Web Analysts: Self Taught vs. Formal Training
March 21, 2012 by Gigi Geiger
Web Analytics is still considered a relatively new field. While formalized web analytics education is growing, it wasn’t long ago that training was almost nonexistent or at least rarely supported within companies. In the future, we’ll likely see full coursework and degrees available at accredited schools.
While formal training is on the rise, there's also something to be said for self-taught analysts. There are certain innate inclinations that make a successful web analyst that cannot be taught -- like resourcefulness, proactive tendencies, an independent and inquisitive nature, and the hunger to constantly strive for improvement.
These skills are especially necessary since certain concepts and methodologies are not set in stone and vary depending on the business and the situation. When issues arise, an analyst must take initiative to dig into the data in order to provide a tangible explanation; s/he must possess the insight to provide solutions or recommendations. Length of web analytics or marketing experience is important, since that's how best practices and audience behavioral tendencies are learned. But these are constantly changing, so even the most experienced web analysts need to stay hungry.
Gigi Geiger Sr. Analyst & Web Analytics Evangelist
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Web Analyst or Unicorn? Details on this elusive ‘trybrid’
November 21, 2011 by Gigi Geiger
Web Analytics is a relatively new and rapidly progressing discipline. Some of the best and brightest in the web analytics industry came together at #Accelerate last Friday to discuss various tips and ideas.
After hearing industry leaders from ESPN, Salesforce.com, Sony and Symantec speak for 20 minutes each, I took the stage for a Super Accelerator session and presented my “one big idea” for analytics; the idea of the elusive trybrid.
Good web analysts are nearly as difficult to find as a unicorn. This is because web analysts are comprised, in varying levels, of three very different skill sets: IT, analytics, and marketing. These unusual skills allow the web analyst to excel in the wild – and in the business world. The trybrid is not the kind of animal you see hunted on the Discovery Channel, but instead by recruiters and analytics managers.
Gigi Geiger Sr. Analyst & Web Analytics Evangelist
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