EmptyMind | Jason Thompson Web Analytics

Analytics and Social within the organization, a mystery yet to be solved?

By Jason Thompson | Published: April 29, 2011

Wow, today’s podcast reached pretty deep into organizational structure, the value of data, social media integration, proof of value case studies and more! We really could have broke this up into a few Mob Casts! Find the show notes below for a snapshot of the show:

Direct Download Link

1:00 min: Social Media & Web Metrics — Stuck in Silo’s
6:00 min: How does leadership effect the use of data across the organization?
7:40 min: Setting up organizational outcomes and rewards.
10:30 min: Who’s in charge of defining where analytics and data professionals sit?
14:00 min: Are analytics professionals doing a bad job marketing their own value?
18:30 min: Jason shares his experience being stuck in a silo. You can’t keep this guy sequestered!
22:00 min: what can an organization learn from the structure of a professional sports team?
25:00 can the measure and analytics industry help the organization better understand the value of analytics?
29:00 Social Media and web data case study.
35:00 Do we need a digital czar in an organization
40:00 Insights from a Twitter conversation with Kevin Hillstrom aka @minethatdata
44:00 If the C-Suite is not defining KPI’s and setting measurable objectives is the organization screwed?

Also in the cast we give a little shout out to a great upcoming Web Analytics Association event coming up in Boston called The Evolution of Analytics: From Site to Social to Mobile to Predictive Some of us are hoping to make it there and heck maybe get some live interviews from the field!

On Todays show:
Jason Thompson
Keith Burtis and
Olivier Blanchard

You can also download and subscribe to the Measure MobCast on iTunes (Will launch iTunes app)
If you have any thoughts or comments on todays cast we’d love any feedback as we’ll take any data you have to make the show a better one. Thanks!

Posted in Analytics, Marketing | 2 Comments

The Measure MobCast

By Jason Thompson | Published: April 29, 2011

I’ve recently begun a new project, with a couple other buddies of mine, called the Measure MobCast. It’s a weekly podcast covering everything from traditional web analytics to marketing to social media and everything inbetween.

The first two episodes of the podcast are already out:

Influence, Lame Buzzword or Qualitative Metric?
“On the inaugural launch of the Measure Mobcast we have a spirited discussion on “Influence”. It seems like almost daily there is another tool launching to put a dollar value on our Twitter profile or measure our so called “Influence” in the social media channels. Whether you think influence is the latest and greatest metric or whether you think its a hoax I have no doubt you’ll get a lot from this discussion.”

Analytics and Social within the organization, a mystery yet to be solved?
“Today’s podcast reached pretty deep into organizational structure, the value of data, social media integration, proof of value case studies and more! We really could have broke this up into a few Mob Casts!”

You can also download and subscribe to the Measure MobCast on iTunes (Will launch iTunes app)

Posted in Analytics, Marketing, Social Media | Leave a comment

Don’t Track Me, Dude!

By Jason Thompson | Published: April 24, 2011

All of us have opted-in to being tracked for an eternity. This opt-in decision was made for us the moment our parent’s decided to have sex or perhaps even earlier at the time of the Big Bang. Before you completely write this idea off as far fetched, give me a moment to try to explain.

First, I think it is important to understand what we mean we we use the word ‘track.’ I believe when most people say “do not track me,” they are really saying “don’t analyze me.”

Merriam-Webster defines ‘track’ as: detectable evidence (as the wake of a ship, a line of footprints, or a wheel rut) that something has passed.

Regardless of how hard we try, every action we take leaves a track.

When we talk about ‘tracking,’ we are really talking about putting tools in place to amplify this detectable evidence to make the job of the analyst easier. However, a skilled analyst, detective, archeologist, etc. will be able to analyze this evidence regardless of the technology that is in place.

Governments are wasting billions of tax payer dollars to legislate against the laws of physics. Corporations are wasting billions of man hours attempting to do the same. They are giving consumers a false sense of security that if legislation is in place or if browsers have a “do not track” option then no detectable evidence will be left behind. That is not only a silly conclusion but it also violates the basic laws of physics. To every action there is always an equal and opposite reaction. Every action we take, we leave behind detectable evidence, we can’t fight that fact.

Legislation and new technology can serve to counter act the forces of nature for a given period of time but on a long enough time line, nature will always win. If you disagree with the law of gravity, you can build planes that can fly through the air for longer and longer periods of time but eventually every thing that goes up, must come down.

