We should of clued in from the kicking during my wife’s pregnancy that she would be the life of the party. We should of clued in from the whaling from her baths that she would be one to stand her ground…especially if the water was too cold. We should of known from the way she snuggled up to us from birth that she’d be a charmer. But we definitely know now. I definitely know now.

My girl definitely can drive me up a wall when she’s in a bad mood. But those times are rare and far between now. She’s a happy kid and based on her dancing, is destined for the stage – that or ultimate fighting, whichever. She knows how to cheer me up after a long day. She knows how to make me laugh without trying. She knows how to touch my heart with a single kiss. What she doesn’t know is how much she means to me.

So while this day technically is about thanking dads for being dads, for me, father’s day is about my daughter. The girl that makes me proud. The girl who calls me, “Da-dai”. I’d like to thank her for making it such a joy to be a dad. Those that are close to me know I’m not an easy guy to please, so these words carry extra weight today.

Of course, all bets are off when she starts asking to borrow the car. Happy father’s day to all the dads out there.

Web analysts agree

If there was a common thread throughout the early sessions of eMetrics, it was this: everyone agrees. Lots of nods and “uh huh”s throughout the room. “Start small”, “think about business goals”, “learn to communicate effectively”, “avoid puke” – yes, yes, yes and oh my yes. They were giving out Avinash’s latest book – but I had a strong feeling that a good proportion of the room already owned a copy, I know I did. The entire conference was dancing on the edge of preaching to the choir. “Test, and be prepared to change”. Yes. “It’s not about the tools”. Yes. Web analytics is here and will thrust business into the new world! Hooah! The Spartans of 300 we were. United in thought, united in action.

Sure. There were tidbits of new material. A method of analysis perhaps we didn’t think about. And, of course, there was the contradicting ideas where some say that web analytics is hard and those that felt that web analytics is easy (I’ll weigh in on this debate on day). Though, mostly everyone agreed that web analytics could be way more complicated – just ask the predictive analytics panel.

But overall, unfortunately, for the first two days, eMetrics felt… dare I say, monotonous?

For the first two days, as interested as I was, there was a lack of fire. It felt like each presentation was a slight flavor of the last. Missing was any serious opinion about social media as a marketing channel (other than a way to hold a contest or campaign). Missing was how to tangibly measure engagement. Missing was any talk about pushing the envelope into offline media’s turf. I started to wonder what happened to the visionary spirit of web analytics? Did Peter Pan grow up when I wasn’t looking? When did we stop dreaming and putting out wild ideas out there for people to shoot down? Where was the passion? Perhaps my expectations were set too high. Who knows… at least the beer was cold, I guess.

Thank God it’s Friday

But just as the conference was beginning to feel old shoe, comfortable but ordinary, Friday came to save the day. While the attribution panel was, by far, the most exciting session of the conference for me, it was the final panel that day that made the conference worth coming to. The overarching question posed to the panel of web analytics’ answer to rock-stars: “What is the future of web analytics?”. No one knew. They had ideas, but no one was sure. There was no across the board agreement. There wasn’t a, “I have nothing to add” to be heard. The time flew by and you wanted to hear more. There was a sense that the field come to a fork in the road, and no one had a map.

Would web analytics be drafted into service by business analytics? Would our opinions ever hold weight with the c-suite? Would we live in the basement with the statisticians or in the limelight in front of CEOs? So many questions, so few answers. Yet, being lost never felt so good.

I’ve always felt uneasiness about the future was the cornerstone of any serious profession and that all good ideas are born from a million bad ones. Proper professions always look for ways to be pertinent and meaningful, not only for today but for our children’s tomorrows. Web analytics is just too young to know all the answers already and much too young to know what it should be when it grows up or what not to do.

I left the session pensive with my head full of questions. It couldn’t have ended better.

My take

While, I too cannot predict the future, after some thought, I come up with this: We can do better. We can do more. We must start now.

As web analysts, we have a great opportunity ahead of us. The tortured history of BI does not have to be that of web analytics. We can learn from BI’s mis-steps. We’re the pioneers in a new medium and we’re much more nimble than our predecessors. The old marketing channels are stumbling and are lusting over the potential of the web – we must leverage this. Instead of us aiming to join their aging clubs, we should be paving the way towards a new league of measured media. We should further blur the boundaries of web, print, radio and TV and look beyond the click towards offline. While perhaps web analytics will be part of BI one day, it doesn’t mean it should be a minor player. Web analytics practitioners must not become the modern day number crunchers or Javascript grunts – we’re better than that.

We will make mistakes and that’s OK. Our mistakes will make us better. We will overcome challenges. This will give us confidence. We will make a difference. And this will give us purpose.

Who’s with me? Hooah.

