Marc Andreesen once said that "markets that don't exist don't care how smart you are." Whether you're a startup founder trying to disrupt an industry, or an intrapreneur trying to provoke change from within, your biggest risk is building something nobody wants.Lean Analytics can help. By measuring and analyzing as you grow, you can validate whether a problem is real, find the right customers, and decide what to build, how to monetize it, and how to spread the word. Focusing on the One Metric That Matters to your business right now gives you the focus you need to move ahead--and the discipline to know when to change course.Written by Alistair Croll (Coradiant, CloudOps, Startupfest) and Ben Yoskovitz (Year One Labs, GoInstant), the book lays out practical, proven steps to take your startup from initial idea to product/market fit and beyond. Packed with over 30 case studies, and based on a year of interviews with over a hundred founders and investors, the book is an invaluable, practical guide for Lean Startup practitioners everywhere.

Written by an in-the-trenches practitioner, this step-by-step guide shows you how to implement a successful Web analytics strategy. Web analytics expert Avinash Kaushik, in his thought-provoking style, debunks leading myths and leads you on a path to gaining actionable insights from your analytics efforts. Discover how to move beyond clickstream analysis, why qualitative data should be your focus, and more insights and techniques that will help you develop a customer-centric mindset without sacrificing your company’s bottom line.Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

In the highly anticipated Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman takes us on a groundbreaking tour of the mind and explains the two systems that drive the way we think. System 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional; System 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical. Kahneman exposes the extraordinary capabilities—and also the faults and biases—of fast thinking, and reveals the pervasive influence of intuitive impressions on our thoughts and behavior. The impact of loss aversion and overconfidence on corporate strategies, the difficulties of predicting what will make us happy in the future, the challenges of properly framing risks at work and at home, the profound effect of cognitive biases on everything from playing the stock market to planning the next vacation—each of these can be understood only by knowing how the two systems work together to shape our judgments and decisions.Engaging the reader in a lively conversation about how we think, Kahneman reveals where we can and cannot trust our intuitions and how we can tap into the benefits of slow thinking. He offers practical and enlightening insights into how choices are made in both our business and our personal lives—and how we can use different techniques to guard against the mental glitches that often get us into trouble. Thinking, Fast and Slow will transform the way you think about thinking.

A complete guide to tracking visitors on your websites, e-commerce shopping carts, and apps using Piwik Web Analytics Track customers on your websites and apps and improve conversion rates right away Customize your tracking for every application and situation Embed Piwik's tracking capabilities in other applications In Detail Without web analytics, you are blind on the internet. In order to improve conversions and revenue on your web- site, you need to know what is going on. Piwik gives you this data and unlike Google Analytics, gives you total control over its usage. Unlike Google analytics where the data can be read by Google, Piwik maintains complete confidentiality of your website data. By harnessing the power of your tracked data, you can raise the conversion rates on your website to new heights. "Piwik Web Analytics Essentials" will show you how to install Piwik Open Source Analytics and have you tracking your website’s visitors within an hour after you pick up the book! After

Signal and the Noise

Practical Web Analytics for User Experience teaches you how to use web analytics to help answer the complicated questions facing UX professionals. Within this book, you'll find a quantitative approach for measuring a website's effectiveness and the methods for posing and answering specific questions about how users navigate a website. The book is organized according to the concerns UX practitioners face. Chapters are devoted to traffic, clickpath, and content use analysis, measuring the effectiveness of design changes, including A/B testing, building user profiles based on search habits, supporting usability test findings with reporting, and more. This is the must-have resource you need to start capitalizing on web analytics and analyze websites effectively. Discover concrete information on how web analytics data support user research and user-centered design Learn how to frame questions in a way that lets you navigate through massive amounts of data to get the answer you need Learn how to gather information for personas, verify behavior found in usability testing, support heuristic evaluation with data, analyze keyword data, and understand how to communicate these findings with business stakeholders

Scoring Points is the compelling and dramatic inside story, told from a project point of view, of how the Tesco Clubcard was conceived, launched and developed. It explains in detail how Tesco collected, analysed and used customer data to become a retail giant, making customer loyalty marketing work when almost every other programme failed. By pairing its loyalty scheme with sophisticated information technology, Tesco set a new standard for knowing your customer.Scoring Points is one of the seminal marketing books of the last decade. A fascinating tale of what can be achieved through vision, a strong team ethic and a company-wide commitment to customer satisfaction, it is an inspirational read for anyone in business, from junior marketers or salespersons working in an FMCG environment, to any practitioner looking to better analyse their customer base.

