From the monthly archives:

March 2011

The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick (Book Review of the Week-ish)

by Tim on March 30, 2011

in Book Reviews,Strategy


Let me start with the obvious: James Gleick’s “The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood”
is not a light and breezy little read. Weighing in at over 500 pages and more than 2 pounds, Gleick covers the meaning of information and the value of communication across many hundreds of years, dozens of fascinating stories, a number of juicy characters and more than a few continents.

I know a number of business people who only read “business books.” As a result, those are the types of books I typically review. But, to suggest that “The Information” isn’t a business book ignores the importance of information theory to modern businesses. Sure, you’re not going to read this book and immediately have “ten tips for growing your revenues” or anything of the kind. But you will have a deeper understanding of the history, the people and the meaning that have shaped information theory from its earliest days to the present.

In all likelihood, you’ll enjoy the journey, too, as Gleick is as able a storyteller as he is a historian, bringing many of these characters to life. In particular, I was rapt by the fascinating tales of Charles Babbage and Ada Lovelace, the triumph and tragedy of Alan Turing, and the simple genius of Claude Shannon. Each of these individuals advanced the science of information and, in many ways, shaped the world in which we live today.

“The Information” is not a business book in the traditional sense. And it’s a bit bulky. But don’t use its weight—or weighty subject matter—as a reason not to read this book. My advice: Read the book; just get the audiobook or the Kindle edition instead.


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My favorite Google Analytics tip

by Tim on March 28, 2011

in analytics,E-commerce

Anyone who’s been here before knows I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the right ways to measure your website. It’s also no secret that I think Google Analytics is an excellent website measurement option for many sites. But one thing has always baffled me about GA. By default, Google Analytics shows you your reports for a rolling 30-day period, ending yesterday. Which is great for seeing your baseline visits or visitors on the dashboard, like this:

Favorite analytics tip baseline

The problem I have with Google Analytics’ default display is that, for most reports, the tool doesn’t give you very much context. You can see that the line is going up, but how much?

Thankfully, you can fix this easily. Just click on the downward pointing arrow to select your dates and check the “Compare to Past” box, as shown here:

My favorite Google Analytics tip

Now each report you look at will show you both your numbers for the current period, the numbers for the preceding period and the percentage change, and will look something like this:

My favorite analytics tip output

If the days of the week don’t line up (i.e., Mondays to Mondays, Tuesdays to Tuesdays, etc.) in the default, go ahead and select a similar length prior period in the “Compare to Past” dates selector that lines up correctly.

Now, until you close GA, this will show you how you’re trending for each of your reports. That way, as you dig into your data, you can see the results your efforts are producing.

Favorite analytics tip second report

My only knock on this tip is I don’t believe there’s a way to set it as the default choice, which is a drag. But, given that it’s only a couple of clicks, it’s not a huge deal to configure each time you come into Google Analytics (or whatever your favorite analytics tool is). And, once you get used to seeing your data this way, you’ll want to compare your results to the past. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if it turns into one of your favorite Google Analytics tips, too.


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Twitter Weekly Updates for 2011-03-27

by Tim on March 27, 2011

in twitter

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More mobile memes (Small Business E-commerce Link Digest – March 25, 2011)

March 25, 2011 del.icio.us links

Since I’ve spent much of the week mulling over the meaning of mobile marketing (try saying that fie times, fast), I thought we’d end the week with a quick recap of the myriad messages making their way around the ‘net about mobile. Enjoy! Want further proof that mobile is amassing meaningful mindshare? (Sorry. I’ll abolish [...]

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Here’s why your customers will use the mobile web

March 24, 2011 Mobile

Last week I said no one uses the mobile web, but they will. Here’s why: Just sayin’. [Image Credit: Kevin Twohy] Are you getting enough value out of your small business website? Want to make sure your business makes the most of the local, mobile, social web? thinks helps you understand how to grow your [...]

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Firefox? IE? Which browser should you design your site for?

March 23, 2011 analytics

I’m always amused by browser stat news. TechCrunch is reporting that Firefox 4 has a significantly larger market share than Internet Explorer 9. My response? Who cares? Seriously. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a big fan of Firefox as a browser. And, despite the headaches that cross-browser compatability issues can raise for your web [...]

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