Moving on

I will also miss my little piece of home in the GM building. During my time at Web Communications I moved in with my girlfriend. I traveled the world with her, married her, and with her amazing help, brought a little one into this world. So many of my life milestones are tied to my little cubicle next to the water-cooler, underneath the chipped burgundy “Web Communications” sign stuck on an overhead shelf. That silly little sign has been with me for what seems like forever: during our group’s time at the old Bishop Court building, during our move to the new offices in the GM building where it has stayed, faithfully, above my desk for the last three years.

But as much as I know I’ll miss Concordia, I know that leaving is the right decision. I’ve pushed, shoved, and coaxed the web at the university as far as I humanly could. I’ve improved processes as much as the politics allowed. I’ve contributed as much as the university could bear. My plunge into MBA and web analytics studies have made me realize that my strengths don’t solely rest in design, but in my ability and desire to understand the bigger picture. With this realization, I know that I’ve gone as far as I could at Concordia, and I’m ready to move to a bigger stage.

So it is with a sad heart, but hopeful eye, that I leave Concordia. A part of my heart will always remain at the Sir George Campus – just as that chipped burgundy “Web Communications” sign will always remain with me. I intend to bring the sign along with me as a memento to remind me of my beginnings and accomplishments, and also to inspire me as I face a new set of challenges at my new home, Bell Web Solutions, where I hope to continue to grow and make a difference.

Sometimes we need to take a break and reflect

I started this blog a few weeks ago with the sole goal of fleshing out my thoughts on web and marketing subjects in a public forum for feedback and discussion. I used to, and continue to, use it to advance my thinking, and perhaps naively, with the hope of getting people to advance with me. I intended this space to be a wide open mental space, free from personal drama, or emotional blah blah. So, I find myself in an odd position today as I make a dramatic exception. Today, I take a break. I’ll put the projects aside, the studies away, and my chores on hold – at least for a bit, while I take care of some truly important business: Saying Thank You.

My life has been rich with experiences and full of memories I’ll keep forever. Weaved in that historical fabric are the threads of friendships I’ve made along the way – some of which have broken years ago and some of which are still hanging in there. Despite circumstance, they all have made me stronger and the person I am today. So with that in mind, I suggest we all do something simple this week:

Take time to pause, reflect on life, and grow.

You can only move forward if you know where you came from and how you got there. Today, I’d just like to acknowledge those that helped me get to where I am, and who continue to help me get where I want to go:

My Circle

These are the special few whose lives revolve around mine so closely that their positive influences have rubbed off on me:

• My Wife and Family
  Their sticking with me through thick and thin is a Herculean feat which I can never thank them enough for. My wife is my biggest cheerleader, my little one is simply perfect and the rest of my family are the best support network one could ever ask for.
• My Friends
  To support me through all my hair-brained ideas (read: deep fried turkey) and projects (design marathons, and and all-day photo shoots) you have to be just as crazy as I am. Their sweat, input and humour will endure in my mind forever.

My guideposts

These  are the unforgettable personalities that have purposefully or inadvertently showed me the right way in life:

• Every mentor or superior that ever gave me a hard time
  By pushing me to my limit and grinding me down they have given me the resolve to survive life’s hardships
• Every mentor or superior that ever inspired me
  By making me think of things in ways I would have never dreamed of, and by making my brain hurt in so many good ways, I feel there are virtually no challenges I can’t meet.

My bottom of the bag french fries

These are those I never expected to be, but are, welcome additions to my life and whom I’m glad I met:

• Tweeters
  Sure OK, I added you at first because I thought you tweeted something interesting – but hey, who would of thought we would of actually become friends?
• Analytics Allies
  Who can put an ROI on the friends you make while taking online courses? Priceless.
• The MBA Crew
  I went into my MBA program at the John Molson School of Business alone and knowing no one – now I feel I’m surrounded by not only some of the brightest people I’ve ever met, but some of the friendliest and ethusiastic.

Of course, the Shout outs

This type of post wouldn’t be complete without a bunch of shoutouts, admit it. So in typical high school yearbook fashion:

Jackie Ng (my Nemesis who thinks completely different from me I appreciate for regularly challenging me to think beyond my comfort zone), James Allison (the legendary punk rock member of Fuel who gives me more work than I could ever hope to finish in a million years), Kirsten Cameron (the Kiwi who I’ve bounced countless ideas off of), Sarven Capadisli (my go-to guy when I don’t understand something or need a fresh set of eyes), Stephane Hamel (my first web analytics teacher who went far beyond the curriculum to help out his students), Kathryn Presner (someone who always is willing to lend a hand), and of course Tanya McGinnity (who was the first person to make me feel that I could make a difference in Montreal and who’s kind words moved me so much that they inspired this post).

Thank you.