Under the 'guise of a discussion about making the leap into a new technology, this bonus mini-episode (hopefully) clears up the on-going confusion about the Kiss Sisters. Moe sat down with her big sister, Michele, to chat about jumping into learning an entirely new skill when time is short, expectations are high, and the learning curve is steep. The specific example they chat about is Michele's dive into Google Analytics data in BigQuery using SQL, but the tips and thoughts are applicable to any new and intimidating platform.

Put this in your pipe and smoke it: all of the tracking we try to do of people is actually technology designed to track content. And, even that tracking of content was a hacked-together repurposing of a system designed to deliver content. In other words, we've got layers of fiction upon fiction that we're trying to muddle through (and, often, ignore) as an industry. The result? A ridiculous level of inefficiency whereby brands overspend to ineffectively reach their target audiences with direct response messages, and well-intended intermediaries grow their bank accounts. Ugh! On this episode, the gang invited Sergio Maldonado from PrivacyCloud (and, by day, from Sweetspot Intelligence) to chat about the broken environment we're operating in, as well as how GDPR and financial considerations may just force us onto a path of shaking it up! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Regression. Correlation. Normality. t-tests. Falsities of both the positive and negative varieties. How do these terms and techniques play nicely with digital analytics data? Are they the schoolyard bullies wielded by data scientists, destined to simply run by and kick sand in the faces of our sessions, conversion rates, and revenues per visit? Or, are they actually kind-hearted upperclassmen who are ready and willing to let us into their world? That's the topic of this show (albeit without the awkward and forced metaphors). Matt Policastro from Clearhead joined the gang to talk -- in as practical terms as possible -- about bridging the gap between traditional digital analytics data and the wonderful world of statistics. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Thanks for stopping by. Please get comfortable. We're going to be taking a few notes while you listen, but pay that no mind. Now, what we'd like you to do is listen to the podcast. Oh. And don't worry about that big mirror over there. There may be 2 or 3 or 10 people watching. Wow. We're terrible moderators when it comes to this sort of thing. That's why Els Aerts from AGConsult joined us to discuss user research: what it is, where it should fit in an organization's toolkit, and some tips for doing it well. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Bayesian vs. Frequentist. False Positive vs. False Negative. Truth vs. Uncertainty. It's the world of A/B testing! In this bonus mini-episode, Moe sat down with Chad Sanderson from Subway to discuss some of the pitfalls of A/B testing -- the nuances that may seem subtle, but are anything but trivial when it comes to planning and running a test.

If you have a smartphone nearby and you are not wearing a foil hat, chances are that some brand somewhere -- and probably several brands in many places -- know where you are. Is that creepy? Maybe. It's likely removing a few taps when you check what the weather will be like tomorrow, and there might just be a coupon for a discounted hamburger just waiting to pop up when you get near your favorite QSR around lunchtime! In this episode, James Fogelberg from Landmarks ID joins the gang to discuss the ins and outs of using the ubiquity of mobile to the advantage of both brands and consumers. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Have you ever walked out of a meeting with a clear idea of the analysis that you're going to conduct, only to find yourself three days later staring at an endless ocean of crunched data and wondering in which direction you're supposed to be paddling your analysis boat? That might not be an ocean. It might be an analytics rabbit hole. In this episode, the gang explores the Analysis of Competing Hypotheses approach developed by Richards Heuer as part of his work with the CIA, inductive versus deductive reasoning, and engaging stakeholders as a mechanism for focusing an analysis. Ironically, our intrepid hosts had a really hard time avoiding topical rabbit holes during the episode. But, acknowledging the problem is the first part of the solution! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this show and a transcript of the discussion, visit the show page.  

That's right. We're trying to grow the reach of this podcast, so we figured we needed to do some growth h---...NO! No. No. NO!!! We're NOT going to use that term. But, it turns out that growth marketing has some interesting concepts. On the one hand, you may think, "Don't I already do that?" And the answer is quite possibly, "Yeah. Pretty much." On the other hand, you may think, "Oh, well that's an interesting lens through which to view the world." And, that is okay, too. Either way, check out this chat Moe had with Krista Seiden from Google on the subject.

Michael, Tim, and 12,998 of their closest friends descended on Las Vegas for Adobe Summit the last week of March. With luck, Tim will have worked through the after-effects of the sensory overload of Vegas combined with the sensory overload of Adobe Summit by mid-April, but who knows? The guys (really...just the guys -- Moe was in the U.S., but she was in Austin at CXL Live) sat down to share their hot takes from the show. Attribution, Adobe Sensei, Adobe Launch, the Philadelphia Eagles, and more! For a picture of Michael and Tim recording this episode, head over to the show page.