Any organization that has a searchable web site or intranet is sitting on top of hugely valuable and usually under-exploited data: logs that capture what users are searching for, how often each query was searched, and how many results each query retrieved. Search queries are gold: they are real data that show us exactly what users are searching for in their own words. This book shows you how to use search analytics to carry on a conversation with your customers: listen to and understand their needs, and improve your content, navigation and search performance to meet those needs.

Do you know what people do when they visit your website or web app? Or how much the site contributes to your bottom line? Google Analytics keeps track and makes it easy for you to learn precisely what's happening. This hands-on guide shows you how to get the most out of this free and powerful tool -- whether you're new to Google Analytics or have been using it for years.Google Analytics shows you how to track different market segments and analyze conversion rates, and reveals advanced techniques such as marketing-campaign tracking, a valuable feature that most people overlook. And this practical book not only provides complete code samples for web developers, it also explains the concepts behind the code to marketers, managers, and others on your team. Discover exactly how the Google Analytics system works Learn how to configure the system to measure data most relevant to your business goals Track online marketing activities, including cost-per-click ads, email, and internal campaigns Track events -- rather than page views -- on sites with features such as maps, embedded video, and widgets Configure Google Analytics to track enterprise data, including multiple domains Use advanced techniques such as custom variables and CRM integration

Performing your first Web site analysis just got a whole lot easier. Web Analytics For Dummies offers everything you need to know to nail down and pump up the ROI on your Web presence. It explains how to get the stats you need, then helps you analyze and apply that information to improve traffic and click-through rate on your Web site. You’ll discover: What to expect from Web analytics Definitions of key Web analytics terms Help in choosing the right analytics approach How to collect key data and apply it to site design or marketing Techniques for distinguishing human users from bots Tips on using Google and other free analytics tools Advice on choosing pay and subscription servicesA detailed and accurate analysis is crucial the success of your Web site. Web Analytics For Dummies helps you get it right the first time―and every time.

Good UX is based on evidence. Qualitative evidence, such as user testing and field research, can only get you so far. To get the full picture of how users are engaging with your website or app, you'll need to use quantitative evidence in the form of analytics.This book will show you, step by step, how you can use website and app analytics data to inform design choices and definitively improve user experience. Offering practical guidelines, with plenty of detailed examples, this book covers: why you need to gather analytics data for your UX projects getting set up with analytics tools analyzing data how to find problems in your analytics using analytics to aid user research, measure and report on outcomesBy the end of this book, you'll have a strong understanding of the important role analytics plays in the UX process. It will inspire you to take an "analytics first" approach to your UX projects.

Everyone wants to succeed in life. But what causes some of us to be more successful than others? Is it really down to skill and strategy - or something altogether more unpredictable? This book is the word-of-mouth sensation that will change the way you think about business and the world. It is all about more precisely, how we perceive luck in our personal and professional experiences. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the markets - we hear an entrepreneur has 'vision' or a trader is 'talented', but all too often their performance is down to chance rather than skill. It is only because we fail to understand probability that we continue to believe events are non-random, finding reasons where none exist. This irreverent bestseller has shattered the illusions of people around the world by teaching them how to recognize randomness. Now it can do the same for you.

