ourrug [r-rug] aka Russell Smith

Evaluation of UBC Web Analytics: “Introduction to Web Analytics” Course

Russell Smith — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:22:38 +0000

The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage

This is part one of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program. As i make my way through i will document my evaluations on a course by course basis.

UBC’s 100% online courses use the Moodle Course Management System for their delivery, therefore, all course content must be read by the student in order to fully grasp the material. There are also no more than 25 people per course and one online tutor.

Introduction to Web Analytics as its name implies is the first of four courses in the program. It is also the prerequisite for all the other courses. The reading is a lot, but necessary i think to successfully deliver a broad enough introduction to the field. A good majority of the reading material is actual case studies making it highly relatable for the student/practitioner. It can be a bit dry at times, but i guess that is to be expected given the analytic nature of the content. But, if you’re passionate about the web and curious about the study, then you’ll find it super interesting and continue to plough ahead.

There are three assignments in total designed to assess if you’re actually reading the material and make sure that it’s getting absorbed. In this specific course, group discussions are a major component and ultimately affect your final grade. In fact, two out of the three assignments are discussion-based – either stating your stand on an issue or providing feedback on another student’s response. Discussions are facilitated through various forums spread throughout the duration of the course.

Jeff Young was our online tutor and was extremely attentive to student questions and provided great industry insight in his communication. He also tried to encourage student participation by initiating questions of his own or by framing his responses to other student questions in a way that promoted further dialogue. He also has a very kind demeanor which makes approaching him with questions very very easy.

All in all, this course provided an excellent introduction to web analytics and was really not that hard [technically] if that is a concern of yours. Upon successful completion, UBC administration can provide a letter of attendance if you’re like me and qualify for professional development funds from your employer. That goes for all courses in the program and is very nice indeed. Keep in mind though that “course grades may not be available until four weeks after the last day of the course” which may make getting the reimbursement funding longer than you may have originally expected.

I highly recommend this course if you’re thinking about getting into web analytics. It gives you a solid footing in understanding the field, introduces you to key terminology and industry concepts and provides specific direction going forward with the three remaining courses in the program.

Continue onto part two in this series: Web Analytics for Site Optimization

Stella’s Graduation

Russell Smith — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 01:02:58 +0000

Cool. Upon reaching the 3-month mark, our girl went from being Stella the newborn to Stella the infant – her first graduation and I’m as proud a dad as can be!

Not-so-objectively speaking, I think I can say that she’s earned her stripes. Here’s a little update on what she’s been up to since my last post at 6 weeks and as always, feel free to click on any of the images for a larger view:

smiling, laughing and squealing with delight. Beyond coos and gurgles, she sometimes makes sounds resembling a squawking bird when she’s excited. And maybe it’s just by accident, but we’ve caught the occasional wink!
still loving faces, especially her own. She smiles at “the baby” in the mirror.
eye contact – she loves people, sees everything and spends hours taking in the colours, lights and movements in a room.
she’s found her hands. They (and anything she gets her hands on) inevitably end up in her mouth. Not her feet or toes, but she reaches down and grabs them too!
she’s fascinated with eating and loves to watch her mum and dad bring food from fork to mouth at mealtimes.

rolling over – onto both sides from her back. She’s gone right over onto her tummy but seemed to freak herself out.
chumming around with her mates. In early October, she trekked to Mount Sinai Hospital to greet her newborn cousin Jude; she’s “hosted” pals at home (sort of!) and meets new babies every time she goes to “Circle and Songs” or “Story Time”. Especially fun is seeing her hanging out with Inara and Violet – her friends from Day One at the hospital (all born within 24 hours of each other).

Stella gazing from her mum’s lap

Stella’s found her hands

Stella with her friend Emma

Another with her friend Emma

Try Maxwell’s Clothiers On For Size!!

Russell Smith — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:03:38 +0000

The packaging the three Maxwell’s shirts i ordered came in

Do you like old-world craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail and clothes that just fit?! Then you’ll love Maxwell’s! Oh, and did i mention all this at an extremely reasonable price?!