Some people (possibly even one of the co-hosts of this podcast...on this very episode) have been known to say, "People have this dependency on Excel, which is freakin' weird!" We know it wasn't Tim, because he wouldn't have filtered his language! Whether it's a symptom of weirdness, an illustration of inertia, or an invisible hand of inevitability, though, Excel remains omnipresent. Is that a good thing? Is it a bad thing? Is it merely "a thing?" In this episode, the gang dives into the topic: the good and bad of Excel, the various paths to a future where its ubiquity is no longer a given, and different strategies and considerations for moving towards that future.  For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Do you model professionally? Would you like to? Or, are you uncertain. These are the topics of this episode: Bayesian statistician (among other official roles that are way less fun to say) Dr. Elea Feit joined the gang to discuss how we, as analysts, think about data put it to use. Things got pretty deep, included the exploration of questions such as, "If you run a test that includes a holdout group, is that an A/B test?" This episode ran a little long, but our confidence level is quite high that you will be totally fine with that. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this show and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Moe sat down for a chat with privacy and GDPR expert Aurélie Pols to dive in to some of the questions that, at times, get treated as peripheral in the run-up to new regulations, but that seem like they are fairly fundamental when it comes to understanding the rationale and drivers behind those regulations: what does the Holocaust have to do with GDPR? Is GDPR something that was simply dreamed up in Europe, or are there roots in other countries (teaser: Eleanor Roosevelt). Is GDPR inherently anti-business? It's a quick chat but, hopefully, will give you some deeper perspective on the subject!

Raise your hand if you work for a company that sells exclusively low-consideration products and only sells them online. Anyone? Anyone? We only see a couple of hands out there. For all the rest of you, this episode might be of interest. We sat down with Amy Sample — Senior Director of Consumer Insights and Strategy at PBS by day, president of the DAA board by night — to discuss approaches for effective digital measurement in the absence of a clear online conversion. That challenge doesn't get much bigger than in the mission-driven, not-for-profit world of public television! After listening to this episode, you may actually feel like you have it easy! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.  

For the second year in a row for the podcast -- but the first appearance since Moe joined the crew -- we headed to the Hunguest Grandhotel Galya outside Budapest for Superweek, one of the most unique conference experiences in the digital analytics industry: comfortably isolated over an hour outside of Budapest in a beautiful setting, it's a temporary community of, for, and by the analyst. With sessions ranging from GDPR to machine learning to attribution to media analytics, the spaces before, between, and after the presentations were extended discussions with great people on a wide range of topics. The "fireside chat" on Wednesday evening was a recording of the podcast with a live audience, where we had attendees to share tips and ideas that we found particularly intriguing. And had quite a bit of fun along the way. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

In this, our initial bonus audio, Tim sits down with Lee Isensee, creator and curator of the Measure Slack team. We plug the Slack team on every episode of the podcast, and all three co-hosts are active members of the team, so we wanted to find out a little bit about the history, challenges, and envisioned future for the platform. Standard bonus content disclaimer: Bonus content is not released on any fixed schedule, and it does not receive quite the same level of polish as regular episodes. If you enjoy a particular bit of bonus content, are enthused about the general existence of bonus content, or have feedback about bonus content, we encourage you to leave a review of the show in iTunes, tweet to @analyticshour, or contact one of the show hosts through the Measure Slack team.

You love analytics. Great. You even love your job (hopefully)! But, you're thinking about the future, and it looks like there is a fork in the road. Should you take the path that leads you down the people management path? Or, should you take the path that leads you deeper into the data itself, but as an individual contributor. Can you pursue both paths? As it turns out, Michael stumbled down the former path, while Tim has headed down the latter. So, Moe took a turn in the moderator chair to guide a discussion about the considerations and relative merits of each option. As well as how the culture and HR processes of different companies can influence the availability of alternate paths. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.  