The technology that analysts use, simply will adapt to the current landscape. Today it is cookies and page tags, yesterday it was web logs, tomorrow it will be something else but let me reiterate, even if these tools of the trade are not in place, the evidence that something has passed is there just waiting to be discovered and analyzed.

So what does this all mean? To me, it means that as someone trusted with this evidence, I must be held to a higher standard. The same is said for anyone in a position to view information that the rest of the world is not privy to. We expect our doctors to hold our patient records in strict confidentiality. When we make a phone call, we expect our cell phone carrier to not abuse the information contained within our conversations. As web analysts, we have been placed in a similar position of trust.

Passing legislation and inventing new technologies to ensure no traceable evidence is left behind is as pointless as spending billions of dollars trying to stop the sun from rising in the East. Rather than fight the unchangeable laws of physics, why not put that time and energy into making sure that those who have been trusted with sensitive evidence treat it with the respect it deserves?

Legislation is pointless. Technology will only produce a false sense of security. Aligning with a Code of Ethics is the only path.

Posted in Tao of J | 3 Comments

Social Media Isn’t a Marketing Channel, Don’t Measure It Like One

By Jason Thompson | Published: April 19, 2011

Just because you “can’t allocate revenue” to each Social Media interaction, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be there. Social Media is just another location where your customers may or may not be. If they are there, then you should be there.

Posted in Tao of J | 2 Comments

Analytics All-Stars: Create Custom Dashboards Using APIs

By Jason Thompson | Published: April 10, 2011

At Omniture Summit 11, I was honored to be part of the Analytics All-Stars team. In the break-out session, I talked about how you can make use of APIs to create custom dashboards that drive action.

One universal truth I have discovered, after working with many different companies to optimize their analytics practice, is that no two companies look at data exactly the same way. The major analytics players in today’s market have done a fantastic job at providing product offerings that cover a large part of most customer needs. However, it is not possible for a single solution to align perfectly with every customer’s needs and if it were, the product would be so bloated that no one would want to use it.

So if my analytics package of choice doesn’t present the data in all the ways my key stake holders demand, what options do I have? Many, if not all of the top vendors, have a set of APIs that allow you to export data out of the applications so that you can present the data in a way that better aligns with your business needs.

The desire to present data in ways other than what is available in out-of-the-box reporting seems to be high on everyone’s agenda, however I was shocked when I asked the Omniture Summit audience how many people were making use of the APIs and I saw less than 10 hands go up in a room of well over 250 people.

Building applications and dashboards using APIs doesn’t have to be scary. Let’s walk through a custom dashboard that I built using the Omniture Reporting API.

NOTE: If you are an Omniture customer and you want more information on using the APIs, there is a ton of great information inside the Developer Connection.

The following is the high level data flow for the custom dashboard I developed:

{click for full size}

1. Omniture Data Store: This is the Omniture Report Suite that contains all of the click-stream and conversion data for my site.

2. PHP Application: The PHP application is the engine the drives the process. It is a simple application that extracts data from Omniture, loads the data into an internal database, and then transforms the data into a format that aligns with business goals. It it scheduled to run on a daily basis at 4 am via a cron job. The first component of the application extracts data from Omniture using the Reporting API and loads the data into a custom MySQL database that has been setup to accept the specific data points being extracted from Omniture.

3. Internal MySQL Database: A custom MySQL database was setup with a table structure to match the specific data points that are being exported from Omniture in step 2. This allows for custom trending calculations that may not be available out-of-the-box with Omniture.

4. PHP Application: At this point, the data has been exported from Omniture and is now being stored internally. This component of the application transforms the data into a format the business is more familiar, complete with custom trending. Once the dashboard has been properly formatted, the application deliveries a daily copy of the dashboard, via email, to a list of subscribers.

The following is an example of a daily dashboard that is built using the process described above. Although this is a copy of a real dashboard, the dashboard has been populated with fictitious numbers for privacy reasons. The dashboard shows key conversion metrics for 3 segments of visitors. The conversion metrics are trended against the 4 previous same days of week and a 7 day average.

{click for full size}

If you are interested in extending your reporting by using APIs and need a little help, please feel free to reach out to me, I’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

Posted in Analytics | 6 Comments

Analytics All-Stars: Think Before You Code

By Jason Thompson | Published: April 10, 2011

At Omniture Summit 11, I was honored to be part of the Analytics All-Stars team. One of the topics I covered in the break-out session was centered around the key things that should be done before you begin deploying tracking code.

