Crepuscular Light » measure

Tim Wilson – Cat Man

Exxx — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 09:32:51 +0000

Think you know all you need to know about the people in the web analytics industry? I beg to differ. I guarantee you will find things you didn’t know and things you didn’t want to know in this set of silly-season profiles.

Today, it’s time to talk to Tim Wilson, a man who’s not afraid to work a jester’s hat.

Tim, how would you describe yourself if you were asked to provide a short biography.

When his co-workers have no alternative other than to put him in front of a client, Tim is introduced as a Director of Measurement and Analytics at Resource Interactive, a truly kick-ass digital agency that does a lot of great work for a lot of top consumer brands. His internal title is Data-Geek-Smartass-Who-Seems-Able-to-Make-His-Superiors-Laugh-Just-Enough-When-He-Daily-Crosses-Various-Lines-of-Propriety-that-He-Hasn’-t-Gotten-Himself-Fired-(Yet). He gets really excited when he foils Facebook’s never-ending attempts to thwart web analysts’ ability to optimize and improve brands’ fan pages by deploying web analytics on them. Once a month, he co-hosts Geeks Gone Wild (aka, Web Analytics Wednesday) in Columbus. He blogs when he can at Gilligan on Data, which has a wholly unintended acronym that he didn’t even notice until a year ago; he can be oblivious that way.

You’ve claimed to have herded cats in a previous post at Bulldog Solutions. How many cats does it take before you officially have a clowder on your hands?

It depends on to how many people you will be serving clowder chowder at your dinner party, and when, exactly, PETA learns of the planned menu.

If I have 15 apples and Billy has 22 pears, how many bicycles can you get in a clown car?

That’s IT! THAT’s the actual Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything!!! The answer, of course, we’ve known for years: 42.

Your name is Tim, but your blog is called Gilligan on Data. Who is Gilligan and what have you done with the body?

The last I heard, he went on a 3-hour tour and hasn’t been seen since. I have no further comment.

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

I’m going to go with a Time-circa-2006 copout, Chuck. The #measure hashtag gets my vote. I’m still a little bitter at the entire state of Washington from when some pesky folk up there wound up usurping #wa, which was what we started with. At this point, though, #measure is sufficiently superhero-ish that, if the professional musician community starts tweeting about 4/4 time and slapping #measure on their tweets, they won’t stand a chance.

Do you sometimes think that advertising targeting and on-site tracking is just a little bit dirty?

I can’t answer that question without sounding like an intellectual elitist. Which, of course, will not stop me from answering! I will die a happy man if I never get presented with an online ad for pie chart creation software, a Glenn Beck TV special, a sale on yoga mats, or the latest Xbox game. Targeting and tracking is good for the consumer because it leads to more relevant content being presented to them! Dammit, ye’ commoners, all this tracking makes your online experience BETTER!!!

Can we take a break for a few minutes? I need to get some fresh air and calm down before we continue. I don’t know why you interviewers have to go after sore spots just to get a reaction!!!

What is your wish for 2011?

I wish someone would legally change her name to Jojoba. If not her legal name, then at least her Twitter username. Let’s be honest, she’s eating up a ridiculous number of my 140 chars any time I reply to her. I would also be totally “demystified” if a certain author/consultant/global-WAW-cofounder found a way to get his username shorter, too, but I don’t want to sound greedy.

If you were to write a song about web analytics, what would be the title and who would play the leading role in the video?

I grew up in Sour Lake, Texas, so this video is only going to get shown on CMT.

The song: “All My Referral Traffic Is from Me (and My Wife Ran Off with a Guy Who Claimed to Know the ROI of Twitter)”

The leading role: Kim Kardashian (the video would be highly artistic interpretation of the song)

Tell us about your favourite web analytics book.

Can’t. Answer. In. The. Singular!

Stephen Few’s Information Dashboard Design – because too many analyses fall flat when the analyst doesn’t present the information effectively. After conducting a sophisticated attribution analysis, I’m claiming credit for the sale of 20 copies of the book (oh, and I stuck my affiliate tag on the end of the hyperlink to the book – some time in the next 4 years I’m utterly convinced I’ll cross the Amazon minimum threshold and get a kickback for the tens of dollars of revenue I’ve generated for them).