Do you ever feel like you've got the analytics blues because you see what needs to happen, and it's something innovative, and all the signals say it's the right thing to do... but the realities of organizational life are a brick wall on the path to progress? Welcome to corporate life, buddy. That's just the way it is! Or...is it? On this episode, the gang sits down with Evan LaPointe and gets him to jam a bit -- literally at first, and then figuratively -- about organizational dynamics, the tradeoffs between personality types, and why it can be counterproductive to always try to cater to all of the different psychologies and mindsets in any given meeting. And round tables. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Happy new year! Nothing says a new year like a new year's resolution. And, what's a better professional resolution than to work with stakeholders more effectively? Unfortunately, we've all come across business users who have no interest in the data, have too much interest in the data, or maybe even have the right amount of interest...but in the wrong data. Interactions with those stakeholders can be enormously frustrating and entirely unproductive, yet neither you nor they are going anywhere. What is an analyst to do? On this episode, the gang chews on this very topic with Rusty Rahmer, 20-year veteran of Vanguard, and the incoming president of the DAA's board of directors. Give it a listen for some practical perspectives and topical tips! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

2017 was a big year for both the digital analytics industry and for the Digital Analytics Power Hour. Join us, won't you, as we (figuratively!) gaze upon our navels? From the traction the #womeninanalytics movement gained on multiple fronts, to the looming promise of machine learning and AI getting a real foothold in the field, to the podcast finally adding a co-host who is universally admired, we had a lot to talk about! We had a LOT to talk about. Trust us, we edited this episode down heavily! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Are you a data subject? If you're a person, then you better believe you are! And, so is every person who visits your website. And, if you are in the EU, or you have visitors from the EU, then May 25th, 2018, is a day you should be keeping a close eye on and preparing for now! On this episode, Jodi Daniels of Red Clover Advisors joins Moe and Tim to talk all things General Data Privacy Regulation (aka, GDPR). Give it a listen and pick up delightful cocktail party openers like, "Hey, do you know how to tell someone isn't from the EU? They reference PII." That's not just a delightful witticism -- it's actually important to understand the distinction between PII and personal data! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

When you find a true insight, it can make your head spin. But, will your head spin in a different direction if the insight is found in Australia than if it is found in the United States? On this episode, Rod Jacka from Panalysis joins the crew for a balanced discussion (northern AND southern hemispheres) about how the phrase "actionable insights" should turn the stomach of any right-thinking analyst. More importantly, the gang discusses the need for clarity around insights -- both definitionally and expectations-wise -- and share their favorite techniques for getting that clarity. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

It's a challenge as old as the smartphone (or...technically... a little bit older): we want to track and know people, but, when they're visiting us from their phone, their tablet, their work laptop, and their home desktop, we often really just know cookies and device IDs! Countless vendors tout their enabling technology...but then admit that, yes, you do have to get your customers to authenticate on all devices to provide a common key, which isn't always easy (or even remotely reasonable). Unless you're up for diving into the deep and murky waters of probabilistic linking. On this episode, Tablet Tim -- the only one of the co-hosts who is an avid tablet user -- argues that the whole topic should be pretty "meh" for many companies, while Mobile Moe smacks him down and shares her experiences (the challenges...and the wins that made them worth it!) with linking users across mobile apps, a mobile site, and a desktop site. For complete show notes, visit the show page.  

You're listening to this podcast, so you're, obviously, well-attuned to the cutting edge of all things digital. But, in this episode, we're going to discuss a couple (or countless) products/platforms (PaaS — Platforms as a Service! Who knew that was a thing?!) from a little upstart company based in California. Google wouldn't actually return our calls (okay…we didn't call them), so we went with an Even Better Option: Mark Edmondson — Data Insight Developer at IIH Nordic, Google Developer Expert, author of so many R packages he had to write a package just to count them, delightfully accented Brit who now calls Denmark home, and a guy who tried to solve Twitter political discussions through text mining (not kidding — it's discussed in this episode) — joined the gang to do their First Ever three-continent simulcast. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Do you have a spare shingle lying around? Have you been thinking about painting, "Analyst for Hire - Will Work for Cookies" on it and hanging it up on your front door? It seems like a lot of analysts are pondering whether the next company they should work for should be their own. Adam Ribaudo did just that (figuratively -- we have no evidence of an actual painted shingle) 2.5 years ago. He now works for Noise to Signal, a company he joined...just as soon as he founded it! On this episode, we grill Adam about how he keeps his vast workforce in line, as well as what his thoughts are about the decisions made by Noise to Signal's upper management. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.

Have you learned R yet? No? Well, then Tim is disappointed in you. Or, maybe that's totally okay! Way back on episode #035, we asked the question if data science was the future of digital analytics. We concluded...maybe...for some. On this episode, we dive deeper into what the career options are for digital analysts with longtime digital analytics industry recruiting and staffing maven Corry Prohens, founder and CEO of IQ Workforce. The good news? There are lots of options (if you find your passion and follow it)! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.