Why hasn't all that data delivered a whopping competitive advantage? Because you've barely begun to use it, that's why!Good news: neither have your competitors. It's hard! But digital marketing analytics is 100% doable, it offers colossal opportunities, and all of the data is accessible to you. Chuck Hemann and Ken Burbary will help you chop the problem down to size, solve every piece of the puzzle, and integrate a virtually frictionless system for moving from data to decision, action to results! Scope it out, pick your tools, learn to listen, get the metrics right, and then distill your digital data for maximum value for everything from R&D to CRM to social media marketing!* Prioritize--because you can't measure, listen to, and analyze everything* Use analysis to craft experiences that profoundly reflect each customer's needs, expectations, and behaviors* Measure real social media ROI: sales, leads, and customer satisfaction* Track the performance of all paid, earned, and owned social media channels* Leverage "listening data" way beyond PR and marketing: for strategic planning, product development, and HR* Start optimizing web and social content in real time* Implement advanced tools, processes, and algorithms for accurately measuring influence* Integrate paid and social data to drive more value from both* Make the most of surveys, focus groups, and offline research synergies* Focus new marketing and social media investments where they'll deliver the most valueForeword by Scott MontyGlobal Head of Social Media, Ford Motor Company

If you have ever looked for P-values by shopping at P mart, tried to watch the Bernoulli Trails on "People's Court," or think that the standard deviation is a criminal offense in six states, then you need The Cartoon Guide to Statistics to put you on the road to statistical literacy. The Cartoon Guide to Statistics covers all the central ideas of modern statistics: the summary and display of data, probability in gambling and medicine, random variables, Bernoulli Trials, the Central Limit Theorem, hypothesis testing, confidence interval estimation, and much more--all explained in simple, clear, and yes, funny illustrations. Never again will you order the Poisson Distribution in a French restaurant!

Data Science gets thrown around in the press like it's magic. Major retailers are predicting everything from when their customers are pregnant to when they want a new pair of Chuck Taylors. It's a brave new world where seemingly meaningless data can be transformed into valuable insight to drive smart business decisions.But how does one exactly do data science? Do you have to hire one of these priests of the dark arts, the "data scientist," to extract this gold from your data? Nope.Data science is little more than using straight-forward steps to process raw data into actionable insight. And in Data Smart, author and data scientist John Foreman will show you how that's done within the familiar environment of a spreadsheet.

"Googled" is candid, authoritative and based on extensive research, including in-house at Google HQ where Ken Auletta had unprecedented access. He conducted over 150 interviews at Google with the company's founders and executives and also interviewed those in the media who are struggling to keep their heads above water. Crucially, "Googled" is not just a history or it's forward-looking. Auletta reveals how the media industry is being disrupted and redefined and shows how and why the worlds of 'new' and 'old' media often communicate as if residents of different planets. "Googled" is already being hailed as the definitive work on Google and is a crucial roadmap to how media business may be done in the future.

Align Strategy With Metrics Using Social Monitoring Best Practices“Two or three years from now, every public relations firm that wants to be taken seriously in the C-suite and/or a lead marketing role will have someone like Marshall in its senior leadership ranks, a chief analytics officer responsible for ensuring that account leaders think more deeply about analytics and that thfirm works with the best available outside suppliers to integrate analytics appropriately.”―Paul Holmes, The Holmes Report“Marshall has provided much-needed discipline to our newest marketing frontier―a territory full of outlaws, medicine men, dot com tumbleweeds, and snake oil.”―Ryan Rasmussen, VP Research, Zócalo Group“Marshall Sponder stands apart from the crowd with this work. His case study approach, borne of real-world experience, provides the expert and the amateur alike with bibliography, tools, links, and examples to shortcut the path to bedrock successes. This is a reference work for anyone who wants to explore the potential of social networks.”―W. Reid Cornwell, Ph.D., Chief Scientist, The Center for Internet Research“Marshall is a solutions design genius of unparalleled knowledge and acumen, and when he applies himself to the business of social media, the result is a timely and important commentary on the state of research capabilities for social media.”―Barry Fleming, Director, Analytics & Insights, WCG, and Principal, DharmaBuilt.comAbout the BookPractically overnight, social media has become a critical tool for every marketing objective―from outreach and customer relations to branding and crisis management. For the most part, however, the data collected through social media is just that: data. It usually seems to hold little or no meaning on which to base business decisions. But the meaning is there . . . if you’re applying the right systems and know how to use them.With Social Media Analytics, you’ll learn how to get supremely valuable information from this revolutionary new marketing tool. One of the most respected leaders in his field and a pioneer in Web analytics, Marshall Sponder shows how to: Choose the best social media platforms for your needs Set up the right processes to achieve your goals Extract the hidden meaning from all the data you collect Quantify your results and determine ROIFilled with in-depth case studies from a range of industries, along with detailed reviews of several social-monitoring platforms, Social Media Analytics takes you beyond “up-to-date” and leads you well into the future―and far ahead of your competition. You will learn how to use the most sophisticated methods yet known to find customers, create relevant content (and track it), mash up data from disparate sources, and much more. Sponder concludes with an insightful look at where the field will likely be going during the next few years.Whether your social media marketing efforts are directed at B2B, B2C, C2C, nonprofit, corporate, or public sector aims, take them to the next step with the techniques, strategies, and methods in Social Media Analytics―the most in-depth, forward-looking book on the subject.

Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it’s one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.Now Steve returns with fresh perspective to reexamine the principles that made Don’t Make Me Think a classic–with updated examples and a new chapter on mobile usability. And it’s still short, profusely illustrated…and best of all–fun to read.If you’ve read it before, you’ll rediscover what made Don’t Make Me Think so essential to Web designers and developers around the world. If you’ve never read it, you’ll see why so many people have said it should be required reading for anyone working on Web sites.“After reading it over a couple of hours and putting its ideas to work for the past five years, I can say it has done more to improve my abilities as a Web designer than any other book.”–Jeffrey Zeldman, author of Designing with Web Standards .

Get a complete view of your customers and make your marketing analysis more meaningfulHow well do you really know your customers? Find out with the help of expert author Daniel Waisberg and Google Analytics Integrations. This unique guide takes you well beyond the basics of using Google Analytics to track metrics, showing you how to transform this simple data collection tool into a powerful, central marketing analysis platform for your organization. You’ll learn how Google AdWords, AdSense, CRMs, and other data sources can be used together to deliver actionable insights about your customers and their behavior. Explains proven techniques and best practices for collecting clean and accurate information from the start Shows you how to import your organization’s marketing and customer data into Google Analytics Illustrates the importance of taking a holistic view of your customers and how this knowledge can transform your business Provides step-by-step guidance on using the latest analytical tools and services to gain a complete understanding of your customers, their needs, and what motivates them to take actionGoogle Analytics Integration is your in-depth guide to improving your data integration, behavioral analysis, and ultimately, your bottom line.

HardCover. Pub Date :2013-04-04 320 English Faber & Faber What is the true human cost of the war in Afghanistan What are the real effects of the austerity measure And how did the London riots spread so quicklyFacts are Sacred. the Guardians award-winning datablog. publishes and analyses seemingly benign data - released under the auspices of transparency -. to bring its readers astonishing revelations about the way we live now It reveals how data has changed our world and what we can learn from it. Now. the most telling findings from the blog are brought together to give us the facts and figures behind the headlines. beautifully illustrated with extensive data visualisations. Ground-breaking and fascinating. it celebrates a resource that has pushed the boundaries of modern journalism and is a manifesto for a new way of seeing things.

Invaluable advice on analyzing and measuring the effects ofsocial mediaDo you wish you could sit down with an expert to figure outwhether or not your social media initiatives are working? WithSocial Media Metrics Secrets, you can! Expert John Lovett taps intohis years of training and experience to reveal tips, tricks, andadvice on how to analyze and measure the effects of social mediaand gauge the success of your initiatives. He uses mini casestudies to demonstrate how to manage social operations with processand technology by applying key performance indicators, andassessing the business value of social media. Highlights how social media can impact all aspects of yourbusiness and transform the way you quantify successful interactionswith customers Shares innovative techniques for managing the massive volume ofsocial analytics data by putting data to work in ways thatcontribute to your organizational goals Details techniques for adopting a Social Analytics Frameworkfor understanding evolving consumer behavior necessary to competein a socially networked futureWritten in a conversational tone, Social Media MetricsSecrets goes behind the scenes to present you with unbeatableadvice and unparalleled insight into social media metrics.

