
   3. You can click ‘No Thanks’ in which case Facebook will never publish that story or otherwise share any information with your friends on Facebook.
   4. You can click 'close' or simply ignore the notification in which case the story will be sent to Facebook, but will not be published on the site. Next time you navigate to the Facebook Home page after interacting with an affiliate site, you’ll receive a second reminder that the affiliate website is about to publish a story on your behalf. If you select ‘See More’ and then click the 'X' next to any story, the story will not be published. If you click 'close' or navigate away from your home page, the external story will then be published in your Mini-Feed and potentially the News Feeds of your friends.

Please keep in mind that affiliate websites never have access to your profile information, nor does Facebook receive any personal data about you from an affiliate site.  Let us know if you have any further questions regarding the privacy settings for this feature."

That doesn't work for me ... and I told them so.
I will, today, go into my Facebook account and:
a) Turn off Twitter updates
b) Save my profile and not visit again until I have a default opt-out capability or, at a minimum, a single opt-out capability within my profile rather than via unknown affiliate sites!

Social-smocial: I don't need a Facebook account.

So what does this have to do with Web Analytics?
The most important idea: the beacon is the same type of tracking tool that analytics vendors use for on-demand "software as a service" applications.  If you're not familiar with that - wiki has a handy overview that is appropriate for any type of tracking.  The similarity in the type of tracking method is not the important idea, though.  Back when, DoubleClick learned that being upfront and open about privacy is the key to keeping the visitors (and therefore the clients) happy.  Thus, though the tool may be the same -- the method of implementation is the key to success.  (That's been a recurring theme for me - maybe I'll stay on that for a while)

Thank you NPR and ...

I love it when I happen to listen to a radio fragment -- and I learn something incredibly appropriate for me for this day or this week or this month: meaning it's the perfectly perfect bit of information for my life right now.

That very thing happened yesterday.

I was listening to NPR and heard this story: The Greening of the Holiday Catalog.

How perfect!
How timely!
What is it exactly that is so perfect?
    Some wise folks have built a Web site so that I can easily tell all the direct mail maniacs that I'm tired of getting their catalogs (one during the year is enough -- 6 within 12 weeks from ONE COMPANY is stupid).
The site name is easy to remember too: CatalogChoice.org
How wonderful that NPR shared the info and how even more perfect that the following green groups are making my life easier!  These are the groups:
    The Ecology Center
    The National Wildlife Federation
    The Natural Resources Defense Council
    and these are the additional funding sources as listed on the site: The Overbrook Foundation, The Merck Family Fund and the Kendeda Fund.

I had started yanking off the mailing label page from all of the catalogs that I was receiving this year -- with the plan that I would literally mail them back to the company saying: get me off your list! ---- and now, there's a Web site for doing it!  Yippee!

This is a shining example of why I love the Internet (today I love it anyway).

By the way -- you know direct marketing has run amok when:
    the lists are not cleaned
    the catalogs are mailed over and over and over and over
    and there is a Web site built for the sole purpose of reducing the number of catalogs that are mailed.

Graduation visitors

Flying back from the graduation ceremony for the newest group of Marines, I began to think about the variety of visitors that attended the graduation.  I’m not sure, but somehow imagine that the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) in San Diego already knew that the type of visitor would range from proud parents / grandparents, other close family members, friends and even babies that had no clue about the ceremony.  I was surprised though.  The variety of individuals was amazing.  I recognized those that had “been here, done that” immediately.  And those that may not have witnessed a Marine graduation, but certainly had some military graduation experience.  Then there were those of us who read everything available on the Web, so we thought we were prepared (keyword = thought).  Last, there was the group of “don’t have a clue” visitors, particularly on the graduation day --- clearly visible, wearing 3-inch heels.

Though it’s not really important to segment graduation visitors -- it is VERY important to do so for your Web site.  Any Web site manager that is interested in improving Web site conversion (of any type) should focus on segmenting the site visitors beyond “new versus repeat” or even “registered versus non-registered”. 

It is critical to begin to understand who is visiting if you want to persuade those visitors to do something specific.  Certainly you can start with the basics while planning to move to the next level.  That’s what the Marines do when training recruits - in fact, those recruits that graduate from MCRD are actually only taught the basics - they know, however, that they’ll move to the next level starting when they return from their 10-day leave.

Back to segmenting site visitors:
You have to take the time to think about how you might segment your visitors. 
You also need to make sure that your Web Analytic tool is able to capture referrer information and that you understand what it’s called,  Is it a default setup within the tool or do you need to add a parameter to capture the information? 

Once you know that you’re capturing referral information: Review the data - consider how you might segment your visitors.  Does it make sense to segment based upon source?  It’s certainly a starting point -- and once you’ve analyzed by source you’ll probably find additional segments within each source segment.

