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.