June Dershewitz has been a web analyst for almost as long as that has been something to be. Currently a member of the leadership team at Semphonic, a top web analytics consultancy, June is a passionate advocate for the field of web analytics as well as a thoughtful and informed adviser on how best to pursue a career in it. An involved member of the web analytics community, June was an early instigator of "Web Analytics Wednesday" and is currently running for a seat on the Board of Directors of the Web Analytics Association.
For this podcast, I spoke with June - the first interviewee to ask me, "You do know that I grew up on a goat farm, right?" - about careers in web analytics, the changes she's seen in the field, and avoiding the "report monkey trap." I invite you to listen in on our conversation. You can do so by clicking on the Flash device below. You are also welcome to download an mp3 of this interview by "right-clicking" ("control-clicking," Mac-wise) on this link. Finally, this and other Talent Blog Podcasts are always available on iTunes.
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A few highlights of the interview can be found at the following time coordinates:
02:36 - "Web Analytics" is really about "people"
06:28 - "The technology has changed quite a bit - THANK GOD!"
08:43 - Omniture, Visual Sciences HBX, WebTrends, and the limits of Google Analytics
10:47 - Analysis starts with thinking about your goals
12:25 - Things to consider when hiring a web analyst
13:21 - Avoiding the "report monkey trap"
14:59 - Going from "what people are doing" to "why they are doing it"
17:00 - The value of using staffing firms to get project-based contract work
20:12 - Advice for people just starting out in web analytics
21:13 - The origin of "Web Analytics Wednesday"
23:06 - A WAA campaign pitch: Vote for June!
24:53 - "It's important that every company has someone on staff who owns web analytics"
26:03 - Happily employed (and unemployed) as a contractor
Image Courtesy of linkerjpatrick.
June Dershewitz is Vice President of Analytics at Semphonic. The other day she posted a brief piece on the Web Analytics Association website entitled, "Top 10 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started in Web Analytics." It is humorous, in part, but also contains some useful tips for folks just embarking on a career in this emerging field.
While I like the fact that she cautions against becoming a "report monkey" - hence her advice to leave the robot work, like automated report generation, to the robots - and recommends that you be prepared to discuss what you do in concise terms, she really got me thinking about the unique pressure experienced by web analytic folk given that, as she points out, they "sit between the techies and the marketers."
June says you should, "make friends on both sides of the fence." The obvious implication is that there are significant differences between the marketers and the techies, the former focused on consumers, products, and revenue, the latter focused on systems, functions, and users; the former tending to be qualitative, the latter quantitative, etc. While some of these differences are undeniably "real," I think It's fortuitous that June uses the metaphor of a "fence," as opposed to a "wall" or a "chasm," because I believe that whatever divides marketers and techies has become increasingly porous and ultimately temporary (like a hastily erected chain-line fence around a construction site).
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Jim Sterne, the producer of the eMetrics Summit and the president of the Web Analytics Association, has been talking about the internet and marketing since 1993. Indeed, he was kind enough to talk to me about it just the other day as part of the Talent Blog Podcast. We discussed highlights from the various eMetrics Summits in 2007, how the conference is evolving, and what folks can expect from the summits in 2008. We also talked about changes in the field of web analytics since he and Matt Cutler issued their landmark 2000 white paper, "E-Metrics - Business Metrics for the New Economy."
You may listen to our conversation by clicking on the device below:
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You can also download the mp3 by "right-clicking" ("control-clicking," Mac-wise) this link here, or check out all the Talent Blog Podcasts on iTunes.
Highlights of the podcast can be found at the following time coordinates:
00:45 - 2007 eMetrics Summit Overview
02:50 - Summit Content for 2008: More Mainstream Marketing
04:29 - The Buzz around "Engagement"
06:40 - The Slow Growth of "Standards"
09:29 - Website "Slipperiness"
12:20 - Measuring the Success of the Website Overall
16:39 - The People Component of eMetrics
20:18 - Your Website is Your End of the Conversation: Are You Listening?
23:20 - "Website" Is a Verb
Image courtesy of ohaiyoo.
I spoke with Eric T. Peterson about a month ago as he was on his way to the eMetrics Summit in Washington, DC.
With the summit now behind us, Eric was kind enough to speak with me again on his impressions of the event. We also talked about Omniture's acquisition of Visual Sciences in the context of consolidation in the web analytics industry, upcoming events, and his plans to write the second edition of Web Analytics Demystified during Oregon's long, gray winter.
To hear our conversation, you can click on this device:
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You can download the mp3 by "right-clicking" ("control-clicking," Mac-wise) this link here, or check out this and other Talent Blog podcasts on iTunes.
Highlights of our conversation can be found at the following time coordinates:
1:30 The real value of a conference or, "The Lobby Bar" Phenomenon
3:45 Regional variety and web analytics: East Coast vs. West Coast
6:05 Omniture, Visual Sciences, and the Future of the Web Analytics Space
9:55 Challenges to companies developing new web analytics applications
10:52 "Definitely go to eMetrics!" - eMetrics San Francisco 2008
12:30 Web Analytics is Easy: NOT!
Image courtesy of Ctd 2005.
Next week is the eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit in Washington, DC, at which Aquent's own James Gardner will be presenting on the subject of "Successful Career Management Strategies for Web Analytics Professionals." Jim Sterne, the summit's organizer, created a fairly informative, and informal, video about it that I encourage you to check out if you want to get a feel for what to expect if you attend.
Among the several luminaries who will appear at the summit is Eric T. Peterson of Web Analytics Demystified fame. I had a chance to speak with Eric about the summit and why it is a must-attend event for anyone in the web analytics game. Along the way he also shed some light on Microsoft's Project Gatineau as well as the ways that web analytics have changed since the summit began seven years ago.
To hear our conversation, you can use this handy Flash device provided by Odeo:
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You may also download it, along with any other Talent Blog podcasts, here at iTunes.
(PS. If iTunes hasn't gotten the updated feed yet, you can also find the podcasts here.)
Image courtesy of brockvicky.