Segmenting based upon purchase volume or category is another interesting technique -- you might choose to start the buyer segment analysis by grouping based merely on average order value then slice the data based on category purchases.

Back to the Marines:
The visitors, though diverse, were all as happy as I when we heard the official “ooh-rah” from our new Marines! 

In fact, this picture is of Charlie Company's 1048 Platoon doing just that!

Ads to the left .... jokers to the right ....

That's my spin on the current state of Web sites ... ads are actually everywhere ... and I am stuck in the middle with <fill in appropriate little dab of content>.  Seriously, I am tired of ads.  I get the point and may end up putting some on this blog (the point = $) but I hope I can hold out at least for, ummm, 3 months.

The ad that started this: a Sony Vaio ad on the Macworld site! 

That's like ...

• selling Fox News on CNN
• placing a Cadillac ad on the Mini-Cooper site
• placing an ad for the ballet on a hockey ticket stub

Does that mean I'm missing the audience?
Or does that mean I'm reasonably assessing the audience?
I think the latter ...

The key with competitive placement is not to offer a competitive product where it won't be heard ...
the key is to find the place where it will be!

I don't think Mac users will hear Sony when on the Macworld site.  And who uses the Macworld site?
It's bound to be Mac users with an occasional "I'm thinking about a Mac" person.

Sony Vaio is certainly an option for someone who is looking for an ultra-portable ... but not if they're currently a Mac user ... those folks are going to stick with or upgrade to another Mac. 
I just don't see a switch happening! 
I certainly can see a switch from a Dell to a Vaio ... or from any other PC brand ...

And yes, I'm one of those PC users that searched and shopped and now I have a Mac!
I even drove a very long way to be able to test-drive both the Vaio and the Mac in one afternoon, under one roof (at one very expensive mall). 

I had FUN on the Mac (and it's light-weight). 
The only thing the Vaio had going for it was the weight, or lack thereof.

So how does any of this relate to Web Analytics?     (you know it must since I'm writing about it ...)

It's important to monitor your marketing campaigns, no matter what the source.  In fact, all of the major reporting tools allow you to track campaigns by source as well as other dimensions (creative, channel, etc.).  I think that most marketers get this -- and are effectively using the reporting tool to complete the basic analysis.  I think the place where marketers may need help:

• how to streamline the campaign setup process
• how to select which type of campaign is most effective
• how to integrate the analysis of offline and online campaign data

But, I could be wrong ...

Soon, I'll add more thoughts on the 3 ideas mentioned ...

Why build local when you can build on dev?

So I'm not an engineer ...
And I don't want to be one ...
But I do work with them and I need to understand them ...
So the question is: why build local rather than on the development environment?
Or maybe, rather than ask, I should just say: if you want me to test then place it where I can see it.

Does this bring new meaning to the word local?
I have thought of local as:

• buying local: saving the environment by reducing the cost to deliver
• working local: living close to work - again to reduce the environmental impact of the work commute
• living local: it's more than an attempt to recapture that small town feeling - it's about sustainability

So now -- local is more than sustainable living -- it ensures that no one else can see the code!
Does the Web mimic life -- or the other way around?

What is an analyst?

This is one of those questions that I've thought about for a very long ...
Way back in the day when I worked at one of the Nabisco bakeries (the Atlanta bakery to be exact) ...

And more recently, while talking with a friend (her Loose Tea blog is an excellent blend of daily / local / family / life and an occasional analytic topic), we began to consider the topic.  It's an interesting idea since there are quite a few ideas around it ... from the ridiculous to the absurd to the nearly on-target.

So let's dig in and you can see what I see ....

Wikipedia is my favorite initial place to check for just about anything these days ... thanks to that marvelous community-correcting feature (wow, the checks-and-balances are amazing).  Wiki says:

"Analyst generally is a term for an individual or tool of whom or which the primary function is a deep examination of a specific, limited area and may mean:"

Wiki then goes into the various types of analysts such as a business analyst, color analyst, systems analyst and a web metrics analyst (as well as a number of others).

I happen to particularly love the wiki-dictionary's definition:

1. someone who analyzes
2. (mathematics) a mathematician who studies real analysis
3. (computing) a systems analyst
4. (psychiatry) a practitioner of psychoanalysis
5. a chemical analyst; a financial analyst; a business analyst

So -- an analyst is a person that analyzes ...
Then what is analysis?
    Read back up to the Wikipedia definition: "deep examination of a specific, limited area"

My initial thought: what is deep?
Does analysis require that the analyst understand the depth required of the examination?
Maybe that should be "does a quality analysis require that the analyst understand the depth ...?"

Ahh ... yes.  There it is. Quality and analysis all in one question.

