The Analytics Power Hour

As analysts, we often have unique knowledge of the data, specialized responsibilities for data-related deliverables, and an expectation that we'll be at the ready to dive into high priority requests. What happens, then, when we're out of the office, be that for a planned vacation, for an unexpected illness, or for bringing a new human being into the world? And, what happens if it's that last one and you're also the most beloved co-host of the top-rated explicit analytics podcast? Tune in to this episode to find out, as we used Moe in a dual role of being both a co-host and a guest (again!) to explore the challenges (and opportunities!) of being out of the office. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

You know that sinking feeling: the automated report went out first thing Monday morning, and your Slack messages have been blowing up ever since because revenue flatlined on Saturday afternoon! You frantically start digging in (spilling your coffee in the process!) while you're torn between hoping that it's "just a data issue" (which would be good for the company but a black mark on the data team) and that it's a "real issue with the site" (not good for the business, but at least your report was accurate!). Okay. So, maybe you've never had that exact scenario, but we've all dealt with data breakages occurring in various unexpected nooks and crannies of our data ecosystem. It can be daunting to make a business case to invest in monitoring and observing all the various data pipes and tables to proactively identify data issues. But, as our data gets broader and deeper and more business-critical, can we afford not to? On this episode, we were joined by Barr Moses, co-founder and CEO of Monte Carlo to chat about practical strategies and frameworks for monitoring data and reducing data downtime! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

As we put the awfulness of 2020 in the rearview mirror, we thought it might be fun to look back to another bleak period: the 2007-2008 financial crisis! Why? Because Tim hasn't stopped talking about Subprime Attention Crisis — the Tim Hwang book that draws a parallel between the digital advertising ecosystem and the subprime lending crisis from a decade ago — we decided to all give it a read and then sit down for a discussion with the author. From the opacity brought on by the many moving parts to misaligned incentives to the fact that, well, even more than just the internet is built on digital advertising dollars, it was a fascinating discussion! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Google bought Urchin in 2005 and, virtually overnight, made digital analytics available to all companies, no matter how large or how small. Optimizely was founded in January 2010 and had a similar (but lesser) impact on the world of A/B testing. What can we learn from ruminating on the past, the present, and the future (server-side testing! sample ratio mismatch checking! Bayesian approaches!) of experimentation? Quite a bit, if we pull in an industry veteran and pragmatic thinker like Ton Wesseling from Online Dialogue! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

As unlikely as it seemed at many times throughout the year, 2020 actually IS finally drawing to a close, and that means it's time for our annual look back on the year: what happened with the podcast, what happened with the industry, and what happened as the entire world caught fire by way of wood-fuelled, climate-assisted combustion and by virus-induced fevers. In hindsight, there were faint hints of what the rest of the year would bring when our co-hosts and producer were together in person at Superweek in late January, but exactly how upside-down the world went still took them by surprise. One thing stayed constant, though: Tim and Moe continue to be able to talk past each other and violently argue about something about which they, basically, agree. On this episode: cover letters! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

It's the holiday season and, despite Tim's 27-slide deck making a case for why we should do an Airing of Grievances-themed show, we went in another direction. On this episode, we explore a delightful tale that exists at the intersection of "Giving Back to the Community" and "Growing the Analytics Talent Pool." Rob Jackson joined the gang to be peppered with questions about the what, why, and how of his digital marketing social enterprise: WYK Digital. It's an inspiring story of breaking down some of the barriers to digital-focused jobs for underserved youth. And doing so in the middle of a pandemic, no less! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Cookies are getting aggressively expired or blocked outright. Referring site information is getting stripped. Adoption of Brave as a browser is on the rise! Yet, marketers still need to quantify the impact of their investments. What is an analyst to do? Does the answer lie in server-side technical solutions? Well, it's not a bad idea to consider that. But, it's almost certainly not "the answer" to the multi-touch attribution question(s). Arguably, a better solution was one proposed by Jan Baptist van Helmont in 1648: randomized controlled trials. On this episode, data scientist Dr. Joe Sutherland returns to the show to talk about the ins and outs of problem formulation, experimental design, the cost of data, and, ultimately, causal inference. This is one of those rare shows where there actually IS a solution to a problem that vexes analysts and their stakeholders. The trick is really just getting the industry to understand and apply the approach! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

We didn't want to have a discussion about Netflix's The Social Dilemma, but, somehow, we just felt compelled to do so. It was almost like we had a generally unlikable character from a TV series about advertisers' attempts to manipulate consumer behavior in the 1950s and 1960s transplanted in triplicate into an AI that was optimizing Netflix's reach and engagement by getting us to talk about the movie. OR, it addresses a very real issue (a...dilemma, even?) in an approachable manner that, if you're like us, has alarmed your friends and relatives. It certainly seemed worth a discussion, so we had one about it! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Do you know someone who works remotely? Wait. What's that? Oh. It's 2020. I guess a better question would be: do you know any analysts who are NOT working remotely? But, that's not the question we ask on this episode. Some companies—and we're thinking agencies and consultancies here just to have a little focus—were corporate office-less from their founding, and those are the sorts of companies we interrogate on this episode. Laura Stude co-founded one such company—surefoot—so we sat down with her to explore the why, the how, and the opportunities and challenges therein. Employee-led remote dumpling-making lessons, anyone? Tune in to hear a lively discussion from many angles, many (most?) of which made Tim very uncomfortable. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

What is data culture? And, more importantly, what is the optimal ratio of agar and the ideal temperature of the corporate petri dish to make a data culture thrive? Moe, Michael, and Tim put their various experiences under the organizational microscope and examined various solutions in the name of (data) scientific discovery! If only organizations were as controllable as a chemistry lab! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.