Yakiji (Yah-key-jee)

It’s only hours before the decade is over and 2009 was a great year for me. It was a year of outstanding innovation in the web and with that came great content as social media really took off. Sadly there wasn’t enough time in the day to read all the great content from blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc…and of course I have a life too. I really dove into Twitter this last year and it opened up my eyes to some great resources and articles. While I probably missed many great posts, I decided to list some of my favorite (must-read) blog posts from 2009. Enjoy.
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There are many ways to become a better Web Analyst, but what I’ve been most interested in lately is examining my actionable intent. Yes, that sounds weird. But the way to look at it is that actionable intent explores the way we look at core standard web metrics and the action we intend to take. As analysts, I believe the actions we need to take are most clear when the metrics fall significantly outside the norm. The problem is that we see the analytics most often inside the norm and we lose sight of opportunities. Analyzing a “spike” in visits is much easier than analyzing a “small bump”.

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Social media presentations, articles, blog posts and the likes are a dime a dozen these days. Of course this is great news because it means that awareness is spreading and corporations are investing in social engagement. While the rules for engagement are still loose, corporations must be sensitive to the reactive nature of their customers. The rules are different in social media (as opposed to traditional media) and today I’ll explore 4 common misconceptions in corporate social media.

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I did it. I signed up for SXSW (Interactive) last week. Registration, hotel, and flight – all taken care of. So why is this news? Well, after getting all hyped up about it I realized I had one problem – I couldn’t find anybody else to go with me. At best, I have a friend who might be living in Austin, Texas at the time of SXSW, but he has warned me that it’s possible he may be deployed for the Army. With that in mind, I had every reason not to go – why would I want to throw myself in there alone. I knew SXSW meant being in the presence with some of the best interactive minds in the world of the web. People who inspire and innovate. In addition to that, it’s about going to the great SXSW parties in Austin where you get to know the people and network. While I’m a social person I am not the type that can go up to anybody and introduce myself. In fact that is my biggest shortcoming. With that as my barrier, I had accepted defeat. Then, all of the sudden something amazing happened, I took a deep breath and went to SXSW.com…and I registered.

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This last year has ushered in a new era for the web and at the helm is the social groundswell. Social Media has clearly become a hot topic in the world of web marketing. Articles, blog posts, white papers are all covering the latest crazes and tactics around social media. There’s so many questions to answer and so much information to absorb. And yet everyone has an opinion and everyone is a social media expert. It’s hard not to get a little annoyed by this wave of interest and yet I’m guilty of the fascination with it. So why are we so captivated by social media?

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Google launched a new microsite today called “Google Internet Stats” in their UK division. It provides bite-sized stats organized into 5 different categories – Macro Economic Trends, Technology, Consumer Trends, Media Consumption, and Media Landscape. The stats come from well known sources ranging from BusinessWeek to Nielson to YouTube. While these sources have clearly earned their stature in providing these facts and stats, Google has opened up the opportunity for users to submit relevant facts and stats as well. This looks like it could be a neat initiative and I took it for a spin.

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It was an interesting week that brought with is some funny links to share. Here are some of the things that cracked me up this week.

• The People of Walmart – a collection of all the creatures that grace us with their presence at Walmart, America’s favorite store.
• Craigslist: Clowns for Kicks – anybody looking for a side job? Whether it’s real or not, this is one of the funniest Craigslist postings I’ve seen.
• Hitler Discovers He’s on Youtube – Hitler finally gets an Internet connection and he is none to happy to find out he’s been made fun of all this time.
• Brett Favre Sears Commercial Outtakes – at least Favre can make fun of himself.
• Stuff My Dad Says – one of the hottest viral sensations right now, Justin (a 28-year-old who moved back home with his dad) tweets everything his dad says. Let’s just say that his dad says some pretty vulgar but funny stuff which could be considered “synonymous with human waste that is unsuitable for a family publication”.

While the conference was titled Blogwell, the broader idea was about social integration on the web from the corporate view. Having a social presence on the web is rapidly shifting towards a necessity for corporations. Your audience is out there waiting to engage and if you don’t engage with them, your audience will do it on their own. From the great speakers of Blogwell, the message seemed clear – social media is still imperfect and you will make mistakes. The lessons you learn from your mistakes will ultimately define your success. Here are some great lessons from the corporate social media experts:

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Blogging is something I wish I did more of. Finding the time to write always turns into an easy excuse not to. I’ve come to realize that if I want to accomplish a blog post in a timely manner then I need to be completely prepared – all the way down to organizing my workspace. Concentration and focus is critical in getting my creative writing juices flowing. With that said I’ve laid out 8 of my favorite techniques for achieving creative blogging bliss.

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• Some eCards – eCards for when you care enough to hit send. A fantastic collection of eCards that say it how it truly is.
• DZone – Fresh links for developers. It’s a “Digg” like website for coding and web development.
• 10 Things to Consider When Choosing The Perfect CMS – A major task like choosing a CMS is often skewed by sales pitches and lopsided marketing tactics from CMS companies. This is a great rundown on the basic principles of choosing a CMS.
• Open Source CMS – Try before you install. A nice little website that allows you to test out some basic open source CMS’s.
• What is your Google Analytics IQ? – Whoo-hoo! Google Analytics now offers an online course. $50 to take the test.
• CNBC Gives Financial Advice – Gotta watch this! This is one of the most viral web videos jumping across the web over the last couple of weeks. Jon Stewart tells it how it is.
• Xinu Returns – A site that tells you how socially connected your website is.
• Post Rank – Measure Audience Engagement.
• Clear and Effective Communication in Web Design – Thanks from Smashing Magazine on this one.
• Realtime Twitter Search Results on Google – I usually don’t recommend GreaseMonkey downloads but this is a huge exception. This download embeds Twitter search results into your Google search. Since Twitter has been argued to have the most up-to-date search results, this is a fantastic add-on.
• Check User Names – Finally ready to dive into social media (cough – Chuck)? Well you’re going to want to make sure you have a unique alias that you can build your own personal brand. Find out here.
• Idiot’s Ultimate Guide to Building Your Own Computer – I am a firm believer in that if you are a tech enthusiast, you should try to build your own computer at least once. Here’s a great place to start.
• Forrester is Wrong About Paying Bloggers – Forrester got attacked from all angles after posting an article about the benefits of paid blogging. The point of the attack was because they highlighted the benefits of paid blogging while not emphasizing the risks involved – example: websites can get blacklisted by Google. Read on…