This time, it’s writer of books, speaker of words – Jim Sterne.

James, tell the dear readers about yourself.

I am proof that [...]]]> It’s not possible to get to everyone, but this Silly Series of web analytics people profiles makes a stab at it by helping you learn more about the people in your industry.

This time, it’s writer of books, speaker of words – Jim Sterne.

James, tell the dear readers about yourself.

I am proof that a degree in Shakespeare can be parlayed into an actual career. Years of selling computers and software made me fall in love with marketing and when I saw my first web site in 1993 I was gobsmacked. I’ve written seven books on online marketing, advertising and customer service, spoken at hundreds of conferences in 21 countries and just can’t seem to shut the heck up. The eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit and the Web Analytics Association are my most prized accomplishments. I live in Santa Barbara with my wife, the judge, and one and three quarters Schipperkes.

Be honest, eMetrics is just an excuse for people to get together, skip work and get sloshed with people they vaguely know for a large fee, right?

Yeahhh…  Except the sloshed part is optional. Doing it sober is fun too.

What is the strangest question you’ve ever fielded at a speaking engagement?

“How did you learn to do that in PowerPoint?” It’s sort of like climbing to the top a of a mountain and having somebody ask you where you get your shoes. I just trashed that whole presentation and never showed it again. Oh – and then there was, “Does a cookie mean they can tell what you’re thinking?” I just answered Yes without any comment like, “That’s a really good question.”

You’ve written a book or two in your time.  If you were to write a book on any topic other than web analytics, what would it be?

Marketing. I spent 15 years teaching marketing people about online and now I find myself teaching online people about marketing. I would want to lay out my “World of Marketing According to Jim”.  Turns out there’s a lot to it, but only a handful of really important precepts than make all the difference. That, or an in-depth treatise on varieties of High Tea in various locations around London.

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

They’re ALL wearing capes. Can’t you see them?
Naming them all is up to efforts like the Digital Measurement Awards http://bit.ly/haSiYC.

Since I’m on the hook to single out one, let me introduce you to Elizabeth Brady @ewbanalytics who wrote me this morning to say that she had left her job and struck out on her own to help others.

Thanks to the WAA/UBC courses, as well as the eMetrics conference, I gained confidence that the experience I learned at Monster was transferable and I could see the opportunities in the industry. I signed up to ‘test the test’ for the WAA certification, took it cold and learned I had scored in the top 20%.  Late last spring, I became a freelancer and I haven’t looked back yet.  I’ve had the opportunity to learn new tools and work in new industries. I have more control over my workload, and even in my first six months in business I completely replaced my former salary.  I work from  home and meet my children at the bus stop 3 days a week.

Just look at the cape on that woman!

What do you think is the most surprising thing about you?

People are always surprised my ability to receive television broadcast signals from the 1940′s with my dental bridgework and upload them to YouTube via Twitter on a Sinclair  ZX80. Except my Dad. He thinks I should get some more work done so I get do it in 3DHD.

What is your wish for the remainder of 2011?

I wish all of this web measurement and personalization stuff would get figured out so the interconnected Intertubes would know what I need before I do, find the best price/value ratio for my current financial situation and source the one in just the right color to match my eyes.

I wish somebody would come up with a privacy policy that is a) fair for every consumer, b) easy to understand, and c) easy to implement.

I wish everybody who has struggled to make their analysis heard and acted on finds just the right words and pictures to make the rest of them see the light.

I wish for world peace, and end to hunger and war, and a solution to the global energy quandary.

And a pony.

Who would you like to play you in a movie about web analytics and what would be the title of said movie?

Daniel Radcliffe for my younger days, Paul Giamatti for current scenes and then John Malkovich for flash-backs from my dotage in a sleeper cult drama called, “Harry Potter and the Godfather of the Raiders of the Lost Star Wars”

You have a bird in your hand, but there are two in the bush.  What colour is Engagement?

African or European swallow?

A lady on the street smacks you in the head with her purse and screams that web analytics is part of a conspiracy to part her from all her carefully-saved pennies.  How do you convince her otherwise?

I tell her in a calming voice that these things can easily be understood if only she will spend just a little time with me as I am a world renowned consultant, willing to explain at my usual hourly fee until I have parted her from all of her carefully-saved pennies which I will then use to purchase her access to a completely secure network with guaranteed privacy protection that will allow her to connect with her cat and nothing else.

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

I just finished the fourth and final module of the University of British Colombia Web Analytics course, loftily called an “Award of Achievement” and thought I would impart my thoughts on the program.

About the course

This fully online course is offered by the University of British Colombia in association with the Web [...]]]>

I just finished the fourth and final module of the University of British Colombia Web Analytics course, loftily called an “Award of Achievement” and thought I would impart my thoughts on the program.

