3 ms·

It looks nice, but I see a big panel of metrics I'd never use. http://20bits.com/articles/8-tips-for-crafting-metrics-that-matter/ http://20bits.com/articles/8

by jfarmer 17y ago

It looks nice, but I see a big panel of metrics I'd never use. http://20bits.com/articles/8-tips-for-crafting-metrics-that-matter/ http://20bits.com/articles/8-tips-for-crafting-metrics-that-... Taking the Twitter followers graph, will your system let me track the referral traffic from Twitter and break down what they do on with my product? Can I A/B test to see how it impacts their behavior and have it reflected in the reports? Tracking my Twitter followers and Facebook fans is fun, but it doesn't help me make decisions about my product.

ryanwaggoner 17y ago
There's a lot of more complicated things that we'd like to do down the road, but a lot of people aren't even using the simple top-line stats to the degree that they should be, partly because things are so spread out and fragmented. That's the theory, anyway :)
- jfarmer 17y ago
  I think people shouldn't use "topline stats" like # Twitter followers. You should be tracking the value that Twitter drives to your product (preferably dollars-in-hand) and optimize that -- whether that means getting more followers, getting more followers of a certain type, getting more people to retweet your stuff, or whatever. The same goes for the other "top line" metrics like that: pageviews, uniques, # friends, # fans, whatever. "# friends"-type metrics are particularly bad because they're virtually monotonic. Just my thoughts -- your product might not be designed for my needs.
Frocer 17y ago
100% agreed. These metrics don't really matter to me. I think the reason why most start-ups have customized metrics tracking system is because we are all different. For a social product, engagement metrics would be much more important. If you are an utility product, metrics that are more important are probably usability, time spent, effectiveness, or whatever that's relevant to the developers. The metrics I see in that dashboard are just a bunch of numbers that are fun to see, but doesn't give me insights into how I should push my product direction. Google Analytics + CrazyEgg on the other hand, they do. On the other hand though, that tool may be very handy to track marketing campaigns. So that may be the angle on how you can position the tool. But be warned, web analytic tool is not a good market to be in because it's very hard to scale... you need a direct sales force for instance.
- ryanwaggoner 17y ago
  Just to be clear...we're not doing any web analytics directly, just pulling from 3rd party services like GA, Clicky, Mint, etc. This is just a dashboard / reporting tool.

by jfarmer 17y ago

ryanwaggoner 17y ago

There's a lot of more complicated things that we'd like to do down the road, but a lot of people aren't even using the simple top-line stats to the degree that they should be, partly because things are so spread out and fragmented. That's the theory, anyway :)

jfarmer 17y ago
I think people shouldn't use "topline stats" like # Twitter followers. You should be tracking the value that Twitter drives to your product (preferably dollars-in-hand) and optimize that -- whether that means getting more followers, getting more followers of a certain type, getting more people to retweet your stuff, or whatever. The same goes for the other "top line" metrics like that: pageviews, uniques, # friends, # fans, whatever. "# friends"-type metrics are particularly bad because they're virtually monotonic. Just my thoughts -- your product might not be designed for my needs.

Frocer 17y ago

100% agreed. These metrics don't really matter to me. I think the reason why most start-ups have customized metrics tracking system is because we are all different. For a social product, engagement metrics would be much more important. If you are an utility product, metrics that are more important are probably usability, time spent, effectiveness, or whatever that's relevant to the developers. The metrics I see in that dashboard are just a bunch of numbers that are fun to see, but doesn't give me insights into how I should push my product direction. Google Analytics + CrazyEgg on the other hand, they do. On the other hand though, that tool may be very handy to track marketing campaigns. So that may be the angle on how you can position the tool. But be warned, web analytic tool is not a good market to be in because it's very hard to scale... you need a direct sales force for instance.

ryanwaggoner 17y ago
Just to be clear...we're not doing any web analytics directly, just pulling from 3rd party services like GA, Clicky, Mint, etc. This is just a dashboard / reporting tool.