This is obviously great as it allows us access to the inner mind of the client to see what they are looking at and how they are filtering and actioning on that data.

Well. That’s the theory. In practice we’ve been given access to what seems like read only reports that are predefined to a set of criteria that hasn’t been explained. The question on my lips is who would be able to explain it. I think that gets to the nub of the issue.

The short version is that we’ve simple been asked to ‘derive insight’ from the data. While I like a challenge as much as the next man and know I can pull out some good gems for further analysis and action it struck me that this is possibly a backwards and inefficient way to do anything with this potential gold mine of information.

That’s where my metaphor comes in! If you can imagine all the data as a big Forrest and the client has said “brings some good wood”. Off I go with my big old axe and bring back a load of logs. But I don’t know if what I’m bringing back is the right size or shape or event the right type of wood?!

If the client had asked “bring me some wood to make a rocking chair” now I’ve got something to aim for! There’s still questions to be asked “how big? Hard or soft. Wood etc…” but it’s a start.

That’s what I think this engagement is missing, the start. Just because we said we can work with analytics it shouldn’t be assumed we know how ‘your’ data is set up.

A professional solution should come with documentation around the aim/goals of the analytics solution. This documentation should not only cover the technical implementation of the given solution but should also contain the business requirements (KPR – key business requirements) that shaped the final solution.

Without this documentation anyone picking up from your previous agency/department/analyst will be fighting a very hard uphill battle with the final outcome all but already decided.

Well, that’s where I am this week! So to get me out of this situation, I guess I’ll have to don my battle armour and go get me some documentation!

Any tips on getting documentation out of long standing (some may say legacy) systems? All help gratefully received.

Google users can now run encrypted searches using the company’s flagship search site

when you click through a search result on Google’s new secure page, your browser will not send along ‘referrer data’ revealing the search terms you used

Obviously the first is the crux of the story but it’s the second that I thought was quite interesting and has quite important ramifications to analytic’s. If user search data is not being captured by analytics’s how do you know how effective your SEO and possibly even your ppc is (I don’t know on this one as you can track this through google and even https doesn’t stop them from knowing about your searches)?

I did see that stories around this very topic surfaced over at Econsultancy and The Register

Some may think that this is all a bit of a knee jerk reaction to the idea but for a lot of analytics solutions and a lot of businesses search data is a useful (if not important) area where user behaviour and user affinity to a site can be viewed ‘in the wild’ so to speak.

Now. The think I’m trying to get my head around is “who will use this” and “how big an impact on analytic’s will this have”.

To answer the second one first. I think it will depend massively on the business and traffic make-up of each site. Obviously for high search driven sites it will show a bigger impact. Those who will be most disappointed with this would, I presume, be e-commerce where data is king and anything that stops them understanding user motivation to purchase (or not to purchase) will be a blocker.

I think for the masses, it’s almost a non-issue (case in point, the Facebook privacy settings brouhaha and yet the continual increase in user sign up). For ’savy’ or ‘causious’ users it may be more appealing, but that then opens the next two questions; “what actual is the advantage?” and “will users who do use this, always use this?”

To me, and this is where I may differ from other people. On the main, I don’t mind sites knowing how I got to them. In fact I prefer it. I want a better experience and if they can offer that knowing where I came from I’m all for it! I don’t see what advantage this gives me. and that, to me, is what I see as the main point. if you’re going to offer a service what does it give me.

Will it have a massive impact on analytic’s? I’m not sure we’ll fully know for a while (if ever) as the data you’re not capturing (while important) is only once peice to the analytic’s puzzle and you’ll still be able to grab all the information you can off them when they’re on your site.

What do you think? will you be using it? Do you see the advantages in using it? Let me know.

Landing Page Optimization: How to increase Online revenue without increasing Marketing costs

I finally got round to watching it and there were a couple of points that really sung out.

Conversion Heuristic

Firstly was the Markeing Experiments Conversion Heuristic :c=4m+3v+2(i-f)-2a ©

• m = Motivation
• v = (clarity of) Value of proposition
• i = Incentive
• f = Friction
• a = Anxiety

I’m not going to pretend like I can full explain this to you, you should really watch the lecture. That said there were some really clear and obvious take away’s that fall of the back of this.