Basically, i knew Maxwell’s are only ever in town for one week, twice a year so i got the specific dates via the Maxwell’s Clothiers Ltd. website and found out the next time they were in town. I then made sure to make my way over to the lower level of the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel (one of their three locations while in TO, i believe the others are in the Toronto Airport and the Sheraton Parkway Hotel in Markham). As you make your way down the escalator you start to hear a mad buzz of activity then as you turn to enter the room you see the tons of people all riffling through hundreds of available fabric swatches, scribbling down their choices and rushing over to get measured. I must preface this post by only concentrating on their dress shirts for that’s all i have purchased, they also do custom suits, ties as well as a full line of woman’s apparel.

So, like everyone else in there i chose my three fabrics along with collar / cuff style, presence of a pocket (or not), initials style / placement (or not) and recorded it all on my order form. I then proceeded to the fitting line where one of the Maxwell’s sales reps kindly measured me up and recorded their results. After that i placed my order. That was March 12, ’09 and the shirts arrived three months later on June 17!

The three shirts i ordered from Maxwell’s Clothiers Ltd.

Well worth the wait, let me tell you; the shirts are absolutely amazing! The fit is right on; not so tight that when you raise your arm your buttons get stressed out, but allow enough room that it still looks fitted without resembling something a women would wear. The fabric is what it is. The collar is super-stiff, i imagine to withstand the test of time and dry cleaning that comes with that. All this for $50/shirt; you wouldn’t even get a pair of cuff links at Holt’s for that price, let alone a fitted-shirt!!!

A detail of the three Maxwell’s shirts

BTW, the next time you visit Maxwell’s you don’t need to get measured, just pick your fabric and various other styles, pay and that’s it! Maxwell’s will have your previous order – plus measurements – on file from your previous visits.

Times and (Toronto) locations Maxwell’s Clothiers are in town for Fall/Winter 2010:

Westin Bristol Place Hotel (Toronto Airport, 950 Dixon Rd.) Sept. 9, 10, 11, & 12 – (416) 675-9444
Sheraton City Centre (Downtown, 123 Queen St. W.) Sept. 13, 14, 15, 16 & 17 – (416) 361-1000
Sheraton PKWY Hotel (Markham, 600 Hwy 7 E., Hwy 407 & 404) Sept. 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 & 23 – (905) 881-2121

Let me know, have you been before? Thinking of going? What’s been your Maxwell’s experience?!

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Stella’s Full Moon

Russell Smith — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 22:53:57 +0000

Why “Full Moon”? In Chinese tradition, it is customary to celebrate baby’s health (and mum’s recovery) after her first month of life, or full moon. So, in the spirit of Stella’s first full moon, some photos for everyone who has helped us welcome her with gifts, blessings and good cheer.

Here’s Stella roughly at her one month mark showing us what one can expect during this stage of rapid change: nice and calm one minute, bit restless the next then outright scream-fest for the remainder until she’s burped, fed or changed. That about sums up the first four weeks!

Highlights of Stella’s first month:

After a slight drop in weight (to 9lbs) she’s back up to her birth weight of 10.5 lbs and measures 61 cm
She loves faces – get in close and she’ll examine yours
Her doctor describes her as “very mature” and “focused”
Showing early social skills and smiles at sounds of her mum’s and dad’s voices!

The rest of the pictures are pretty self explanatory.

Stella having a gander

Stella swaddled

Stella having a go with her mum

Stella in the arms of her Granda

Stella sleeping on the couch

Stella gazing before a swaddling

More to come as we grow…

Back to School: Bachelor of Commerce at Athabasca University

Russell Smith — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:14:04 +0000

Athabasca University: Canada’s Leader in Online & Distance Education

I have been thinking about trading up my 2 yr Honors Diploma i earned from Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning in ’03 for a Bachelor of Commerce Undergraduate Degree (BComm) from Athabasca University (AU) and i can say now that i have taken the first step in the process; i have officially registered in the program. After inquiring “how long it takes to for admissions to make their decision” i received “you will automatically be enrolled in the BComm program. You may go ahead and start taking courses “. On that note i believe i can safely say that i am indeed admitted into AU’s BComm program and a University student!! Wow, that feels great!

I feel if i want to further my Web Analytics career i will need to compete on this level. While browsing recent job descriptions i have noticed that having some sort of a BA/BS/BComm or equivalent degree is a common requirement whereas none that i read mention a College diploma and if they did i imagine they’d just couple it together with the hands-on/on-the-job experience bit.

