Dr. Diane Hamilton's Blog
A Revolution in Hiring and Working with Eva Andres of Juniper Networks
Top Links for Help with Deciphering Web Analytics
Sites like Alexa, Compete, Google Analytics and Quantcast can give some important data about website visitors. If these were the only choices available, it might not be so difficult to choose the best tools for web analytics. However, there are a lot of sites out there. They may also have some techy jargon. Some terms that may be confusing to some who are trying to decipher the data include:
- Unique Visitors: Refers to visitors who visit a site and come back within a specific amount of time.
- Repeat Visitors: Refers to visitors who has had at least one previous visit to the site.
- Absolute Unique Visitors: Google Analytics differentiates between unique and absolute unique visitors to distinguish from new and returning visitors
To explain the importance of the type of visitor, check out the article: Total or Unique Visitors: What is the Difference? While many people focus on unique visitors, in an article titled Unique Visitors are not Everything, Jakob Nielson was quoted as saying, “Chasing higher unique-visitor counts will undermine your long-term positioning because you’ll design gimmicks rather than build features that bring people back and turn them into devotees and customers.”
To try and keep it all straight and pick the correct site based on individual needs, check out the following top 10 links with information about web analytics, explanations of popular tools and what they measure:
- Web Analytics Demystified – Unique visitors ONLY come in one size.
- Alexa Analytics Explained – Take a tour of Alexa’s analytics.
- Compete Analytics Explained – Where they get their data and PDF of methodology.
- Google Analytics Explained – FAQ for all Google Analytics issues.
- Quantcast Analytics Explained – FAQ for all Quantcast Analytic issues.
- Top 24 Web Analytics Software Packages – Top software packages explained.
- 11 Best Web Analytic Tools – Includes Google, Yahoo, Crazy Egg, Compete, and more.
- Alltop Web Analytic News – News about all analytic issues.
- Web Analytics Review – Side by side comparison of top web analytic tools.
- Yahoo! Analytics Explained – FAQ for all Yahoo! Analytics issues.
Related Articles
Top 20 TED Talks Not To Be Missed
TED.com contains some of the most inspirational, educational and entertaining videos on the Internet. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. The site shares video-recorded talks given by some of the most intelligent and interesting people in the world. There are plenty of top TED presentation lists on the Internet, that are created based on people’s interests. One of the most recent subject-specific lists I’ve seen is 20 Essential Ted Talks for Entrepreneurial Students. This is an excellent list for potential entrepreneurs.
However, TED has far more than just entrepreneur-related topics to offer. If you plan on getting lost on any site on the Internet, do it on TED. I try to view to as many TED talks as I can possibly fit into my schedule. Of the ones I have watched recently, I have created my own top 20 list of TED talks that I feel should not be missed:
- Arthur Benjamin on Doing Mathemagic
- Alain de Botton on A Kinder Gentler Philosophy of Success
- Ted Pink on the Surprising Science of Motivation
- Deb Roy on the Birth of a Word
- Dennis Hong on Making a Car for Blind Drivers
- Oliver Sacks on What Hallucination Reveals About Our Minds
- David Bolinksy on Animating a Cell
- Anthony Atala on Printing a Human Kidney
- Stewart Brand on Does the World Need Nuclear Energy
- Adam Astrow on After Your Final Status Update
- Jeff Hawkins on How Brain Science Will Change Computing
- John Hodgman on Aliens, Love and Where Are They?
- Cameron Herald on Let’s Raise Kids to be Entrepreneurs
- Edward Tenner on Unintended Consequences
- Misha Glenny on Hire the Hackers!
- Gregory Petsko on The Coming Neurological Epidemic
- Malcolm Gladwell on Spaghetti Sauce
- Joshua Walters on Being Just Crazy Enough
- Barry Schwartz on the Paradox of Choice
- Steve Jobs on How to Live Before You Die Speech at Stanford
Related Articles:
Women Dominating Sales Positions
Women are becoming a dominant force in sales positions. In the article 10 Most Lucrative Industries for Women it was noted, “A recent study found that women are coming to dominate certain areas of sales, a traditionally lucrative field for those who excel. In fact, the study seemed to show that women tend to have better selling skills than men, translating into substantial earnings for saleswomen.”
