Saturday, February 9, 2008

Web analytics is not hard, it's exciting!

The Kaushik vs Peterson, hard vs easy saga continues...

Following my post about Firing pixels: web analytics is hard or easy? I exchanged a couple of emails with Peterson. The latest I got was
"I’m adding you to my “web analytics is easy” list … which is kind of sad. Next big audience you’re in front of ask them whether WA is easy or hard. Then ask them why they find it so."
My point is this: ask anyone if their job is easy, regardless of the field. You are very likely to get a clear "no, it's hard" in return. Probably something to do with human nature!

"Hard" is not exclusive to web analytics, and I think it's not any harder than many of the jobs out there. We are in mostly new, uncharted territory, where we have to learn, experiment, make mistakes and explain again and again what is, or is not, web analytics.

I don't call that "hard", I call that "exciting"!