From the time I left my hotel room at Fisherman's Wharf and arrived at the Palace Hotel - and then got back again - it must have been 16 hours of non stop conference networking, meals and conversations.
And that's not counting a bunch of other work, not related to Emetrics, that needs to be also be done in a short time-frame (including a Second Life project). If I asked for a full plate, I certainly got one, plus some stuff falling off the sides.
One thing I do have to say about the Palace Hotel - who ever set up the Firewall for network connectivity must have forgotten to leave open a couple of ports needed for VPN (Virtual Private Network) connectivity. That means, my co-workers at IBM (and I) could not connect in using Wireless or direct connect to the network (that did not make things any easier). Even figuring out how to buy network connectivity at the Palace Hotel was not as clear cut as I am used to - I had to go the front desk and buy access directly and get the code needed to access the Internet.
OK, here's where I get into the good stuff... The First Day of the Emetrics Summit was great, especially if your into networking with people (which I am) and discussing the business of Web Analytics.
A couple of Announcements - Eric Peterson quit Visual Sciences and launched his own Web Analytics Consultancy. His session (listed below) .......
4:00 - 4:50 PM (PST)
Guru Session: The Cult of Web Measurement: How to Use Voodoo, Bloodletting, and Attention to Process to Optimize Your Investment in Web Analytics
Eric Peterson, Web Analytics Demystified
The pace at which companies invest in web analytics technology far outpaces the rate at which these same companies truly benefit from the data said technology is able to provide. Despite the best intentions, most companies still struggle mightily with the business process of web analytics. Research highlights in great detail the relationship between ad hock analytics and poor ROI, especially after companies successfully clear the low hanging fruit from their websites.
- What is the web analytics business process?
- How do you determine your organization's level of "web analytics maturity"?
- How do you push your organization to optimize your existing investment in web analytic technology?
...was interesting in that he made a strong case that organizations that succeed with Web Analytics are those that have built processes to support it. In other words, organizations that have Web Analytics built around an individual employee usually will lose a lot of that investment when the employee leaves (and that is a least a 50% chance given how many people are changing jobs in the Web Analytics field).
Ad Hock Analytics, usually done by small companies - usually not with much thought - usually don't lead anywhere meaningful. Eric mentioned, via his study, the findings which he partially released yesterday, that investment in Web Analytics tools and processes is low for non existent for companies doing Web Analytics Ad-Hock (meaning Google Analytics is pretty much the analytics platform of choice for companies that don't want to invest in Analytics).
The problem with that approach, it leads to no meaningful change because you also need to invest in people and processes - and that takes an investment. You get what you pay for. I'll publish my notes later today on this session and another I went to that I'm taking directly with my Tmobile Sidekick 3.
And I will try to directly post from the sessions more today...if I get a chance. I really do want to - this trip to Emetrics Summit - it's turning out to be much harder for me to post at the sessions. I've opted to go for talking with people and making meaningful connections with them - over just sitting in a corner and posting - which I can do later (when I have the time - hopefully today).
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