Value Contributors must be stronger than the Value Inhibitors

It sounds almost silly saying it but it’s true. The combination of the users Motivation, The Value of the proposition to the user and the incentives for the user combined must be greater than the friction and the anxiety of the user.

You might not be able to influence all of those factors but for each one you can nudge in the right direction might make 0.5% in conversions which over 1,000 is 5 more sales over 100,000 is 500 more sales. times that by the value of the sale and you can see why analytic and optimisation is the big business that it is!

People buy from People

This is a great line from Dr. McGlaughlin and again it emphasises the Marketing Experiments approach to get into the mind set of the users rather than their actions. By considering this (people buy from people) you need to look at your site literally as a mouthpiece, anything that a user has to ‘think about’ on their own is a risk to conversion. Does a car show room give you a load of costs and options and sit back and wait for you to make up your mind? of course not! they try and get someone to guide you through the process and ‘make the sale’ as soon as you’ll let them (most places, as soon as you walk through the door).

Key questions

Near the end of the lecture Dr. McGlaughlin posed 4 questions that anyone looking to optimise a page should consider

Why should my ideal Prospect purchase from me rather than any of my competitors?

Good question! His argument was without a USP (unique selling point) your relying on ignorance and Brand loyalty (an element he didn’t mention).

The optimisation ’space’ is still quite new so there are still massive gains to be had by anyone who starts looking into this. Gaines over time can only go down as other businesses, competitors, start to do this as well. Certainly in the field I work in and all the clients I come into contact with, I can’t think of one that is really pushing this. Certinly the big eCommerce guys are all doing it but move away from strictly ’sales’ based sites and business tend to not see the imidiate relevance.

The short answer is, there’s more to a sale that buying a product! collecting an email, sign up to a news letter, a ‘contact request’ or time on certain pages can also be valid and trackable ‘conversions’ on your site.

How can I minimise all the elements in my sale path that cause psychological resistance?

This is talking about ‘friction’. As Dr. McGlaughlin points out, you’ve never get rid of it. As long as you’re asking for something there will be resistance. What the purpose of this question is, is to start the exploratory journey around what exactly you have in your sales path and do you need it?

I had someone show me a case study the other day where the original landing page had 7 inputs. the one that tested the best only had one…

How can I counter the remaining psychological resistance with extra incentive?

As I see this, it really becomes a question of oppotunity cost. Again, using Dr. McGlaughlin’s own words. The best optimised page with the best conversion in the word can still be improved with an increase in incentive or an increase in ‘Value’.

What Value will a user get by converting (or purchasing)? how can you increase that? eCommerce (easy example) may chose to take 10% off? or… include free shipping? Now in those examples that may mean an increase in revenue but decrease in profit or an increase in both depending how much that affects the conversion. That’s where you’ll need to start looking closely at the numbers.

How can I over-correct all of the elements which cause psychological concerns in my sale path?

Over-correct? in a lab, controlled, highly web savvy guinepigs it would be over kill but as Dr. McGlaughlin rightly points out that not all anxiety is rational. A person is rational people aren’t.

By attempting to ‘over-correct’ you should be able to get people to where you want them mentally to be able to convert.

This I think is probably the hardest question of the lot. and it’s probably best explained with an example. Secure transaction. There is for a lot of people, I would consider, an irrational anxiety towards ‘purchasing’ from the web. Often the same people would be more than willing to tell a complete stranger for a phone sale the same information without a care in the world. You’ll see a lot of on-line retailers now (in my opinion) over-emphasise the security and ’secure’ methods with words, logos clear changes to design elements. Anything to surpass this irrational-ness.

The Winter King

Bernard Cornwell. Penguin 2007, Paperback, 512 pages, £2.53

This is the second time I read this book and like last time I really enjoy it. I think the majority of it is Mr Cornwell’s ability to weave fact and fiction. His historical notes always bares that out where he details what bits he’s taken from others and which bits he’s made up…

Unlike the Sharpe series less is documented around the dark ages so I would assume that lot of what has been taken from other sources is still going to be some what ’subjective’ but with Mr Cornwell’s storytelling ability you would be able to believe every word of it!

