Google Analytics Academy

Today I finished some very interesting training through the Google Analytics Academy on the fundamentals of digital analytics.

It's a free, self-paced course that has 6 courses with a number of sub-topics in each course.  You can hook up with the course here.  Each topic has a video along with a text handout.  The course starts with a basic discussion of analytics and definitions so everyone is on the same footing.  At the end of each topic there are a few questions to test you on the material you just learned.  In the first few units, the questions at the end hadn't always been covered in either the video or the written information, but that kept it interesting.

At the end, you take a final assessment exam with a number of multiple choice questions.  Don't worry, the exam is open book --and open computer for that matter --and you can change answers, if needed until you get 80% right and earn a certificate.

The course gives you great insight into the power and potential of Google Analytics and I thought it was well worth the time.


If you're interested, though, you better hurry up.  The course will only be available until October 30th. 

Startup Day -- October 25th

I've got my ticket and am anxious to attend this Friday's Startup Day sponsored by GeekWire in Seattle. 

There are a lot of great speakers planned -- both start up CEO's and venture capital  guys.  Whether you're a start up company needing direction, an investor looking for new investment ideas or someone fascinated by the early stages of capitalism, there should be something for each of us.

 

They Buried the Lead

After viewing a nice interview between Bill Gates and David Rubenstein of Harvard that you'll find here, I realized that everyone publishing the interview completely buried the lead.

All the announcements talked about Gates acknowledging that the key sequence CTRL-ALT-DELETE, was a mistake.  They shouldn't have required that sequence to start up a computer.

That was the most important thing they got out of a nearly hour-long interview.  Really?

Personally, I was much more interested in the evolution of the intense, driven 20-something computer software fanatic into a 50-something self-effacing philanthropist.  You hear stories from the man who casually refers to his friends Warren, Paul and Steve and how those real-life tales changed his life and the lives we all lead.

You seen the consistent playful byplay Gates had with Rubenstein and it brings a previously unsuspected humanity to the myth that time and wealth helped create.