Adam Greco - 'Original' Omni Man

They’re crazy, they’re sexy, they’re cool.  They’re the people of web analytics, and they’re brought to you as part of the Silly Series.

It’s time to talk to Adam Greco, new member of the Web Analytics Demystified family.  Young Rudeboy Shumpert “encouraged” Adam to be profiled and has helpfully supplied some of the questions.

Mr Greco, please tell us something about yourself.

I am from Chicago, attended the University of Illinois, lived in Europe for a while (Spain/Italy).  I have eight brothers/sisters (long story!), one wife, two kids, one dog.  Professionally, it goes like this: golf caddy, bank teller, Lotus Notes consultant, CRM consultant, online marketer, web analyst.

You have dinner with a SiteCatalyst user and a user of Google Analytics.  What type of wine do you order with the main course?

The cheapest wine possible so I can get many bottles as I watch them fight over which tool is better.  That is how I somehow end up spending most of my time at Web Analytics Wednesdays!

Who is your superhero-sans-cape in the web analytics community and why?

My superhero is actually an amalgamation of all of the tagging super-heroes who have helped me translate my business ideas into code which then results in data.  My list includes people most have never heard of, but have helped me to help others.  Some of these (in the order in which I worked with them) include Matt Wright, Joel Summy, Joel Tosi, Josh Dahmer, Ryan Ekins, Nick Hecht, Jennifer Kunz, Jeff Terry, Shawn Reed, Rudi Shumpert, Brian Hawkins, John Burbridge, and most recently Josh West.  Many of these people don’t get the credit they deserve for helping the industry behind the scenes…

What makes you do a jig of joy when you think about web analytics?

When I think of a cool new solution to a biz problem.  For example, a few years ago, I started learning about Twitter and I woke up in the middle of the night with the idea of passing Tweets into Omniture SiteCatalyst.  I was so excited to sketch it out and then share it with people at Omniture Summit.  Since I am an “idea-man”, my favorite part of web analytics is seeing my ideas translated into real analysis!

What is your wish for the remainder of 2011?

That I am able to find a few great clients that will let me help them improve the way they track their website and that these improvements lead to tangible benefits for these clients.

Tell us about your favourite web analytics book.

I believe that it is in my best interest to say “Web Analytics Demystified“!

What is your favorite Beyond Web Analytics podcast?

I think it has to be the first one we ever did.  It was a bunch of us who had no idea what we were doing.  I think we were supposed to be talking about mobile analytics, but if I recall correctly, we ended up rambling about every topic possible.  I have always been afraid to go back and listen to that one…

If you could not be solving the tough analytics issues of the world, what would you be doing?

Professionally, I probably would be a Spanish teacher.  That was close to being my first profession.  Personally, I would be living in Spain or Italy, doing whatever I could to be able to stay there…

You go out for beers with 5 other analytics professionals, who do you invite?

If we are not including my new business partners, I would say:

Eric Feinberg (Foresee Results) – He makes me smile
Matt Belkin (Omniture/Adobe) – He has awesome stories
Steve Brown (Omniture/Adobe) – He is always the life of the party
David Kirschner (Omniture/Adobe) – He is so well-read and is like a walking encyclopedia!
Avinash Kaushik (Google) – Just to get to know him better, plus he is always full of so much energy!

You just joined the Web Analytics Demystified team.  Who do you like better, Eric Peterson or John Lovett?

Really?  I’m not THAT stupid!

Check out the full list of interviews in the Silly Series here!