Wherein I share the most valuable learning resource in all of analytics. I’m a freelancer. A lone wolf. I work alone. I love my independence. But even in those greatest freelance moments (working from a winery, anyone…), I miss the…
Category: musings
The (im)permanence of the Internet
“Be careful what you post on the Internet about yourself. Once you post it, it’s forever.” Something akin to this statement is a warning handed down from parent to child since about the early aughts, when “Web 2.0,” and the…
Metrics For Content Effectiveness: Part 3 of probably 4: The pageview is dead. Long live the pageview.
Remember last time, I said pageviews was a crappy metric for measuring content effectiveness? Well, today, I’m here to tell you about an exception. I had a client who was changing up some content on a particular topic. If we…
Metrics For Content Effectiveness: Part 2 of Maybe 4? The Dwell and Scroll
This is Part 2 of a series. You can read the first post here. Also, don’t forget to find the Tom Lehrer reference. Last we met, I said that content effectiveness is a murky concept at best and you’ll never…
Metrics For Content Effectiveness: Part I of \_(ツ)_/¯
Note: I almost never keep my resolutions for writing more. But I’m really trying this time, with a new resolution. For every post I write, there will be a Tom Lehrer reference. If you find it, tweet it to me…
Our Chance to Get Online Conferences Right.
So a few weeks into this pandemic, and many people are video-chatted out. Video conferences were the domain of weekly stand-ups and Saturday talks with grandma. Now, video conferencing software is ubiquitous. And nowhere more so than for virtual conferences. …
“‘Student Success My Ass’. Schools Are Tracking Students Every Move.
When I read an article about all we are giving up our privacy, I try to read it with a sense of understanding and nuance. I make my living tracking websites. I know not all tracking is evil. But when…
Your Attribution Model Sucks. And It’s No Big Deal.
While on my high school newspaper, I learned about the 5 Ws – Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Organizations want these answers too. They imagine we consultants have a magic attribution wand we wave. Suddenly we know everything about…
I Don’t Trust Session Duration, and Neither Should You.
I think session duration is a crap metric. It’s not just because it’s a misused measure of engagement (and I’m not the only one who thinks so – the Gurus at KissMetrics and Analytics Demystified are with me on this…
Just Say No to Screen Reader Analytics
Do you know what a screen reader is? It’s a piece of software that allows the visually impaired to read text on their digital devices. Digital law specialist Heather Burns wrote on the pros and cons of screen reader analytics.…