The Analytics Power Hour
Michael Helbling, Moe Kiss, Tim Wilson, Val Kroll, and Julie Hoyer
Attend any conference for any topic and you will hear people saying after that the best and most informative discussions happened in the bar after the show. Read any business magazine and you will find an article saying something along the lines of "Business Analytics is the hottest job category out there, and there is a significant lack of people, process and best practice." In this case the conference was eMetrics, the bar was….multiple, and the attendees were Michael Helbling, Tim Wilson and Jim Cain (Co-Host Emeritus). After a few pints and a few hours of discussion about the cutting edge of digital analytics, they realized they might have something to contribute back to the community. This podcast is one of those contributions. Each episode is a closed topic and an open forum - the goal is for listeners to enjoy listening to Michael, Tim, and Moe share their thoughts and experiences and hopefully take away something to try at work the next day. We hope you enjoy listening to the Digital Analytics Power Hour.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 13, 2018 • 1h 4min
#084: Bayesian Statistics and the Digital Analyst with Dr. Elea Feit
Do you model professionally? Would you like to? Or, are you uncertain. These are the topics of this episode: Bayesian statistician (among other official roles that are way less fun to say) Dr. Elea Feit joined the gang to discuss how we, as analysts, think about data put it to use. Things got pretty deep, included the exploration of questions such as, "If you run a test that includes a holdout group, is that an A/B test?" This episode ran a little long, but our confidence level is quite high that you will be totally fine with that. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this show and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
Mar 6, 2018 • 10min
(Bonus) 1:1 with Aurélie Pols: Privacy and GDPR
Moe sat down for a chat with privacy and GDPR expert Aurélie Pols to dive in to some of the questions that, at times, get treated as peripheral in the run-up to new regulations, but that seem like they are fairly fundamental when it comes to understanding the rationale and drivers behind those regulations: what does the Holocaust have to do with GDPR? Is GDPR something that was simply dreamed up in Europe, or are there roots in other countries (teaser: Eleanor Roosevelt). Is GDPR inherently anti-business? It's a quick chat but, hopefully, will give you some deeper perspective on the subject!
Feb 27, 2018 • 48min
#083: KPIs in the Absence of a Clear Conversion with Amy Sample
Raise your hand if you work for a company that sells exclusively low-consideration products and only sells them online. Anyone? Anyone? We only see a couple of hands out there. For all the rest of you, this episode might be of interest. We sat down with Amy Sample — Senior Director of Consumer Insights and Strategy at PBS by day, president of the DAA board by night — to discuss approaches for effective digital measurement in the absence of a clear online conversion. That challenge doesn't get much bigger than in the mission-driven, not-for-profit world of public television! After listening to this episode, you may actually feel like you have it easy! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
Feb 13, 2018 • 54min
#082: Superweek 2018 - GDPR, Machine Learning, and Tim's Hair
For the second year in a row for the podcast -- but the first appearance since Moe joined the crew -- we headed to the Hunguest Grandhotel Galya outside Budapest for Superweek, one of the most unique conference experiences in the digital analytics industry: comfortably isolated over an hour outside of Budapest in a beautiful setting, it's a temporary community of, for, and by the analyst. With sessions ranging from GDPR to machine learning to attribution to media analytics, the spaces before, between, and after the presentations were extended discussions with great people on a wide range of topics. The "fireside chat" on Wednesday evening was a recording of the podcast with a live audience, where we had attendees to share tips and ideas that we found particularly intriguing. And had quite a bit of fun along the way. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
Feb 6, 2018 • 23min
(Bonus) 1:1 with Lee Isensee: The Measure Slack Team
In this, our initial bonus audio, Tim sits down with Lee Isensee, creator and curator of the Measure Slack team. We plug the Slack team on every episode of the podcast, and all three co-hosts are active members of the team, so we wanted to find out a little bit about the history, challenges, and envisioned future for the platform. Standard bonus content disclaimer: Bonus content is not released on any fixed schedule, and it does not receive quite the same level of polish as regular episodes. If you enjoy a particular bit of bonus content, are enthused about the general existence of bonus content, or have feedback about bonus content, we encourage you to leave a review of the show in iTunes, tweet to @analyticshour, or contact one of the show hosts through the Measure Slack team.
8 snips
Jan 30, 2018 • 55min
#081: The Career Growth Conundrum: Lead People or Crunch Data?
You love analytics. Great. You even love your job (hopefully)! But, you're thinking about the future, and it looks like there is a fork in the road. Should you take the path that leads you down the people management path? Or, should you take the path that leads you deeper into the data itself, but as an individual contributor. Can you pursue both paths? As it turns out, Michael stumbled down the former path, while Tim has headed down the latter. So, Moe took a turn in the moderator chair to guide a discussion about the considerations and relative merits of each option. As well as how the culture and HR processes of different companies can influence the availability of alternate paths. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
Jan 16, 2018 • 56min
#080: Making Sh** Happen with Evan LaPointe
Do you ever feel like you've got the analytics blues because you see what needs to happen, and it's something innovative, and all the signals say it's the right thing to do... but the realities of organizational life are a brick wall on the path to progress? Welcome to corporate life, buddy. That's just the way it is! Or...is it? On this episode, the gang sits down with Evan LaPointe and gets him to jam a bit -- literally at first, and then figuratively -- about organizational dynamics, the tradeoffs between personality types, and why it can be counterproductive to always try to cater to all of the different psychologies and mindsets in any given meeting. And round tables. For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
Jan 2, 2018 • 1h 2min
#079: When the Stakeholder Just. Doesn't. Get It! with Rusty Rahmer
Happy new year! Nothing says a new year like a new year's resolution. And, what's a better professional resolution than to work with stakeholders more effectively? Unfortunately, we've all come across business users who have no interest in the data, have too much interest in the data, or maybe even have the right amount of interest...but in the wrong data. Interactions with those stakeholders can be enormously frustrating and entirely unproductive, yet neither you nor they are going anywhere. What is an analyst to do? On this episode, the gang chews on this very topic with Rusty Rahmer, 20-year veteran of Vanguard, and the incoming president of the DAA's board of directors. Give it a listen for some practical perspectives and topical tips! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
Dec 19, 2017 • 48min
#078: 2017 - The Year in Review
2017 was a big year for both the digital analytics industry and for the Digital Analytics Power Hour. Join us, won't you, as we (figuratively!) gaze upon our navels? From the traction the #womeninanalytics movement gained on multiple fronts, to the looming promise of machine learning and AI getting a real foothold in the field, to the podcast finally adding a co-host who is universally admired, we had a lot to talk about! We had a LOT to talk about. Trust us, we edited this episode down heavily! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
Dec 5, 2017 • 54min
#077: Lions and GDPR and Bears, Oh My! with Jodi Daniels
Are you a data subject? If you're a person, then you better believe you are! And, so is every person who visits your website. And, if you are in the EU, or you have visitors from the EU, then May 25th, 2018, is a day you should be keeping a close eye on and preparing for now! On this episode, Jodi Daniels of Red Clover Advisors joins Moe and Tim to talk all things General Data Privacy Regulation (aka, GDPR). Give it a listen and pick up delightful cocktail party openers like, "Hey, do you know how to tell someone isn't from the EU? They reference PII." That's not just a delightful witticism -- it's actually important to understand the distinction between PII and personal data! For complete show notes, including links to items mentioned in this episode and a transcript of the show, visit the show page.