During the AU application process i had the opportunity to be evaluated for transfer credits toward the degree and am still waiting on their response, although i have read on multiple discussion boards that other people in the same boat have been quite happy with the outcome. So that’s encouraging!

You figure a full 4yr AU undergrad degree is 120 credits; knock off say 1.5yrs or 45 transfer credits, that leaves 75 remaining credits (AU can only grant up to 50% total transfer credit); I could complete my 4yr degree in 2.5yrs. That’s if i do it full-time, however, i plan to go at it part-time whilst working full-time and, with my wife, raising a newborn as of August 16, ’09.

If we break it down even further, AU gives you 6 months to complete one course which is 3 credits; if i can register in a new course every 2 months, that’s 6 courses/yr or 18 credits; that divided into the 75 required credits equals roughly 4 yrs realistically to complete my degree. I have a feeling though this could be quite demanding. So i may have to equate it like so: register in a new course every 3 months, that’s 4 courses/yr or 12 credits; that divided into the 75 required credits equals 6.25 yrs to complete my degree.

On the other hand if i receive full transfer credit, or 60 required credits to begin with, that would reduce my overall completion time by 1.25 yrs resulting in 5 yrs in total to complete my degree! We’ll see i guess, i’ll have to play it by ear and assess what i can get away with.

What do you think, can one still rely on their working experience alone? Coupled (work experience plus degree) do applicants stand a greater chance for career advancement?

“Hello World”- Introducing Little Stella Ma Smith!

Russell Smith — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:36:48 +0000

NAME: Stella Ma Smith
GENDER: Female
DATE OF BIRTH: August 16, 2009 at 00:41 hrs
HEIGHT & WEIGHT: 57 cm, 10 lbs 5 oz
EYE COLOR: (the most amazing) Gray-blue

Well that was something else: after 13 hrs in labor my wife Leslie gave birth to a beautiful little girl, Stella Ma Smith!! We can’t get enough of her. Check out pics from “the first days” and see for yourself.

Little Stella literally just born laying on the heated change-table

Stella and mum sleeping shortly after delivery

Stella with her mum and dad in the delivery room

Stella – up close and personal

Little Stella swaddled up

Active little Stella

Before i end this post i must give a great big shout-out to the Medical Staff and RNs over at St. Michael’s Hospital – Labour and Delivery unit. You are all absolute angels!!! Thanks again for your outstanding care and attention. We are so indebted to everyone who went the extra mile in bringing our little one home.

Stella’s Graduation (1)
Stella’s Full Moon (6)
My Lovely Wife Leslie at Nine Months (2)

Evaluation of UBC Web Analytics: “Web Analytics for Site Optimization” Course

Russell Smith — Mon, 04 May 2009 21:57:10 +0000

The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage

This is part two of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program.

Check out part one: Introduction to Web Analytics

The second course in the program: Web Analytics for Site Optimization for me, was very exciting! Out of the introductory ranks and into something i could really dig my teeth into. With real case by case lesson plans what you cover in this course is very applicable to everyday practice, whether you’re an Information Architect (IA) or a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expert, there is something for everyone to take away here.

The course does an excellent job of combining solid user-centric design theory, common SEO practices and the recommended web analysis to measure these approaches. Some of the design theory is a bit hard to follow, but well worth it in the end as you do also need to apply that knowledge to at least one of the three assignments.

Regarding the assignments, there are three in total just like the introductory course. Beginning to think that’s more of the norm now for the program – only this time none were discussion based, a LOT more challenging and way more formal academia-like – which is a good thing; what better way to understand the lessons than to make you think creatively about your assignments and commit it to paper. One funny thing i should mention about this course is that people should be aware that the major or third/last assignment wasn’t introduced until nearly the final required reading. Looking back, if i hadn’t have been aware of it earlier - scanning over the entire syllabus – the course could have taken a turn for the worst, for the assignment is not something you can just whip up on a whim! Take it from me and keep that in mind going in.

The cool and highly unexpected thing about this course is the surprise free giveaway that you receive. It helps immensely in completing the last paper and IMO is something that every web analyst should not be without. I’ll give you a hint; it’s a “big book of …”. Any takers?!

