Aussie Web Analyst

This was my second Web Analytics Wednesday and I am still to attend one on a Wed. The topic for the night changed rapidly from Jim Sterne summarising the outcomes from E-metrics (only two minutes needed there but I really liked what the summary was) to a vendor Q&A session. It was a little weird just seeing competitors up there…

But there was one question that I thought was quite interesting and where I think my response would have been equal to any that they came up with. The question was “What topic/theme do you think we will look back in 3 to 5 years and wonder why it was even a discussion point?”. While I can’t remember the exact responses given, clearly nothing was said to really impress me.

I believe that one thing the industry needs to move beyond is this concept of web 1.0, web 2.0 and now (thanks Eric) web 3.0. And related to these – web analytics 1.0, 2.0 and I am guessing 3.0. I think people are trying to differentiate when they just don’t need to. And in the process, using another set of buzzwords that are not clearly defined.

To me, what people call web 1.0 is a website where people have just transplanted offline media onto the internet and expected it to work. Smart people (with potentially more time/resources) recognise that the internet is a different medium and create content that uses the potential of this medium. So called web 2.0 features are still a waste of time if they are not appropriate to the website or audience.

I just plain disagree with the idea of mobile being web 3.0. It is still the internet via a smaller screen with people likely not at home or at work. Therefore yet another medium and again the smart people are the ones who create content appropriate to this medium, content that works within the limitations but uses the advantages.

I had written a couple of lines about how I find there to be minimal difference between web analytics 1.0 and web analytics 2.0. But these are now deleted as I have reread a post by Avinash (http://www.kaushik.net/avinash/2007/09/rethink-web-analytics-introducing-web-analytics-20.html) which does differentiate them quite nicely. I still don’t think they need to be called 1.0 and 2.0 though – it still seems to me as though 1.0 is just looking at numbers/data while web analytics 2.0 is focusing on customers and actually using your brain. It sounds a little similar to art vs science.

In 3 to 5 years time, I hope we will have got beyond this need for differentiation and be focussed on improving websites to meet customer needs, whatever they are and however this is best achieved.

Tags: Web 1.0, Web 2.0, Web Analytics