“Below my window the awakening trees, Hacked clean for better bearing, stand defaced Suffering their brute necessities, And how should the flesh not quail that span for span Is mutilated more? In slow distaste I fold my towel with what grace I can, Not young and not renewable, but man.” Kinsella was clearly aging as a result of a Silly Series…
It’s time to turn the spotlight on Rob McLaughlin, an IBM lovechild.
What would you like the world to know about Rob McLaughlin?
He lives in West London with two cats and a wife, is just about to join Canon Europe as their European Web Analytics Specialist, and loves the power of analytics as a source for almighty business insight.
How does your family explain what you do to other people?
My parents (who are both ex-IBMers) would say, that I say, I work in marketing but actually they think it is more like IT – Queue innumerable frustrating Sunday lunch conversations! As soon as databases are mentioned I lose any legs to stand on.
How does your family explain YOU to other people?
They would say I am passionate and excitable. They would probably also say that I love food, both in quality, quantity, frequency and recency (not latency though).
You’re a Certified Web Analyst – do you just like taking exams or something?
I jumped at the opportunity for a small validation of my web analyst abilities and experience. I have worked in sales, marketing and analysis roles within my career and once I’d decided to commit myself to the analytics discipline the WAA CWA seemed like an intuitive step.
Also, it was how I got to properly meet the wonderful Vicky Brock who has continued to be a friend and source of inspiration. Vicky was the adjudicator on the day of my examination – ask her if you want to know what I look like when nervous.
Who is your superhero-sans-cape in the web analytics community and why?
Firstly, Avinash Kaushik, without whom I would never have gained the level of knowledge and way of thinking that I required to make the jump into full-blown analytics being. Occam’s Razor was the bible that I read daily, for as many hours possible, sucking up the ideas and approaches like a hungry little ninja man-child.
Also, the aforementioned Vicky Brock who pushed our thinking around the EU cookie directive and executed the masterstroke of requesting analytics reports from the ICO via the Freedom of Information Act – that is super-hero behaviour!
Which web analytics topic makes you witter on and on like a crazy person?
You can light my wick pretty fast by suggesting that web analytics has limited application and value to non-ecommerce sites, i.e. brochure-ware or brand. Believe me, e-commerce excellence does not come from the sole focus on baskets, purchases and payments. All sites have goals and outcomes that must be achieved either in, without or prior to purchases. The number of lily-livered brand marketers who refuse to commit themselves to the fact their sites should have defined outcomes kills me! That crazy enough?
To send me into flames you could always suggest ‘average time on-site’ as a performance metric?
What is your wish for the remainder of 2011?
That I can start to get my head around the corporate landscape at Canon Europe. This is an extremely exciting move for me and whilst I have a million ideas to throw at this challenge I want to soak up as much as possible about this large, complex and interesting business before I begin to form an approach to measurement and optimisation.
You studied politics at university – if you were running the place, how long ago would you have fixed the global economic downturn?
I wouldn’t want to, I love those cliffing graphs! I hope that if one good thing comes out of all the economic turmoil it will be an increased openness and sharing of data – all the more ingredients for our analysis pie.
If bananas were square and kiwis were purple, how many web analysts would it take to change a lightbulb?
3 analysts
Why?
One analyst to change the bulb, two more to cheer him on and then join him for celebratory drinks.