When women were asked what their top 10 more desired sales careers would be, they chose:
2. Biotech Sales
3. Dental Sales
4. Insurance Sales
5. Healthcare Sales
6. IT Sales
7. Medical Sales
8. Advertising Sales
9. Medical Equipment Sales
10. Real Estate Sales
This is good news for women in the current questionable economy. Monster reported, “In 2010, more employers were willing to invest in their sales forces, having some faith that customers could be cajoled into buying. In October 2010 there were 145,000 more workers employed in sales and related occupations than a year earlier.”
For additional resources about women and sales positions, check out some of the following links:
Women Turning to Cosmetic Sales
Community of Women in Professional Sales
50 Best Careers of 2011
Sales Jobs for Women Search Site
Related Articles
- Most Inspiring Women Entrepreneurs
- Are Women Making Teams Smarter?
- Female Career Choices That May Surprise You
- 11 Momentous Female Firsts in Academia
SitePal and Voki: Add Pizzazz to Your Website or Classroom
There are some fun sites that can be used to animate pictures to add pizzazz to websites or online classrooms. One of these sites, Voki, is free and is available for non-commercial use. For commercial use, SitePal starts at just $9.95/month.
Are you looking for a way to create content for an online classroom? Consider adding a link to Voki. “Voki enables users to express themselves on the web in their own voice using a talking character. You can customize your Voki to look like you or take on the identity of lots of other types of characters… animals, monsters, anime etc. Your Voki can speak with your own voice which is added via microphone, upload, or phone. Voki lives on your blog, social network profile and will soon be integrated in various instant messaging platforms. You will also be able to download it to most video supported phones.”
Click on the picture below to see what happens if you add a link to your Voki-created file. Be sure to hit the play button to hear the message once you get there.
If you are looking for a way to stand out on your website, resume, email signature line, or other form of social media, consider SitePal. “SitePal is an easy-to-use service that allows you to create a speaking avatar for your website and empower your online communication.” Click on the picture below to see that animation.
Related Articles
Purchasers from Amazon Responsible for StateTaxes
Article first published as Purchasers from Amazon Responsible for StateTaxes on Technorati.
Amazon has enjoyed an advantage over their competition. They have not had to add tax to the purchase amount in states where they don’t have a physical presence. Slate reported, “According to Quill Corp. v. North Dakota, a 1992 Supreme Court ruling, companies are only required to collect sales taxes from their customers when they have a presence in the state in which they reside.”
This has been a sore spot for many of Amazon’s competitors. Many of them feel that if they should have to handle the taxes for customers, so should Amazon. This advantage has made them undersell big competitors like the Apple Store and Best Buy.
Purchasers from the Amazon site may think they are getting a better deal. In reality, there may be taxes owed, but it won’t be by Amazon. What many people in certain states like Arizona don’t know about their purchases on Amazon, is that it is going to be up to them to keep financial records of what taxes are due. At the end of the year, when they file their tax returns, these taxes should be included in any amount owed to the government.
According to the Arizona Republic, “If you buy something online from a retailer who doesn’t have a physical presence in Arizona and they don’t charge state tax or the tax from the state where they’re located, then you’re probably liable for the use tax – the 6.6 percent tax. The safest thing to do is if you buy something online and you get a receipt, save it. It’ll probably show if there was any sales tax from the state where it was charged. If there’s not and there is no Arizona tax, then you should think about paying the use tax on that.”
What if you haven’t kept all of your Amazon receipts? Go to your account page on Amazon and under Order History, click on Download Order Reports. This tool allows you to put in the date range of purchases to request a report of purchased items.
According to Amazon’s site, “Items sold by Amazon.com LLC, or its subsidiaries, and shipped to destinations in the states of Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, or Washington are subject to tax.” It is wise to check with your state to see what your tax obligation is. For more information from Amazon regarding taxes, click here.
Related Articles