Thoughts On Our 1st G+ Foray

Published by John Lovett on August 17, 2011.

This week the Demystified Partners forfeited our weekly meeting to hang out with our fellow #measure peeps on Google+. We felt that the thread about web analytics technologies and where innovation would surface in our industry needed a deeper discussion. If you haven’t seen the original thread yet, make sure you go check it out. Also, if you need a G+ invite, let us know we’ve got plenty to share. But our exercise was as much about continuing the conversation as it was testing out a new social medium.

Before going live on G+, we practiced for about a half hour, where all of our browsers crashed and we experienced various video connection in’s and out’s as we tinkered with and tuned our machines. By showtime, we had a few stalwart veterans join, including Tim Wilson who was dialed in on a 4G connection while driving home with his wife from camping. As our discussion grew, We added up to nine people, which didn’t quite push the limits of G+ as we had hoped, but it was an all-star #measure cast including: @erictpeterson @adamgreco @mymo @Exxx @tgwilson @joestanhope @OMlee @keithburris and yours truly.

Our conversation began with quips from each of the participants about how we’re still grappling with digital measurement technologies. Despite most of us being in this web analytics industry for years, and in some cases decades. Time passed quickly as we debated from all sides of the vendor/consultant/practitioner perspective. After a brief privacy sidebar, we asked each other where innovation would emerge from in analytics and really why we were pursuing these digital data anyway? I think we edged the needle just a little bit by agreeing that what we do matters because we’re educating our employers and clients on the power of data; and just possibly making the Internet a slightly better place. Ok, when I chatted this in the G+ hangout mid discussion, I warned everyone not to throw up on their keyboards, so I’ll do the same for you. But as cheesy as that sounds, our quorum agreed that wasn’t such a bad goal. What do you think?

So, the technology of G+ did prove that it was up to the task of handling this type of group discussion. People could talk and share their ideas on video or contribute to the conversation using the chat functionality. But we’re curious to know if you’re interested in joining us for a future G+ hangout?

If you are and willing to hang out with us to discuss the hottest topics is digital analytics, let us know because we’ll plan another one soon. Heck, we’ll even make this a regular event if you’re interested. What do you all say?

About John Lovett

John Lovett is a Senior Partner at Web Analytics Demystified, Inc. and the author of Social Media Metrics Secrets (Wiley, 2011). A former Forrester Research Analyst and current President of the Digital Analytics Association, John blogs about web analytics industry trends, strategy, business culture, and social analytics.

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Posted Wednesday, August 17th, 2011 | 3 responses | Share, Save or Email

http://www.emerkirrane.com Emer Kirrane (@Exxx)

I very much enjoyed the hangout! It’s not a format I would generally be too comfortable with, what with the moving pictures element but it was a great experiment.

I was also a bit distracted as I was working on something on the same time, but I rarely have the opportunity to be in a room with such great analytics heads so it was giddifying to be able to listen to and chat with such an amazing group. I think there does need to be a moderator – and Adam did try to drag the group back to the topic at hand (innovation) when it meandered into the good old privacy topic.

The hour absolutely zoomed by and I’d definitely be interested in hanging out again.

http://john.webanalyticsdemystified.com John Lovett

Hi Emer! It was great to have you (even if you only showed a painting instead of your real self). And yes, I agree that a moderator with the sense of Adam Greco is mandatory.

We’ll strive for “giddifying” again real soon.

http://www.gilliganondata.com Tim Wilson

Having solid moderation was definitely key, but it was fun and thought-provoking. I’d be up for more!