Our online tutor was James Ollunga, McCann World Group. I think since we never had any discursive assignments we never really opened any real discussions so the only interaction i ever had with James was a short email Q and A. He seemed very nice and helpful although again i never really had the opportunity to get to know him better – i do, however, have him again for the third course in the program.

Overall Web Analytics for Site Optimization was a great experience and an awesome second step from the introductory course: Introduction to Web Analytics.

Continue onto part three in this series: Measuring Marketing Campaigns Online

Evaluation of UBC Web Analytics: “Measuring Marketing Campaigns Online” Course

Russell Smith — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 13:56:46 +0000

The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage

This is part three of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program.

Check out part one: Introduction to Web Analytics
Check out part two: Web Analytics for Site Optimization

The third course Measuring Marketing Campaigns Online begins with somewhat of a quick refresher roughly based on key concepts of the second course Web Analytics for Site Optimization – in case you never took that one and jumped straight onto the third. This “Online Marketing Fundamentals” refresher also includes the surprise free giveaway i first mentioned in the second course Web Analytics for Site Optimization. The required reading in this course is as like the second course; a lot, but is very rewarding for what you learn and hopefully take away with you is pretty invaluable, especially given the current state of the economy and the opportunities that can arise.

Following that is the real meat ‘n potatoes of the course and is basically split into three areas: PPC Campaigns; identifying keyword candidates, measuring campaign latency / recency, using web analytics to optimize PPC campaigns, providing the right maintenance in order to get the most out of them, Email Campaigns; basic metrics to measure their effectiveness, campaign targeting and database segmentation, customer retention via email, providing the right maintenance in order to get the most out of them and Display Advertising Campaigns; the placement and pricing of display ads, metrics for assessing their effectiveness and correct coding practices for tracking using web analysis. The course even covers a good bit about Adservers, Rich Internet Applications (RIA) such as Adobe Flex and designing dashboards for the presentation of your findings. Note that if you’re not an advertiser or marketer by trade, like myself, you may find this course a bit difficult to latch onto at first, just keep reading for it’ll all start making sense in due time.

Assignment wise there are three in total; two written and one discursive involving all your classmates and the tutor. There are no surprises in this course and you are notified of all assignments well in advance during the readings. As always, the final report is the most challenging and requires a good bit of extra thought and analysis; you may need to think out-of-the-box on this one!

Our instructor was James Ollunga, McCann World Group who i also had for the second course Web Analytics for Site Optimization. James directed this course with subtle nudges once and awhile notifying us of assignment due dates, initiating discussions on the forums and pointing us to pertinent articles elsewhere on the Internet. He also left very helpful and constructive comments when it came to grading the assignments.

Overall, for me this course was the most challenging so far because it made me step out of my analytic role and into a more advertising/marketing mindset and basically run before i could walk. I thoroughly enjoyed it for that though and it’s impression it has left me with. I highly recommend this course for anyone curious or currently involved with Internet marketing.

Continue onto part four in this series: Creating and Managing the Analytical Business Culture

Evaluation of UBC Web Analytics: “Creating and Managing the Analytical Business Culture” Course

Russell Smith — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:37:48 +0000

The UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program Homepage

This is (the final) part four of a four-part series on my experience enrolled in the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics Program.

Check out part one: Introduction to Web Analytics
Check out part two: Web Analytics for Site Optimization
Check out part three: Measuring Marketing Campaigns Online

The fourth and final course in the program: Creating and Managing the Analytical Business Culture is taught from a more of manager, web analytics point of view as it tries to tackle all facets of creating and managing a data-driven culture within an organization. It does a good job of covering the bases of such a task from: choosing a web analytics vendor; establishing the function that is web analytics; building a solid foundation throughout the organization; consistent performance monitoring and last, but not least, taking action on the results. That said, there seems to be an increase to the amount of reading required to cover off all these topics, especially compared to the three previous courses, so i recommend accounting for that going in.