But wait: I have stepped away from the original question: what is an analyst?  I see an analyst as one who is curious, one who investigates, one who questions, one who may or may not work with numbers but certainly always works with data, one who "gets" the gathering of and manipulation of the data and lastly one who seeks to look as far as is needed, but no further.

Why do I add that last?  Because I have experienced the never-ending analysis -- and really, one can just search on the Internet for a bit to experience that -- a "real analyst" gets that aspect ... that there is a point that is enough. 

I'll consider that word (enough) on another day.

Names names names ...

A name -- we all know it's important.
Parents struggle with it (should we name her after my great aunt sis or go with a cool name?);
Most businesses know it's a big deal (should I name it after me or find a name that points to the service?);
Kids even know it (when I was young I wondered why they gave me the name they did -- and I still do!).

So why don't automobile companies know it -- i.e., when naming the various vehicles?
Product names:
    - need to be sticky (be easily remembered)
    - evoke a feeling that relates to the product AND to the potential customer
    - and therefore need to have some meaning beyond the product

Why am I even thinking / writing about this?
And what does it really have to do with Web Analytics?

As to the first question - I have two answers:
I was driving home yesterday and noticed a car in front of me.  A Crossfire.  I like the look of that sports car.  But the name is wrong, unless there's some deeper mechanical meaning that escapes me.  And, if the mechanical meaning exists - then I would still say that the name is wrong.  Because the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word Crossfire has nothing to do with mechanical or sports car or autos!  My mind jumps to "caught in the crossfire" ... and that's a place where I don't want to be!  Does the average target audience know that the Crossfire name represents some mechanical meaning that doesn't have anything to do with a bad situation?  Possibly.

The other reason for thinking / writing on this topic: I realized that I really should write at least one post on the automotive industry or something related to it since I'm in Michigan!

Back to names ...
I started thinking about other car names ... and the only one that really works for me is the Mustang!
What a perfect name for a car: horses, wild, free, spirited, easy to remember, the emblem (aka badge) works, everyone can understand it (not just the extreme mechanical types), additional designations can be easily added (numbers or editions) without losing the original wild / free spirit of the name.

There are, of course, other examples (Jeep Wrangler for one) that have worked, but I tried to think about the various sports cars that I know of ... and none work like the Mustang (for me anyway).  And no, I don't own a Mustang.

Back to the second question: what does this have to do with Web Analytics?
Naming is very important within analytics in a variety of ways ...
    - page naming: for many of the reporting tools is an important definitional process
    - campaign naming: use of systematic names to identify campaigns means that your campaign data is easier to work with (and you don't necessarily then need to build the script to upload the friendly name)
    - report naming: this is important from a user perspective; though folks can get used to odd report names - adoption will be easier if you invest the time in identifying meaningful report names.

I'm sure there are other examples of naming conventions that should be considered prior to the final roll-out of a reporting tool ...

And yes, I do get the idea that a reporting tool is NOT Web Analytics ... but a reporting tool is the first step toward Web Analytics -- you need to have the tool implemented well / have acceptable user adoption / then pull, analyze and deliver (that's the start of Web Analytics)!

Organizing my words and more

Actually, I have been organizing my bookmarks for a while now ... and realized I could take a break and write about the process rather than continue to deal with it...

Not sure who uses what most -- for keeping track of sites ... I have been using one too many methods plus more than a couple of computers so I decided: it's high-time to organize this great information!

The process:
1) Eliminate duplicates in my Firefox bookmarks
2) Quickly turn off my automated update for Foxmarks so that I don't lose some of those client-site bookmarks (obviously not uploading those to my delicious bookmarks)
3) Import the Firefox to delicious
4) Keep the "imported" tag in the imported delicious bookmarks
5) In delicious: Edit the tags and then save with share it
6) Repeat step 5 for the rest of my life (or I fall asleep, whichever comes first).

Organizing bookmarks is relatively easy -- I have to make myself get it started.  That's how I am with quite a few organizing tasks -- I want the organization without the effort, I guess.

Organizing words (the tags) is much more difficult -- but quite a bit more fun.  I enjoy having the auto-fill provide previously used words ... efficient.  It's that first letter that is sometimes difficult to find.

Organizing a web analytics implementation: should be easy by now but can sometimes prove difficult.  Why?
Working with a variety of individuals, clarifying goals, turning needs into requirements, considering long-term objectives, finalizing scope, documentation through-out, defining the details ... all of these are important tasks: but the starting point - working with a variety of individuals: that is often the most challenging!  Understanding how to organize information so that all involved will "get it" without being overwhelmed... that's the key ingredient.  More on a web analytics implementation later... if, though, you really need it now -- try reading Juice Analytics resource page: so much info!