The Analytics Power Hour

Have you been listening to the three of us and thinking "Man, if those guys can be digital analysts, ANYONE can?" You're not alone! In this week's episode, we share some tips and tricks for how to get started in the digital analytics space. We also share a lot of other random stuff, because, well, tangents. Learn how to position yourself to join the hottest field in the hottest space in this digital power hour, which we're calling an hour, but, just like that paper in which you had to widen the margins and increase the font size to hit the required page count, is really less than 43 minutes.

They say a picture is worth a thousand terabytes of data (probably). If you are a regular listener of the podcast, you will know proper communication isn't our strongest suit, so we brought in a hitter. Lea Pica joins us in this episode to talk about communication best practices, and how they are even more important for an analyst than other roles in the organization. Got sixty minutes to listen and learn? We'll take it, and give you fifteen minutes back.

It's a nasty rumor, but we heard that there are a couple of domains out there on the interwebs that are not pure play eCommerce or online lead gen sites. Why, there are government sites and nonprofit sites and CPG sites and academic institution sites and content sites and more! What is a poor digital analyst to do in the absence of a clear online conversion to measure and optimize towards? Give this less-than-two-thirds-of-an-hour episode a listen to hear our multinational and ruggedly good looking co-hosts wax eloquently (or, at least, wax) on the subject.

Scads has been written about the distinction between skills and talents. But, how does that distinction apply to digital analysts? In this episode, Jim and Tim actually find something they agree on...at least briefly. And Michael maneuvers Tim into at least partially buying into ideas that he has previously referred to as touchy-feely crap. With quotations being dropped from Thoreau to Gygax and business writers in between, you may find yourself questioning your chosen vocation by the end of this 45-minute hour. But we hope not. Really!

It's not only the year of mobile...AGAIN, but it's the year of mobile measurement! While our intrepid hosts have all tagged an app or two in their day, they thought it would be entertaining to be joined by someone meek, unopinionated, and inexperienced in the world of mobile analytics who would sit back and tell them how wise they were. But, instead, they recruited Lee Isensee from Search Discovery. Displaying his Bostonian politeness with lines like, "I'm sorry to cut you off again Michael, but I'm not," Lee weighs in on the subject with grace and wisdom. This episode has mobile proportions, in that we squeezed an hour into a very mobile 40 minutes.

Can the media analyst and the web analyst get along? Can the chasm between clicks and visits every be crossed? Is attribution management the silver bullet that will, once and for all, accurately assign a value to banner ads? What the hell is Vizu? Can Michael use the word "whackadoo" in a coherent sentence? These questions and more get discussed and debated on this shockingly cordial episode of the Digital Analytics Power Hour that clocks in at 35 minutes.

Most people find the concept of governance about as interesting as an afternoon of quality control work at the beige paint factory. If you agree with this sentiment and are listening to this week's podcast, we hope to change your mind! With special guest John Lovett, Senior Partner at Web Analytics Demystified, Tim, Michael and Jim talk about what governance is for a digital analytics practice, why it's so darned important, and how anyone can get started. All of this AND a little poetry (really!) for the low, low price of 45 minutes of your time, in the Digital Analytics Power Hour.

Sure I like your theory guys, but I want to hear some stories from the trenches! Episode 11 is all about the anecdotes, with the guys sharing stories about work they've done as analysts that had the most impact. Whether from hard work or a moment of inspiration, big wins with analysis are sometimes few and far between Hear some great examples from Michael, Tim and Jim's personal experiences. What has 6 legs, three microphones and will make you a better analyst in 42 minutes? It's the Digital Analytics Power Hour.

Want to hear Jim Cain wing it for 40 minutes as he discusses a survey he never read? Interested in hearing Tim Wilson boil with incandescent rage as Jim triggers the Indiana Jones style pressure pads under his overpriced hotel snacks? Then this is the episode for you! Michael, Jim and Tim talk through the responses they found most interesting (VERY heavy use of that word in this episode) from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business's bi-annual CMO survey (cmosurvey.org).

If a report falls in the forest, and no one is there to read it, will it still lead to business improvements? Prepare for many more broken metaphors, super hero references and a surprising defense of the HiPPO in this week's Power Hour. Make sure to take lots of notes (unless you're driving) because we're covering a lot of ground in under 50 minutes.