There are a total of three assignments that make up this course: one discursive via the forum and amongst the other students, one written report and one formal paper. Apart from the discursive assignment, both the report and the paper will require you to step into the role of manager, web analytics and exist in that mentality for the rest of the course. This may be hard for some, especially if you’re like myself, a (mere) web analyst with no managerial experience. Don’t fret, try and put yourself in the shoes of your current manager and see where that takes you; it helped me out a lot! Again, keep in mind, coupled with the increased volume of reading material in this course plus two written papers you may find yourself hard-pressed for time between everything. It is doable, however, just manage your time more wisely, that’s all.

Our online tutor this time around was Stéphane Hamel who also tutors the Fundamentals of Business Analysis course in the UBC Certificate in Business Analysis, a consultant, creator of the award winning Firefox Add-on: WASP and speaker at eMetrics. Stéphane did an awesome job of trying to engage us all in further dialogue, but due to the inherently harder nature of this course – as compared to the previous three – the discussions never had the legs to turn into anything notable. He provided great feedback and insight for each assignment, remarking on the good, the not-so-good and always tied it back to business realities relating to the workplace and more specifically employee hierarchies. He also took it upon himself to share some of his recent thesis work on the Web Analytics Maturity Model which was very cool – i aspire to that kind of commitment an undertaking such as this must take. Thanks again for that Stéphane!!

As in the previous two courses the cool and highly unexpected thing about this course is the surprise free giveaway you receive. Something that every web analyst, or in this case web analytics manager, should NOT be without. I’ll give you a hint; no, i’ll give it away for this post — drum roll please… it’s Eric T. Peterson’s “The Big Book of KPIs“!! I would suggest professionally binding it so you can use it as a desktop reference and help guard against damage causing you to unnecessarily print it more than once.

Obviously each organization is going to be different, the employee makeup will vary and not all web analytics requirements will be met by any one vendor, but all in all the course sums up what a manager, web analytics should be on the lookout for when embarking on adapting a data-driven culture throughout an organization. Written by industry professionals and led by some of the brightest minds in the field, I believe it delivers a sound enough direction to any aspiring manager willing to embrace web analytics on a grander scheme. A fitting final course to the program.

Well, that’s me for UBC, but not web analytics by any means!! As far as continuing education is concerned, however, I am onto Athabasca U. for a Commerce degree to get a solid footing in the world of business. I’ll let you know how that goes…

What about you, any further education in your future? Are you thinking of taking the UBC Award of Achievement in Web Analytics? Already enrolled, what’s your experience been like so far?

A “Windfall” Opportunity

Russell Smith — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:44:43 +0000

Windfall’s new logo after their re-branding efforts

My wife Leslie has been working with Windfall (formerly known as Windfall Clothing Service: award-winning, registered charity that receives donations of new clothing and distributes them to over 80 partner social service agencies in Toronto) for some time now. Last year i sent off my analysis based on the current state of their website. A year passed, a re-branding occurred and just like that i am now a key player in their website re-design process on a volunteer basis!!

Some of the website re-design requirements that have been suggested are as follows:

ease of use in updating content – currently they use Dreamweaver and static HTML files
ability to post images, video and various other media formats
ability to multi-blog i.e., different user accounts with their own voice
overall website design will be in-brand with the newly printed material
greater tie between their peripheral micro-sites
simplified user-centric Information Architecture (IA) / navigational system

So considering these items i’m going to call in WordPress for it’s ease of use and multi-user architecture plus the Thematic parent / child template for it’s great out-of-the-box Search Engine Optimized (SEO) attributes, smart modular templating system, various Content Management System (CMS)-like capabilities and it’s simple design aesthetic on which to build upon.

Once all is said and done and the Windfall guys are comfortable with this new way of working i’ll start to take more of a back seat / analytical stance and begin measuring their efforts utilizing the data left by their visitors. I can then recommend significant content streams and start pushing those more to the forefront, track specific goals set out by them in terms of their (not-for-profit) business objectives and clear any obstacles that may arise in the process. Along this path i am very excited to discover the organic keywords search report as well as the content report for one has no real control over this data and ultimately what their audience is truly interested in, but can harness the momentum of these results on an ongoing basis in very dynamic ways!! More on that point later…

But for now, bring on the Windfall!!

ourrug [r-rug] aka Russell Smith

Evaluation of UBC Web Analytics: “Introduction to Web Analytics” Course

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