Casey Cheshire - Mountainy Man

“I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be; Am an attendant lord, one that will do to swell a progress, start a scene or two.  Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool. Deferential, glad to be of use, politic, cautious, and meticulous; Full of high sentence but a bit obtuse; At times, indeed, almost ridiculous – Almost, at times, the Fool”.  I’m pretty sure Prufrock was running a Silly Series too, bless his heart.

Today, we talk to Casey Chershire – I forgot to ask if his smile is the last thing about him to disappear when he becomes invisible…

Who is Casey Cheshire?

Husband, new father, marketer and adventurer. I believe in God, kindness to strangers and seizing the day.

 

How many similarities exist between web analytics and mountain climbing?

Uh oh, here come the metaphors: Lots of peaks and valleys. The view is always better from the top.

 

You were in the US Marine Corps.  How did you go from Semper Fi to KPI? (see what I did there?)

Haha, good one!  I’ve always wanted to serve my country and the Marines were the only branch to initially tell me “no.”  This challenge intrigued me and only served to motivate me.  After boot camp on Parris Island, my sabbatical away from the web took me to Iraq.  It’s always sunny there, but a little to hot for my taste.

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

John Lovett. He’s a rock star in the analytics world and yet still finds the time to have coffee with you.  John’s got a book coming out too.

 

On July 25th 2023, you will eat a sandwich.  What will be in that sandwich?  And will you tweet about that sandwich from your iPhone 86987646?

White bread, turkey, mayo and cheese.  It’s tasty yet simple enough for me to be able to make at home.  Will I tweet about it? Probably not.

 

What is your wish for the remainder of 2011?

My wife and I recently had a baby girl, so I’m on a healthy baby kick.  I wish healthy births and speedy recovery to all the little ones.

 

What is your secret vice?

Skydiving – indoor and out of a plane.  I love the feeling of flying on air!  There’s nothing like it.  It’s pretty expensive though, so it’s typically prioritized away.  If I exit a startup, my next job is going to be a skydiving instructor.

What book about web analytics do you wish you’d written?

“Give me $24.95 and I’ll Convince You to Invest in your Web Analytics” – A high level series of case studies for the C level future recipients of analysis.

 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to develop their career in the digital measurement field.

Build a WordPress blog on your own domain and tag it like crazy with analytics.  It makes for an excellent playground for learning!

 

If you were a web analytics report, what kind would you be?

I’d be the mythical report that joins a user’s offline, mobile and web activity into a 3D image of their innermost thoughts about your product.

 

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