This series of books is written from the perspective of an old priest who is reminising on his life as a warrior for his current queen which as it happens was rather well linked with our ‘King Arthur’ (which is the bit she is obviously more interested in).

One of the main draws for me is the fact that this is set after the Romans have left. Their legacy can still be seen in Britain, particularly their religion (Christianity) but what is fascinating is that off all the skills and craft that the Romans brought to Britain only a fraction of it was retained. The book paints a vivid picture of crumbling Roman architecture and viaducts that simply no-one knows how to (or has the inclination) to fix.

The book itself is reasonably well paced. There is enough battling to get a real feel for warfare of that era. Obviously our Hero can do (almost) no wrong and sails through all of the battles. But for all that I still enjoy it. I like Mr Cornwells style and can read pretty much anything he spits out.

If I were to give this a score I would say 3 out of 5. It’s good. It paints a great picture in the minds eye and simply put is an easy and enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this film and as someone else put it to me it kept you engaged right from the beginning till the very end and I couldn’t agree more.

The out and out racism that to start is quite blunt but as the film progresses you see that for most of those who know Walt (Clint) it’s almost become a term if endearment and is often given back as good as received.

The story itself is simple and well told and yes there is an element of Hollywood in there of grumpy old guy learns to smile again but I think that’s OK. It’s kind of only part of the whole film and I think secondary to the character interaction and how the two what seems like completely outlook and understanding are in fact not that different when you strip away the fluff and get down to basic human emotions.

I realize I’ve painted it as a bit of an ‘intellectual’ film which I also think is a bit unfair. I found it easy going and in places quite funny (particularly liked the scene in the barber shop). I think it’s well worth a watch. I think it’s even better than million dollar baby (which is another one you should watch if you haven’t seen it already).

Over all I would give it 4 1/2 out of 5 (UPDATE: Forgot to say, it lost 1/2 point for the singing at the end).

“[True Blood picks it's story up where] Following the creation of synthetic blood, vampires have progressed from legendary monsters to fellow citizens overnight. Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) is a telepath and waitress at Merlotte’s in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps, owned by Sam Merlotte (Sam Trammell), a shapeshifter—though this secret is kept hidden. One night, Sookie meets Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), a handsome 173-year-old vampire who has returned to Bon Temps following the death of his last remaining relative. As she cannot hear his thoughts, she finds it easy to be in his company and over the first season, the two become romantically involved.”…

I actually think that’s a bit lame. The show is well written and engaging without being too dark for horror fans or the like. There’s lots of light hearted elements that keeps it fun and enjoyable to watch. Some of the elements in the story is a bit predictable but like lost, 24 and prison break, that element of predictable suspense is a good thing (from the productions point of view) as you just can’t help but come back again and again to find out, finaly, that you were right all along (weren’t you clever).

As I said earlier I did enjoy this, it was different, it made me laugh in places at the same time there were elements of suspense and intrigue (and surprising large amount of naked breasts!?). As with all of these TV shows that seem to be destined from the off to run for a number of series there is an under current theme or ’sub-plot’ that always gets revealed way too slow for my liking but as they all do this I can’t really criticize ‘True Blood’ for following a working TV model.

All in all I would give it a… 3.5 out of 5. Fun, Funny, Good vampire show

The idea of ‘ex-superheros’ isn’t new (the incredibles for example?!) but the realism of them as just humans with a gift I thought was a refreshing take. I particularly liked the idea that there existence would have changed history. In the film looks at the theme that if the balance of power was heavily one sided (to the good of course) would it make for a safer more peaceful world? I agree with the direction of the film, no it wouldn’t. Peace is a balancing act. This film shows that by giving a glimpse at a possible alternative.

I know lots of verb-age with little substance or meaning, sorry. So, the short version. Yes I liked the film, maybe a touch too long (nearly 3 hours) and while it nicely explained a couple of the characters background the more ‘mundane’ superheros were left unexplained. More often that not it was those ones that you really wanted to know more about….

So out of 5… I would say a solid 4. A good action film but with enough in the context to get the brain thinking

Without Remorse

CLANCY TOM. Penguin Putnam Inc 1997, Paperback, 768 pages, £5.99

I really like this book and have read it a couple of times now.

