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…
Category: musings
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.…
In Defense of Navigation
For several years I’ve been hearing variations on the theme “Navigation is dead.” As screen-size and attention spans get smaller, we shove navigation out of the way. We’ve ditched our dropdowns. We stick it in the footer. We hide it…
Documentation is Hard
Documentation. It’s not fun. It’s not pretty. And most definitely not easy. Writing documentation for online projects is seldom enjoyable. You just want to move forward and build the darn thing. And by the time you’re done, you don’t want…
Confession: I’ve Never Studied Web Design
My first exposure to website design was in 1996. It was a two hour HTML class, and then made a small website for my work-study job. With just a few curves and bends, I’ll soon be approaching my 20th year…