Once upon a time there was a sensible series of web analytics interviews. But one day, it caught the sniffles and passed away. In its stead, to the chagrin of many, arose the Silly Series.
It’s time to talk to Joe Teixeira – ask him what three squared is. Go on, ask him!
Tell the nice people all about Joe Teixeira.
I am the Director of Web Intelligence for a company called MoreVisibility. I have been working there for 5 and 1/2 years on all things web analytics, measurement, testing, and user-experience. My company is a Google Analytics Certified Partner, and we are very proud and honored to not only represent Google, but also South Florida in the analytics community.
I have been working in the internet industry since 1998, where I first started by making HTML changes to websites (this pre-dates the days of CMS platforms, where everything was done by hand). I’ve done a little bit of everything in the last 13 years: SEO, pay-per-click, and obviously, a lot of analytics.
I have been living in South Florida, USA, for the majority of my life, but I have also lived in Massachusetts (when I was a kid), in Portugal (yes, the country in Europe) and Brazil (the big part of South America).
And for the last time, no! I am NOT related to Mark Teixeira from the New York Yankees! (Although it’s very cool that I share a last name with someone famous – maybe I should start telling people that we are related…)
You write books. Amazon uses ““It’s my creative outlet”, says Joe.” to explain why you do this. What other outlets do you have for your creativity?
Over the years, I’ve had different creative outlets. Playing video games, putting puzzles together, exercising, playing poker, and bowling. I can honestly say that my life is a jambalaya of different interests, hobbies, and creative outlets. People that knew me from one walk of life are often surprised to hear I am doing something else or into something entirely different from the thing that I was into when they knew me before (if that makes sense).
Right now, I am focused on school (completing my degree in Mathematical Sciences) and my family (my wife and I are expecting a baby girl in just a few weeks from now!)
If you were a metric, which one would you be and why?
I’d be “Total Revenue”, because it’s all about the dolla-dolla bills, y’all! (that loud noise you just heard was my wife smacking her forehead with her hand and bowing her head in embarrassment).
What is the longest amount of time you’ve ever spent playing Guitar Hero?
Oh yeah, thanks for bringing this up. I almost forgot about my guitar hero prowess. When the game “Rock Band” first came out, my friend and I completed a mega-set of like 50 songs, all in a row. That took basically all day.
Who is your superhero-sans-cape in the web analytics community and why?
You know, it’s kind of become a cliche in our industry to answer this question with “Avinash Kaushik“, but Avinash is above and beyond my superhero of the web analytics industry. Let’s be honest – he has been a major reason why our industry is becoming more prominent, and he’s a major influencer of how the industry shapes itself. Everyone reads Occam’s Razor. Everyone hangs on his every word, whether you agree or disagree with it. No one can wait for Web Analytics 3.0 or the next Web Analytics TV episode. And, if you ever meet him in person, you will find that he is one of the most humble and nicest people around, even though he’s a complete rock star and everyone in the room knows it.
Avinash isn’t the most technical person (his own words), or the most mathematically-inclined person, but he is able to find the right mix of tech, math, personality, vision, and presentation skills to lead the way for the #measure community.
You were once a certified bowling instructor. What? Why? What??
Oh, yes! In my prior life, I was a USBC certified bowling instructor. I also managed a bowling pro shop, drilling & fitting bowling balls for customers. I also bowled, but I picked up the sport so late in life that I never developed into the bowler that I wanted to become (I did bowl a few 300 games, and won a local bowling tournament, but that was about it).
I’ve been retired from bowling for some years now, but I could still pick up a bowling ball “off the rack” and bowl like a 170 or a 180 if called upon 
You’re a “math wizard”, so this should be no problem to you:
Schrodinger’s cat may or may not have eaten a bagel smeared with marmite. How many sheep will be sold at the Dungarvan mart on October 10th, 2011?
In accordance with the new EU cookie privacy laws, I’m not allowed to answer this question
What is your wish for the remainder of 2011?
Professionally, I wish that we in the #measure community can continue to do awesome work for our companies, our clients, and our industry. Never before has so much emphasis been placed on data and insights, so let’s all keep doing what we’re doing and continue to grow our industry. Personally, I wish for our soon-to-be newborn baby girl to be healthy when she makes her grand entrance into the world. Oh, and if we can squeeze an iPad2 in there somewhere, I won’t complain.
What is the least impressive thing about you?
I have a hard time with things that should be very simple. For example, making a sandwich. Yes, I have problems with that. Slicing a bagel in half, or a roll in half = problems. Basically, me doing anything in the kitchen is very unimpressive
Calculating the tip for dinner at a restaurant – I always mess this up, royally (and yes, I am a math major). Oh, and my personal favorite “least-impressive” thing: I have a rough time with 3 times 3. In my brain, that will always be 3+3=6, no matter how many times I do it wrong.
Finish the sentence: “A web analyst is….”
…is someone who knows the difference between reporting and analysis.
…is someone who “gets it” (that data and insight rules)
…is someone that believes they can solve a problem, no matter how complex
…is someone that fights for their cause
…is someone that takes chances
…is someone who knows how to use a spreadsheet
…is probably someone who has experience in other areas of the internet
…is someone who looks challenges right in the face and says “bring it”.
A web analyst, to me, is all of those things.
Check out the full list of interviews in the Silly Series here!