Getting access to a new analytics package is like unwrapping that shiny birthday present that has been sitting in the corner of the room. It’s very tempting to rip off the paper, tear into the box, and start playing. However, based on the experience I’ve gained from participating in well over 100 different implementations, I’ve found a common thread that has run through the most successful implementations. That common thread is patience.

When I took the position of Manager of Web Analytics at Spark Networks, I felt the pressure of “getting things going” right out of the gate but I quickly learned that it was ok to push back. It’s ok to walk before you run. Managing a successful Analytics practice isn’t a sprint, it’s a long, long race and those who end up being successful learn how to pace themselves.

Before any code hit the page at Spark Networks, I spent several months getting a lay of the land. If it was my responsibility to provide insight to key departments within the business, how could I think about doing that without even knowing what those departments did? I spent countless days literally sitting at the desks of product managers, marketing directors, executives, and developers. After I had developed a better understanding of what made each department tick, I began to hold formal interviews, it was these interviews that formed that structure of the analytics implementation.

So who should you interview? The following is a list of people I interviewed. This list isn’t meant to be an exhaustive list by any means but should start you down the right track for your business.

→Marketing Director
→Email Marketing Coordinator
→Product Manager(s)
→General Manager
→Development Lead
→Developer(s)
→Customer Support Manager
→Customer Support Rep(s)
→Creative Director
→Office Manager
→CIO
→CEO
→CFO
→COO

My goal was to transform every employee in the company into a strong advocate for my analytics practice. I couldn’t accomplish this goal without taking into consideration everyone’s needs. You can implement the most perfect implementation the world has ever seen but if you fail to gain user adoption, your implementation will also be a failure.

You can read more about how I branded and marketed the analytics practice in my blog post titled ‘Are You Branding Your Internal Analytics Practice?‘

Use notes from your interviews to document requirements and make note of gaps in the current process. From there, develop a blueprint of what will be captured, where and when. This can take the form of a simple spreadsheet.

Now, break up your implementation into a series of phases, NEVER try to deploy everything all at once. For one it becomes too large of a project to deploy in a timely manner and it sets a bad precedent that the implementation will be complete after the initial rollout. If you remember nothing else from this blog post, please remember that an implementation is never complete, it is a living, breathing thing that needs constant care or it will die.

Posted in Analytics | Leave a comment

WAA: This is OUR Assocation

By Jason Thompson | Published: April 6, 2011

To the outgoing members of the WAA board, I’d like to personally thank each and everyone of you for the countless hours you have dedicated to this important effort for our community. There is no way I can fully understand the personal sacrifices you have endured as one of the trail blazers of the association.

To the remaining members of the WAA board, I’d also like to personally thank you for your service and for continuing to give of your time to help shape our association into something we can all be proud of.

I still feel there is a long way for us as an organization to go and so there is much work left to be done. For me, there are two critical next steps that we must take as an organization.

1) I truly believe that our association needs to be less about process and bureaucracy and more about getting things done. When new members come into the association, we need to be better positioned to capitalize on their exuberance. The only way this can be done is to push for faster innovation and reaction to the membership’s needs. We have come a long way but still have a ways to go.

2) We need to make sure we are showing real value to the WAA membership as often as possible. Team morale is a critical component for all successful teams and ours is no different. We need to be continually looking for ways to highlight the value that many hardworking board members, committee members, and everyday WAA members are bringing to the association.

I was very excited when the call for nominations for WAA board went out. I had a nominee in mind who I felt would make a perfect addition to the board. Someone who was young, eager, had great vision, and has helped inject energy into organizations in the past. Someone that could play a critical role in addressing what I see as the two most important next steps. That is why I was very saddened and admittedly extremley upset when I learned that my nominee was rejected.

After reviewing the list of candidates that were accepted for the WAA board election, there is no way I can make an argument against any of the nominees. The list of nominees is very impressive and any of those individuals elected to the board will make a great addition. However, I firmly believe that my nominee is just as qualified to run as anyone on the list. I understand the need for structure around the election process, however I personally would much rather have the community vet out potential candidates, in the spirit of fairness and transparency, it just feels like the right way to conduct business.

Although I still feel it is in the best interest of the WAA to include candidates from the “outside” in the election, I will put my full support behind the new WAA board and will continue to push for increased transparency and openness — we MUST continue to push for change to make this truly OUR organization. We need to continue the work of the previous board to transform this association from an elite fraternity to a community that is truly open to all.

Posted in Tao of J | 2 Comments