John Medina’s Brain Rules – consumer behavior and cognitive processing; there’s a lot of stuff we don’t know, but there’s a lot of stuff we do. Having some basic understanding there is a handy lens to be able to look through as marketers and analysts. Plus, it’s cool to sit in a coffee shop reading a book that has a big picture of a brain on the front.

What is your favourite type of graph and why?

That would be the pie chart. Why? Because, at my core, I’m a hater, and pie charts are sooooo easy to hate.

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

Make the tombstone your diploma

Exxx — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 09:12:02 +0000

I am a mentor in the Analysis Exchange and my last project with Kimmage DSC really showed me how much can be learned (not just by the student) during a project.

As I have mentioned previously, the Analysis Exchange allows students to get hands-on experience doing short-term web analysis for an organisation. So, there’s an obvious benefit for the student and the organisation, but what is in it for the mentor besides the self-satisfied knowledge that you’ve tried to help to bring the web analytics love to the world? That is where the Kimmage DSC website came in.

Kimmage DSC (KDSC) offers courses in Development Studies, and its mission is to promote critical thinking and action for justice, equality and the eradication of poverty in the world. It hopes to do this through training and educating individuals and groups working for social, economic and political change in society.

In my line of work, I don’t come across many sites built for non-profits. I see online stores, lead generation sites, information share sites. I have dealt with comparison sites and universities. I’ve analysed online shops selling shoes and those selling racy magazines. In my head, the basic principals of all these sites would apply to a non-profit – the need to build a customer base, share information, safely and securely take money from visitors etc. In short, as with any site, a non-profit site is still selling a product or service (where the product is “starving child” and the service is “feel better about yourself by donating money” – yes, this sounds cold, but it’s a logical approach if a site is to be successful, which is the desired end).

In the kick-off meeting with KDSC and subsequent conversations with the organisation, what was interesting to note was the required approach with respect to the site design and general approach. Students are typically from sub-Saharan Africa, often with limited access to the internet. KDSC develops links with other NGOs who will send KDSC students and/or spread the message about the existence of the courses. So, KDSC uses the internet to target those who sometimes have little or no internet.

Apart from the NGO partnerships, which gives them a sort of physical presence in their target region, the site itself also takes into consideration the needs of any students in the target region who may find the site themselves through internet search or prior knowledge. The site is very simple and takes into account the download speed of potential students. In addition, there is a navigational banner which has directional buttons located in an area defined by screen resolutions most commonly used in the target region. The site is built around the needs of the target student while also taking into account as many general design norms as possible (i.e. it doesn’t look like a throwback from the 90s, committing flashy-banner sins).

The KDSC site acts as an information portal not just to potential students but to NGOs in the interests of building links with organisations who will require the services of KDSC and can spread the word about the available courses. It is interesting to see the requirement to combine tracking data with usability/visitor requirements to such a degree and I feel as though Kimmage DSC and the Analysis Exchange have helped me to continue my education in the web analytics space.

I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma. ~Eartha Kitt

The Analysis Exchange – making angels smile

Exxx — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:15:40 +0000

I recently completed an Analysis Exchange project with Change for Kids and James Phelps. The purpose of the Analysis Exchange is to provide “on-the-job” training for those interested in web analysis while offering free analytical insight to non-profit organisations. Each project is made up of a triad of oozy giving; the student, who does the analysis; the mentor, who provides ongoing feedback and direction; the organisation – which benefits from gaining insight into current online efforts and getting recommendations for optimisation.

And the best part of all? It’s fun!

The process takes two or three weeks and begins with the goals for the project being determined between mentor and organisation. The student then steams ahead with an analysis based on these goals, tapping the mentor for advice and feedback along the way. At the end of the period, the findings are presented to the organisation and then everyone breaks for ice-cream before grading each other on their participation (a highly exciting back-to-school feeling).

Change for Kids works with New York City public schools to provide music, arts and literacy programs to underprivileged children. Colin Smith and Michael Quinzio, who participated in the project on the organisation side were engaged, enthusiastic and open, which made the project tick along very smoothly and James Phelps was always on hand to help.

So, if you’re a non-profit organisation and you want to get valuable insights FOR FREE – take a look at this page on how the Analytics Exchange could work for you.

If you’re a mentor, and you want to help budding analysts and the web analytics industry, then learn more here.

If you are looking for more experience in web analytics while working with good causes and making angels smile, then you need to read this.