Web Analytics Wednesday Toronto (July 28) Wrapup

Much discussion and fun was had at the July 28th installment of web analytics wednesday Toronto (#WAWTO). There was a large variety of folks who turned out – from some of the best developers in the city, some of the best strategists, and some of the best analysts and measurement scientists.

Name drop commences:

Attendees included June Li, Maciek Adwent, Jenn Fong-Adwent, Mark Dykeman, Dave Hamel, Glinski, Alex Brasil, Mike Fiorillo, Jose Davilla, Romy Klaus (in from London!), Lida and Mike Sukmanowski, Gar, and the whole Syncapse Measurement Science team – among many others. I counted some 45 attendees at the apogee. Thank you all for making it an excellent evening.

Name drop ends.

There are no stated agendas at these gatherings, only hidden ones. And indeed, I had a chance to talk extensively with Mister Glinski (@glinskiii) about our recent transformations from being such extreme analysts to becoming rounder strategists. I’ve written in this space before about the combination of evidence and product development – specifically about using analytics to make product better. Last night, we expanded on that notion of going beyond a source of proof to becoming a collaborator in the formulation of strategy – to using that skillset to make better products from the outset. That’s a subtle bit of word play – but an important one.

We’ve identified how the path from execution excellence after-the-launch and strategic collaboration before the launch is an ill-charted one. Patrick cut out his own path and is succeeding. I have too.

Such stories will be worth sharing.

This was one of possibly 500 discussions that happened over the course of the night. There was genuine overlap. Thanks all, and let’s continue to talk to one another.