Internet Marketing Start to FinishA breakthrough system for attracting more customers on the InternetInternet marketing is the fastest, most efficient way to attract profitable new customers&;if you run it strategically and systematically. This book shows you how. You&;ll discover how to integrate marketing, sales, and operations functions to work together far more effectively, capture the right real-time data for decision-making, and apply it to drive dramatic improvements in performance. Drawing on extensive in-the-trenches experience, the authors help you implement a more iterative, measurable, and repeatable approach to Internet marketing, deliver better-qualified leads, build an online sales engine to track and improve every customer relationship&;and, above all, grow profits!You&;ll Learn How To:&; Craft flexible strategies that can quickly learn from experience&; Eliminate "silos" that prevent effective measurement and execution&; Overcome obstacles ranging from culture to processes to individual behavior&; Build a powerful online sales engine to track customers through the entire relationship&; Avoid dangerous data and weed out junk leads&; Integrate web KPIs into business decision-making&; Link web to lead to CRM analysis&; Redefine messages to respond to your key audiences&; personas&; Architect and design sites to improve user experience and conversion&; Write highly findable content, and then make it even more visible&; Start a feedback loop for continually optimizing both tactics and strategy&; Globalize Internet marketing for diverse languages and cultures&; Translate your performance into boardroom-ready reportsCATHERINE JUON, Co-Founder & Catalyst of Pure Visibility, has worked in the Internet space for nearly 20 years. She has extensive experience helping companies develop integrated online marketing strategies that leverage online advertising, search engine marketing, and social media.DUNRIE ALLISON GREILING,Director of Happiness at Pure Visibility, works with analysts to derive actionable recommendations from complex web data and develop strategic Internet marketing plans. She has more than a decade of web content and project-management experience.CATHERINE BUERKLEhas 18+ years of experience in usability design, web-based media, technical communication, project management, and marketing. She founded ArborComm, Inc., and co-founded the Digital Design Institute of Michigan.ISBN-13: 978-0-7897-4789-1ISBN-10: 0-7897-4789-8

Thingalytics by Dr. John Bates is the most powerful book written to date about the Internet of Things (IoT), showing businesses how to take advantage of the fast Big Data that flows from the digital planet. Thingalytics, a composite of Things and Analytics, shows organizations how to use real-time analytics and algorithms to seize the opportunities that flow from IoT while simultaneously minimizing threats. The Internet of Things is changing the world. As each device from tractors to refrigerators to ships is digitized and connected to the Internet it presents a unique opportunity for innovative businesses to learn from, and take advantage of, the digital data it creates. Illustrated by real-life case studies from global, visionary organizations such as Coca-Cola, Greyhound Bus and Medtronic, Thingalytics highlights how the alchemy of real-time analytics and smart algorithms can help turn fast Big Data into actionable gold nuggets for any business, anywhere. Digital disruption to traditional bricks-and-mortar businesses is happening now. Organizations must transform themselves using digital technologies. Time does not stand still in this brave, new digital world. Digital Darwinism is unkind to those who wait, says R Ray Wang, who has written the Forward to Thingalytics. Using real stories from some of the most tech-savvy retailers, banks, transportation and soft drink providers, Thingalytics delves into the world of analytics and algorithms to show the reader how to seize the opportunities buried within IoT. John Bates personally interviewed each of the people featured in this book. His deep knowledge of their vision, their businesses and their goals gives him the insight and the gravitas to explain how each organization is conquering the digital world. Pulling from exciting examples of real-life innovation and invention, John makes IoT come alive; from the exotic shops of Istanbul, Turkey, to tractors in a field in Iowa or a hospital operating room in Florida, Thingalytics depicts how IoT can make our lives happier, easier, more productive and even safer. Winners in the IoT race will not only profit but could just possibly avert disaster.

