5 of 10 Web Analytics Predictions as forecasted by Eric Peterson

one of the buildings on the SAS Campus - Cary, NC

On Wednesday I made the trip from the Triad to the Triangle for Web Analytics Wednesday - Cary, NC hosted by SAS. I arrived a bit early... Mingling with a crowd of ~ 15 was great!
The host Richard Foley and guest of honor Eric Peterson where gracious and generous with their time.
I will attempt to summarize five of the ten points from Eric's presentation... (from memory)

1. A large scale analytics data loss event
2. Consolidation of the available Analytics Tools. More activity like Google acquiring Urchin.
3. (For the U.S) Lawmakers attempting to legislate use of 3rd party cookies.
4. The rise of what Eric calls Web 3.0 made possible by iPhone (version 2) geospatial/global positioning. Allowing advertisers, search engines and others to target locally. (e.g. displaying searches for cafes within walking distance as opposed to the user having to specifying a location first in their search.
5. The commoditization of analytics services. First, with Google offering Urchin for free and second, the possibility that Yahoo might do the same with their recent purchase of IndexTools. In Eric's opinion IndexTools is equal in functionality to CoreMetrics. If Yahoo gives away IndexTools to compete with Google we may all have a better (and Free) option with Yahoo. This will be bad news for the smaller and less popular analytics
and log file analyzer tools.

DYI: Front bed border/retaining - complete

After some man-u-al labor and waiting for a break from the rain, we recently wrapped up the border (Oldcastle®8" Lodgestone Tan) for the front bed. It was mostly a relocation of border material from other areas of the yard to bring some focus and cohesion. We also installed some solar lighting. Our yard slopes so, instead of building a level wall, I opted to step up each level.


This is a view looking towards the drive (at top of picture)

This is the view from the driveway towards the front door.

Other work is in process. If we could just get rid of the weeds at the same time we were waiting for grass seed to germinate... that would we fantastic.

Adwords PPC Optimization Over Kill

I was surfing tonight and encountered an Adwords ad to own a McDonald's franchise. Note: I am not looking in to quick serve opportunities... just curious what the landing page had to say. What I saw was a lot of highly emphasized text... that made no sense.

• The headline for the page "Fast Food Franchises Franchise" didn't make all that much sense. A plural and singular form of the word in the headline doesn't read all that well. Does it?
• The main call to action: "Request More Information from Fast Food Franchises Franchise" repeats the grammatical errors of the headline. But, more than just a grammar error does it instill in the visitor that they are submitting information to a trustworthy source?

The other thing that struck me was this landing page, that the advertiser paid for me to land on, is also advertising other franchise opportunities at the top of the page!

Scotts Lawn Care, Your Email Doesn't Render in Gmail

Scotts,
Your Lawn Care Update e-mail newsletter doesn't render completely in GMail. So, I am missing out on "Crabgrass" information, "Drought Tips" & "What To Do Now".
Luckily, there is a web page version.
If you're in email marketing don't forget: Test, test, test. A couple of throw away/"free" email accounts on Yahoo!, GMail and Live! will save a few headaches.

Obama, Clinton, McCain "middle class" Web site mentions

Using Google, I searched three candidate's Web sites for the words "middle class".
Here is what I found (in no particular order) :

Obama
185 from www.barackobama.com for "middle class"

Google search used:
"middle class" site:http://www.barackobama.com

Clinton
2,210 from www.hillaryclinton.com for "middle class"

Google search used:
"middle class" site:www.hillaryclinton.com

McCain
127 from www.johnmccain.com for "middle class"

Google search used:
"middle class" site:www.johnmccain.com

Clinton, Obama or McCain - Securing the Borders

I was researching the emerging candidates and found this vote for securing the borders interesting:

McCain (R-AZ), Yea
Obama (D-IL), Nay
Clinton (D-NY), Yea

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 109^th Congress - 2^nd Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate

Vote Summary

Question: On the Amendment (Sessions Amdt. No. 3979 )
Vote Number:	126	Vote Date:	May 17, 2006, 02:30 PM
Required For Majority:	1/2	Vote Result:	Amendment Agreed to
Amendment Number:	S.Amdt. 3979 to S. 2611
Statement of Purpose:	To increase the amount of fencing and improve vehicle barriers installed along the southwest border of the United States.

TWC's RoadRunner WildCard DNS "NXD" Service is Bad Idea

When did this "service" got activated? If you are a RoadRunner Internet customer and make a URL typo you now get a RoadRunner/Yahoo sponsored search results page. Creepy.

I think RoadRunner makes enough cash without the incremental income from showing sponsored results.

I'm not the first to blog about it.