I was asked this questions at least a dozen times over the past 25 years.
My answer has always been the same – clear and simple:
“I want to be recognized for my contribution.”
Contribution to countless projects;
Contribution to my employer and clients success;
Contribution to the nascent and ever evolving digital analytics industry.
It is about my genuine passion for my work; a desire to solve complex problems in creative ways.
It's about sharing this passion with others.
Again this year, I’m honored to be a nominee of the Digital Analytics Association Awards of Excellence in the category “Most influential industry contributor”. Reading the entry under my name literally brought tears to my eyes - I'm touched, flattered, honoured. I can hardly believe I have accomplished all of this myself!
I feel I have reached a significant milestone in my career.
Please vote for me!
If you are a DAA member you should have received an email with your ballot and voting instructions.
Here's what you'll find under my name on the Awards of Excellence 2013: Nominees page:
This category begs the question, “how do you measure influence?” Is it by developing original analytics concepts that are freely shared with the community, and become de facto standards (the Online Analytics Maturity Model)? Is it by creating original tag detection software that becomes one of the most used and downloaded plug-ins used by analysts worldwide to make their jobs easier (think WASP)?
Or is influence measured by the extent to which you share your knowledge and passion for digital analytics by teaching thousands of people everything from the basics to the most advanced concepts (University of British Columbia, Université Laval, Seminars for Success, Google Engage for Agencies, WAA Base Camp, etc.)? Could it be by developing a series of awesome enhancements to improve and simplify Google Analytics data collection (gaAddons)?
Perhaps influence is reflected by having been elected to the Digital Analytics Association Board of Directors and being appointed Treasurer and contributing to the growth of the industry? Maybe it’s by winning the DAA Leadership and Technology Award (in 2009)? It might be in founding and building a 500+ person plus strong community of data-driven geekheads (Web Analytics Québec).
Maybe influence is measured by the hundreds and hundreds of blog posts, dozens and dozens of events at which you’ve spoken, the many keynotes you’ve given, articles published and thousands of Twitter followers. Influence might mean that you have the respect of your peers and are sought out by vendors to be on their Advisory Boards, to review their products, or to provide a comment on their usefulness.
Any *one* of these things could make you influential. But to be _”most influential”_ implies that you probably need to have been contributing at a high level, across multiple areas, for an extended period of time.
And you know, Stéphane Hamel has been doing just that. Which is why I am nominating him as “Most Influential Contributor”, and why I believe he deserves your vote.
To me, what further sets Stéphane apart among a worthy list of counterparts is his approachability, openness and obvious love of the field. His strong technical chops, his ability to make the complex simple, along with a prodigious work ethic has produced an enviable body of work that has been made freely available (in both English and French!). I’m sure that his restless mind means that we as a community will continue to benefit from his contributions for many years.