Helping tech-savvy marketers and data analysts solve real-world business problems with ExcelUsing data-driven business analytics to understand customers and improve results is a great idea in theory, but in today's busy offices, marketers and analysts need simple, low-cost ways to process and make the most of all that data. This expert book offers the perfect solution. Written by data analysis expert Wayne L. Winston, this practical resource shows you how to tap a simple and cost-effective tool, Microsoft Excel, to solve specific business problems using powerful analytic techniques―and achieve optimum results.Practical exercises in each chapter help you apply and reinforce techniques as you learn. Shows you how to perform sophisticated business analyses using the cost-effective and widely available Microsoft Excel instead of expensive, proprietary analytical tools Reveals how to target and retain profitable customers and avoid high-risk customers Helps you forecast sales and improve response rates for marketing campaigns Explores how to optimize price points for products and services, optimize store layouts, and improve online advertising Covers social media, viral marketing, and how to exploit both effectivelyImprove your marketing results with Microsoft Excel and the invaluable techniques and ideas in Marketing Analytics: Data-Driven Techniques with Microsoft Excel.

As a marketer it is important to understand how our customers and prospects are interacting with your brand, especially in the digital space. This book is about the why, not just the how, of digital analytics and beyond. It is intended to help marketers understand how to better leverage insights and shift their teams to focus on digital success, not just the masses of data. Often this means shifting process, attitudes and people to create a "culture of analysis" inside your organization. 'Actionable Web Analytics' shares the proven framework for making that shift in thinking for digital teams.

A New York Times bestseller"Brilliant, funny…the best math teacher you never had." ―San Francisco ChronicleOnce considered tedious, the field of statistics is rapidly evolving into a discipline Hal Varian, chief economist at Google, has actually called "sexy." From batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics continues to grow by leaps and bounds. How can we catch schools that cheat on standardized tests? How does Netflix know which movies you’ll like? What is causing the rising incidence of autism? As best-selling author Charles Wheelan shows us in Naked Statistics, the right data and a few well-chosen statistical tools can help us answer these questions and more.For those who slept through Stats 101, this book is a lifesaver. Wheelan strips away the arcane and technical details and focuses on the underlying intuition that drives statistical analysis. He clarifies key concepts such as inference, correlation, and regression analysis, reveals how biased or careless parties can manipulate or misrepresent data, and shows us how brilliant and creative researchers are exploiting the valuable data from natural experiments to tackle thorny questions.And in Wheelan’s trademark style, there’s not a dull page in sight. You’ll encounter clever Schlitz Beer marketers leveraging basic probability, an International Sausage Festival illuminating the tenets of the central limit theorem, and a head-scratching choice from the famous game show Let’s Make a Deal―and you’ll come away with insights each time. With the wit, accessibility, and sheer fun that turned Naked Economics into a bestseller, Wheelan defies the odds yet again by bringing another essential, formerly unglamorous discipline to life.

Companies need more than just web analysts and data-savvy marketers to be successful–they need action heroes!While most of us never battle evil scientists or defuse nuclear warheads, successful web analysts benefit from the same attributes that fictional action heroes embody. As a web analyst, your main goal is to improve your organization’s online performance. You can become an “action hero” by translating analysis insights into action that generates significant returns for your company. How you approach analysis is critical to your overall success.In this book, web analytics expert Brent Dykes addresses the unique challenges facing analysts and online marketers working within small and large companies, teaching you how to move beyond reporting and toward analysis to drive action and change. Taking a principle-based rather than a tool-specific approach, Brent introduces you to the Action Hero Framework that breaks down the analysis process into three key stages: Prioritize (what to analyze), Analyze (how to analyze), and Mobilize (how to drive action). And he reinforces these topics with real-world examples and practical tips from seasoned analysts at leading companies.Defines the type of environment in which action heroes thrive–not just survive–as well as how to defeat the villains of web analytics that stand in the way Arms web professionals with a strategic framework for executing online analysis, as well as an arsenal of analysis techniques Reveals how companies need to be both data-driven and action-agile to drive business value from web analyticsFor more action hero resources and information, check out the book’s companion site at www.Analyticshero.com."The ideas in this book will take you days (or even weeks) to work your way through, and they fly in the face of the emotional approach to marketing. The question is: would you rather have your competition lead the way with data and science when it comes to reaching your market, or are you going to go first? That's how it is with action heroes--no guts, no glory."-Seth GodinAuthorWe Are All Weird"Don't let the jaunty, breezy style of this book throw you off. Brent successfully - and entertainingly - packs years of experience into these pages along with case studies and insightful help on getting the most out of web analytics, adding value to your company and boosting your career trajectory."-Jim SterneFounder of eMetrics Marketing Optimization Summit, author of "Social Media Metrics" and Chairman of the Digital Analytics Association