About the course

This fully online course is offered by the University of British Colombia in association with the Web Analytics Association and is comprised of four modules:

Introduction to Web Analytics

This module does exactly what it says on the tin by introducing the student to the concepts of web analysis, KPIs, SEO, campaigns etc.  This unit is a pre-requisite for the other three, but may be skipped on successful completion of a prior learning assessment.  I, however, thoroughly enjoyed it (my tutor, Jeff Young, was tremendously engaged and helpful throughout) and it led me to some interesting investigations into cookie perceptions – you can see the blog posts here and here.  While I was already familiar with the concepts, there were some very interesting case studies in the course material and discussions with students with varying levels of experience were quite enlightening.

Web Analytics for Site Optimization

Persona models, character diamonds and masks were introduced in this module – all of which were relatively new to me in this form.  We looked at visitor behaviour and activity and the assignments behind these led me to some deep-in-thought-on-the-bus-to-a-point-where-I-missed-my-stop introspection regarding the limitations of tracking in the face of miscreant visitors (leading me to ask What happens when sheep behave like people?).
At this point, you might wonder if the course is simply blog fodder, but press on, there’s more!

Measuring Marketing Campaigns Online

I found this module quite challenging in terms of the material offered (see The Cons), but fascinating in terms of the assignments, which really allowed the creative (I know, fantastic pun) side some breathing room.  We looked at the various methods of campaigning and explored the effectiveness of online and offline efforts, focussing on areas like: landing pages bereft of relevance to related paid search campaigns (a personal pet peeve – one of a legion, to be fair).

Creating and Managing the Analytical Business Culture

This was probably the most demanding of the four modules in terms of the fact that it deals with the intangible topic of driving change in a business through web analytics.  Topics in this unit covered the characteristics of a web analytics manager, models of data collection and fashioning a data-driven culture. All of this was from more of a management perspective and forced us to look at everything we’d learned from a new angle.

The Pros

I very much enjoyed doing this course.  I found myself reading some amazing books and blogs that I might previously have missed had I not been researching for assignments.  I was involved in some great discussions and my eyes were opened on a couple of topics I’d only viewed from one perspective.  Some of the assignments were downright fun and overall the resources provided in the online “Moodle” environment were great.

As an incentive to do well, if one were needed, each year the student with the highest grade across all four modules is awarded the Jim Novo Award of Academic Excellence. Who wouldn’t want that?

The Cons

The course materials provided definitely need refreshing.  Most of the lectures appeared to be from 2006.  In some modules, like the introductory one, this did not matter too much, but in Module 3, Measuring Marketing Campaigns online, it was especially frustrating.  Sentences like “Flash tracking may take off, we’ll have to wait and see” (I’m paraphrasing) made some of the information seem desperately dated.

The discussion assignments, conversations conducted in an online forum on a particular topic, can be quite stilted and it is very difficult to know if you have done enough – especially, I would surmise, for those who enter the conversation late and just appear to parrot what’s been said previously, which is surely difficult to avoid.  The key seemed to be to get in early, get your point across and force everyone else to have to react to you (Me?  Gameplan?  Naaaahh!).

It is a shame that there isn’t a requirement for students to participate in at least one non-assignment discussion – you can only get out of this course what you put in, and you could almost hear the wind whistling in the desert in some modules due to the lack of input in the online forum.  I imagine it would be quite easy to pass the course with a minimum of effort if all you wanted was the entry on your CV (perhaps to some, this is not a “Con”?).

Would I recommend it to a friend?

Absolutely!  However, bear in mind that this is about learning about the background and theory of web analytics – you will not magically be a web analyst or super-powered analyst at the end.  Nothing replaces experience.  But, if nothing else, this course is a wonderful resource of resources and comprises lectures provided by some of the best and brightest in the industry.
In terms of other web analytics education and industry-involvement, consider the following:

• The Web Analytics Association Certification (ETA early-ish 2010):  this aims to certify analysts with hands-on experience in the field of web analytics.
• Joining and volunteering at the Web Analytics Association.
• Joining the Web Analytics forum on Yahoo! Groups.
• Finding or holding a Web Analytics Wednesday in your area.
• Unashamedly stalking industry leaders, evangelists, analysts, vendors, practitioners, students etc on Twitter – this is my list, though I’m sure I’m missing a few jewels.  Further stalking can be accomplished by following blogs (see my blogroll for a small selection of some of the great blogs out there)
• Checking out the brand spanking new Analysis Exchange and getting involved.

There are lots of other ways to learn more about web analytics and immerse yourself in the discipline, so get up, get out, get involved and get me a cappuccino while you’re there!

Note: for a more detailed run-down on the individual UBC WA modules, I recommend Russell Smith’s blog series which begins here.

[Update: Also coming up in 2010 is "Web Analytics Without Borders" from the Web Analytics Association - learn more here.  What an interesting year we have coming up!]