I think it very cleverly blends the Vietnam war with urban America with an interesting comparison between war in Vietnam and the war on drugs and how at times both seemed doomed to failure. for example, when removing 1 drug pusher from his corner or capturing a hill is only a success until the force is removed then that area is retaken and back to how it was before intervention…

The book is also good for those interested in the Jack Ryans universe of the Tom Clancy’s books. While our boy Jack makes a very fleeting appearance it does give us a bit of a back story around a number of other characters noticeable ‘Mr Clark’ the lead character for this book.

This story gives a bit more background to John Kelly and why he became John Clark but still leaves enough out to keep an element of mystery about him as a character.

Overall I would give it 4 1/2 out of 5.

You can find more about the book on wikipedia.

Interesting aside

Just having a quick google around and noticed that it looks like there may be a film of this book in the next couple of years (2011?).

http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey/

Some interesting findings that seemed to cut across a range of disciplines within the web community…

From a development point of view the ones that were of interest were:

Access Keys

Something that has been in and out of favour (depending who you talk to) for a while now. The strange results on this one seemed to show a even spread of Screen Reader user opinion but the insight suggested that it was the novice/newer users that used them more.

To me this seemed to sugest that regular/proficient web users still don’t find them of value and as such I would continue to question the value add of including them in any build.

I’m obviously aware that this isn’t the only user group to which this feature is aimed but I think I would stick by my guns when pushed on this as it always seems to require users (in what ever user group) to re-learn them for each new site. I know there are some ’standards out there such as the ones suggested by the UK government but I still don’t think from both user experience and browser incompatibilities these work.

Screen Reader only content

Another interesting one especially when compared to the responses to ‘text only content’. Screen reader specific content seemed far more favorable to a text only version which… I’m maybe a bit surprised at.

I would have thought that sites that look to add additional information for screen readers would do this a bit of a ‘gimic’ or ‘talk down’ to screen reader users. Maybe I’m being a bit hard line in thinking that screen reader users would prefer to be treated the same as all other users? That is sort of the meaning of ‘equal oppotunities’ is it not?

That said (back tracking a little maybe), I could see how additional information for screen readers could be of benefit. indeed, HTML 4 already provides an element of this with things like the summary attribute for a table. I guess the trick would be in making this content both useful and relevant without falling into the trap of simply ‘wordifying’ content for the sake of it.

I could dissect each point and put what I think around it but I won’t. I’ll let you have a look and make up your own mind. As I said earlier I think it would be a worthwhile read for anyone in the web industry from PM through IA and Design right down to the lowly of low developers and site admin*.

That link again:

http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey/

*not to imply that site admin are at the bottom of the web food chain ;o)

Devil May Care (James Bond)

Sebastian Faulks. Penguin 2009, Paperback, 432 pages, £1.99

New book commissioned by Ian Fleming’s family written by Sebastian Faulks in Fleming’s style.

Very enjoyable read. It certainly felt like one of the series in terms of both the style, speed of motion through the book and levels of action and excitement.

You do have to smile at the choice of the ‘bad guys’. Yes Fleming did get into the habit of giving each of his villains a certain flair or ‘tick’. This book is no exception in that regard.

For all that there was one sceen that I thought was both pointless and in fact a step away from the Bond of Fleming. Where as he is driving through London two individuals on motorbikes try to kill him. There were a number of thing I felt that were wrong with this:

1. Bond had only spoken with 4? people and it had only been established that he was to travel and in fact explore this Dr Gorner character. That’s pretty fast work for anyone!
2. This had ‘almost’ happened to Bond before (ThunderBall). In that instant even through Bond hadn’t pulled the trigger he had still been detained by the Police until M could sort it through his connections. Why now, does Bond just carry on regardless? sits funny with me…

There were also a couple of cliché’s in terms of a couple of the characters. I’ve already mentioned our villain of the piece, then there was the hard as nails henchman, the head of service in Iran/insert name of ‘backward country here’ type man and the love interest (that one maybe not soo cliché if I’m honest).

There was also a couple of ‘guessable bits’ through the book but it did manage to hold out for quite a long time before confirming your suspicions so I don’t really class that as a negative (reason to continue reading!).

To give it a rating… 4 out of 5 maybe? I did enjoy it, It felt like a bond book and I would definatly ready anymore that Faulks pens like this.