"The Freakonomics of big data."—Stein Kretsinger, founding executive of Advertising.com; former lead analyst at Capital OneThis book is easily understood by all readers. Rather than a "how to" for hands-on techies, the book entices lay-readers and experts alike by covering new case studies and the latest state-of-the-art techniques.You have been predicted — by companies, governments, law enforcement, hospitals, and universities. Their computers say, "I knew you were going to do that!" These institutions are seizing upon the power to predict whether you're going to click, buy, lie, or die.Why? For good reason: predicting human behavior combats financial risk, fortifies healthcare, conquers spam, toughens crime fighting, and boosts sales.How? Prediction is powered by the world's most potent, booming unnatural resource: data. Accumulated in large part as the by-product of routine tasks, data is the unsalted, flavorless residue deposited en masse as organizations churn away. Surprise! This heap of refuse is a gold mine. Big data embodies an extraordinary wealth of experience from which to learn.Predictive analytics unleashes the power of data. With this technology, the computer literally learns from data how to predict the future behavior of individuals. Perfect prediction is not possible, but putting odds on the future — lifting a bit of the fog off our hazy view of tomorrow — means pay dirt.In this rich, entertaining primer, former Columbia University professor and Predictive Analytics World founder Eric Siegel reveals the power and perils of prediction: What type of mortgage risk Chase Bank predicted before the recession. Predicting which people will drop out of school, cancel a subscription, or get divorced before they are even aware of it themselves. Why early retirement decreases life expectancy and vegetarians miss fewer flights. Five reasons why organizations predict death, including one health insurance company. How U.S. Bank, European wireless carrier Telenor, and Obama's 2012 campaign calculated the way to most strongly influence each individual. How IBM's Watson computer used predictive modeling to answer questions and beat the human champs on TV's Jeopardy! How companies ascertain untold, private truths — how Target figures out you're pregnant and Hewlett-Packard deduces you're about to quit your job. How judges and parole boards rely on crime-predicting computers to decide who stays in prison and who goes free. What's predicted by the BBC, Citibank, ConEd, Facebook, Ford, Google, IBM, the IRS, Match.com, MTV, Netflix, Pandora, PayPal, Pfizer, and Wikipedia.A truly omnipresent science, predictive analytics affects everyone, every day. Although largely unseen, it drives millions of decisions, determining whom to call, mail, investigate, incarcerate, set up on a date, or medicate.Predictive analytics transcends human perception. This book's final chapter answers the riddle: What often happens to you that cannot be witnessed, and that you can't even be sure has happened afterward — but that can be predicted in advance?Whether you are a consumer of it — or consumed by it — get a handle on the power of Predictive Analytics.

Making Big Data Work: Real-World Use Cases and Examples, Practical Code, Detailed SolutionsLarge-scale data analysis is now vitally important to virtually every business. Mobile and social technologies are generating massive datasets; distributed cloud computing offers the resources to store and analyze them; and professionals have radically new technologies at their command, including NoSQL databases. Until now, however, most books on “Big Data” have been little more than business polemics or product catalogs. Data Just Right is different: It’s a completely practical and indispensable guide for every Big Data decision-maker, implementer, and strategist.Michael Manoochehri, a former Google engineer and data hacker, writes for professionals who need practical solutions that can be implemented with limited resources and time. Drawing on his extensive experience, he helps you focus on building applications, rather than infrastructure, because that’s where you can derive the most value.Manoochehri shows how to address each of today’s key Big Data use cases in a cost-effective way by combining technologies in hybrid solutions. You’ll find expert approaches to managing massive datasets, visualizing data, building data pipelines and dashboards, choosing tools for statistical analysis, and more. Throughout, the author demonstrates techniques using many of today’s leading data analysis tools, including Hadoop, Hive, Shark, R, Apache Pig, Mahout, and Google BigQuery.Coverage includes Mastering the four guiding principles of Big Data success―and avoiding common pitfalls Emphasizing collaboration and avoiding problems with siloed data Hosting and sharing multi-terabyte datasets efficiently and economically “Building for infinity” to support rapid growth Developing a NoSQL Web app with Redis to collect crowd-sourced data Running distributed queries over massive datasets with Hadoop, Hive, and Shark Building a data dashboard with Google BigQuery Exploring large datasets with advanced visualization Implementing efficient pipelines for transforming immense amounts of data Automating complex processing with Apache Pig and the Cascading Java library Applying machine learning to classify, recommend, and predict incoming information Using R to perform statistical analysis on massive datasets Building highly efficient analytics workflows with Python and Pandas Establishing sensible purchasing strategies: when to build, buy, or outsource Previewing emerging trends and convergences in scalable data technologies and the evolving role of the Data Scientist