***August 2009***

The first on 100 “internet-savvy” people and the second on a more general group of 100 people who would not be expected to know what cookies are. I had a guest spot on the Visual Revenue blog and will compile the results of [...]]]> I’ve just moved to WordPress, so I’ll recycle a couple of old posts here.

***August 2009***

The first on 100 “internet-savvy” people and the second on a more general group of 100 people who would not be expected to know what cookies are. I had a guest spot on the Visual Revenue blog and will compile the results of the second survey soon.
Here’s the text of the first post:

This week, I ran a survey on the subject of cookies, cookie deletion and privacy and the results were quite interesting. The survey was run online and had 100 respondents who can generally be assumed to be at least vaguely Internet-savvy. It was sent out to and passed around by Twitter followers who are, in the main, linked to analytics/SEO/SEM etc; to the IT department of a large bank; to the IT department of a small-town local authority; to the staff in the Yahoo! Web Analytic Hungarian office, most of whom are programmers. Respondents came from at least 6 countries that I know of – very possibly more. I had considered broadening the scope of the survey to include those who use the Internet but cannot be considered to be terribly clued up on issues like targeting, tracking, cookies etc, (which would have led to completely different survey questions), but on a quick verbal survey of a small group of those who would be considered to fall into this category, I felt that the results would lose focus. I.e. most did not know what cookies were, what the difference between 1st- and 3rd- party cookies were, and those that did had were not entirely sure what they were used for. Therefore, for my purposes, I assume that this category would generally leave cookie treatment to their default browser settings. I think this group should be treated in a separate survey, which I will leave for another day.

The survey comprised 5 questions, most of which were Yes / No with an optional “Why?” comment.

The Results

1) I block 3rd-party cookies.

• YES 36%
• NO 64%

Of those who answered “Yes” and commented, the main concern appeared to be around trust and privacy. There was a general consensus that 3rd-party cookies were unsolicited and set by “snoopers“. There was also some concern around the fact that something, however innocuous, was being set on the visitor’s hard drive.
Those who answered “No” were generally far more blasé in their language. 3rd-party cookies were nothing to worry about and could always be deleted if there was some concern about their origin.

2) I block 1st-party cookies.

• YES 6%
• NO 94%

The overwhelming consensus here was that 1st-party cookies did more good than harm. Convenience (in terms of recognition, logins etc) was cited as a major bonus. What is interesting here is that it appears that visitors don’t mind their browsing behavior tracked or monitored as long as they feel they have been given a choice in the matter. I.e. if I go to Site A, I have no problem with Site A knowing what I looked at, what I bought, and who I am, but I don’t want Company B to know the same information. 

3) I manually delete cookies:

• Daily
• Weeky
• Monthly
• Never (never delete cookies manually – don’t know browser settings)
• Never (never delete cookies manually – auto-delete cookies based on my browser settings)
• Other

Unfortunately, due to some over-zealous multi-tasking, “Other” was set not up as a separate choice, but as a comment, which meant you also had to choose one of the time-frames. However, as luck would have it, the vast majority, according to the entries in the “Other” field, indicated that cookies were manually deleted fairly randomly and with no particular pattern (if deleted at all). Most cookie clearances seemed to take place after online financial transactions or if a site visited appeared particularly dubious.
Interestingly, despite the general acceptance that cookies are not insidious pieces of software out to steal your identity, there was quite a high instance of seeing them as having a potential for abuse. I.e. cookies are fine, I love them, I would let my favourite child marry one, but I still wouldn’t trust one set by a site I don’t trust.

4) I have customized my browser settings with regard to cookie blocking and deletion.

• YES 42%
• NO 58%

Due to the high instance of 3rd-party cookie deletion and non-blocking of 1st-party cookies, it can be inferred from these results that many of the respondents know that their browser settings reject 3rd-party cookies while accepting 1st-party cookie and have left these settings be.

5) I have concerns about cookies being misused to compromise my privacy.

• YES 38%
• NO 62%

Of those who answered “Yes”” to this question, the comments indicated an uneasiness with being tracked and targeted by advertising companies. There was also a sense of distrust around the potential for abuse – companies using cookies to personally identify visitors, spyware, information theft, malware etc. However, we can infer that some of those who do not entirely trust cookies and their usage also happily accept 1st-party cookies because of the convenience they offer.
Those who answered “No” were generally very emphatic about the fact that they did not suffer from “paranoia”. Understanding the limitations of cookies and the fact that other forms of “spying” were far more threatening were cited as reasons to discount any perceived menace from cookies. It would appear that cookies can be seen to make life easier and that this convenience outweighs most of the worries those in this particular survey group suffer. Visitor choice is key – if someone chooses to visit a particular site, they choose to accept cookies from that site in order to make that site work better. However, this consent does not necessarily extend past that particular domain.

So, cookies are good as long as they’re not bad.