Connect and engage across channels with the new customersConnect is the ultimate marketing guide to becoming more relevant, effective, and successful within the new marketplace. Written by a team of marketing experts serving Fortune 500 brands, this book outlines the massive paradigm shift currently taking place within the industry, and provides the insight and perspective marketers need to stay on board. Readers will find guidance toward reaching a customer base that sees marketers as an unnecessary annoyance, and strategies for engaging those customers at touch points throughout the customer lifecycle. The book's scope encompasses both digital and real-life avenues, discussing the new ways of thinking and the new tools and processes that allow marketers to function in the new era where digital customer experiences are increasingly important.Marketing is undergoing a revolution to rival the impact of Gutenberg's printing press. Customers are in control, with more choice and more access than ever before, and they refuse to be "sold to" or "managed." Many marketing professionals are flailing for a new strategy while the winners are clearly jumping ahead – Connect takes readers inside the winners' world to learn the approach that's engaging the new consumer. Discover the technology and processes that allow marketers to remain relevant Craft a personal, relevant, and accessible customer journey that engages the connected customer Keep in touch throughout the customer's life cycle, both online and offline Link digital goals and metrics to business objectives for a more relevant strategySmart marketers have moved to a higher level that achieves business objectives while increasing relevance to the customer. Connect provides readers a roadmap to this new approach, and the tools that make it work.

Note: The Third Edition of Google Analytics Demystified will be available near the end of July, 2016.The Second Edition has been completely revised and updated to reflect the current state of Google Analytics. In addition to these changes, the book has been expanded with new chapters that help you understand how to:- ensure data integrity by removing referral spam,- use cohort analysis, benchmarking and treemaps to improve insights into site performance,- use custom tables to reduce data overload, and- increase site traffic through search engine optimization.Discussion has also been expanded and refocused throughout the book to make content more actionable and responsive to your own strategic information needs. The Second Edition shows you how you can use Google Analytics to immediately make better informed and therefore more successful decisions.Simply put, Google Analytics Demystified helps you work smarter (not harder), so that you can increase the success of your digital property. We show you how to use and apply Google Analytics to answer questions such as: How are visitors finding my site? What do they do when they arrive? Which content do my visitors find most interesting and motivating? How much of my content is actually being consumed? How do I set site goals and measure how well they are being achieved? What are the strengths and weaknesses of site interactions? What can I do to improve visitors' experience and engagement? How well are my campaigns working? How can I make my campaigns more effective? How can I conduct tests to optimize site characteristics? How do I manage data flow and analysis? How do I choose the most appropriate and useful reports and data?The book's approach is unique.Beyond detailed yet easy to understand explanations of key concepts, the book provides you with a free website.This approach advances your learning in three important ways. First, you will be an active rather than a passive participant in the learning process. You will be able not only to read about what Google Analytics can do, but you can immediately apply and explore key concepts on a working website. Second, you can explore Google Analytics without risk to existing data. Since mistakes are an important part of the learning process, you can make and correct errors without any harm to your existing website. Finally, because you will have an active site and real data, you can explore on your own, thereby increasing your depth of understanding. We walk you through all the steps to obtain and get the free site up and running.There are also self-assessment questions, application exercises, and case studies (all with answers provided) to ensure your full understanding of Google Analytics.