There is a whole bunch of great things going on in my world right now leading me to be pretty busy, but I came across something that was too good to pass up so a new post was warranted. Web analytics are probably one of the most useful tools for folks that make their living on the web, regardless of whether you are directly working for an association or simply providing services to them. Sure, you could use the high-power pay for services like WebTrends, Omniture, or CoreMetrics, and in some cases they may provide additional features, functions and ease of use that warrant the price. However, for many of us Google Analytics is the tool of choice – and for good reason it’s free, it’s feature-rich, and it’s pretty easy to integrate and use.

Regardless of how good it is and how easy it is to use, it’s still a pretty complicated tool to use effectively. To use a metaphor, in the hands of a regular person a hammer is a hammer and a saw is a saw. In the hands of a craftsman those two tools can build houses and furniture. Unfortunately in order to become a true craftsman you have to put in time to gain the experience necessary to earn that respected designation. Using analytics packages aren’t too much different. It’s easy enough to sign-up for an account an copy-and-paste some code to paste into a template. It’s even easier to check-in on the results periodically. But those two attributes don’t make you an analytics expert and also don’t make your website, marketing campaigns or product sales any more effective. What’s needed is more knowledge.

Enter Google Conversion University, and more specifically an online course in web analytics techniques and Google Analytics implementation, administration, and analysis tools that was very recently introduced. Now you can not only implement Google Analytics but also gain a much better understanding on how to use both it and the results to make some lasting and impactful changes to your web initiatives. In addition, if you are a really passionate user and want to prove your “Googleness” you can even use the learning to prepare you for the Google Analytics IQ (individual qualification) test.

The online presentations are a pretty good example of solid online learning. Granted they lack any sort of job aids or formative assessments – to assess per lesson knowledge transfer, but they include reasonable learning objectives and a modicum of interactivity. Overall, they are well executed, pretty effective and definitely worth a look especially if you user or responsible for or interested in web analytics.

I love Google Reader and use it to manage and maintain all of the feeds that I read on a daily basis. For me, the challenge is the fact that I don’t always want to open it up in my browser. I guess sometime I just get lazy or don’t want to really see how much reading that I have to catch up on. Fortunately for me, and others like me, there is a viable alternative that leverages Google Reader but is really usable from the desktop. It’s not new but I just came across it recently. Readair is a Google Reader application created on the Adobe Air platform, which means its fast, slick and cross platform.

It’s really nice and simple and is a great application for catching up on all those RSS feeds that you have piling up on you! Here is a nice screenshot:

Check it out for yourself, but I think it’s the answer to many of my feed reader issues. The icing on the cake? It’s available for Mac and Windows. You can download it here: ReadAir. Useful, usable and a huge time saver! I highly recommend it.

This morning Jeff De Cagna posted great reaction/reflection to Seth Godin’s post on associations, change and protecting the status quo (Seth Godin calls associations out). Jeff illustrated his point quite vividly through the use of a very recent case of American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) making the decision to cancel their annual conference due to “the challenging times faced by its members”. I think it served to really emphasize the point Jeff was trying to make in his post but it also brought to light a myriad of opportunities that I believe ASNE missed out on by framing the decision as an all or nothing proposition.

I have always thought that one of the most important responsibilities that an association has, especially in tough times, was that of as a place of refuge and inspiration for their members. I personally refer to it as the “lighthouse effect” – or the idea that the association is the beacon of light helping their members stay safe and on course in rough weather and turbulent sea’s. While the decision to cancel their event was obviously a last resort and in recognition of the economic realities facing the news industry – and our nation as a whole – I think it indirectly sent the message that the members are on their own. If I put myself in the position of one of their members, especially with everything else that is happening to the industry, I would interpret the decision as a final acknowledgment that the news industry is in the final throes of death.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am among those that think the news industry reacted far too slowly to industry movement and consumer preference for news when and how they wanted it. This situation seems to add insult to injury especially when they had a number of key business, (dropping the word “paper” from their title and finally admitting web editors to their membership), key business that could reshape the mission, vision and purpose of the association and help the association and industry as a whole regain relevance at such an important time.

In examining the press release more closely, I would have also been a lot more descriptive about how they were going to bridge the gap that canceling the conference created.

“In the meantime, Hall said the organization will increase reliance on the Web to help editors share what they are learning as they reinvent their news organizations for multiple platforms.”

What does this mean? They should have been leveraging the web already so this tells me nothing to give me hope or some sense that the captain isn’t asleep at the wheel. To be honest, I do think the cancellation was a very sound business decision, but I would have reinvented the event as an online conference of some sort or another instead of canceling it outright. Definitely a missed opportunity.

They already had a good deal of time and planning put into making the event happen. Having been involved with the planning and implementation of a number of large-scale events I know that most of the big ticket items were probably already ready to go – key note speaker, general sessions, etc. Much of that planning could have been re-purposed for an online format that they could have come together to create an inspiring and interactive event to re-engage and inspire the current membership and also demonstrate the associations willingness to take a leadership role and re-invent itself in a very disruptive point in time.

What if the association put together a live webcast where the President of ANSE, Charlotte Hall, could address the membership, talk about the state of the industry, the challenges and opportunities, and the key initiatives on the table? They could create more of a two-way conversation by allowing members to send in questions and Ms. Hall could address some of the common themes that appear. They could also create a special forum or discussion area where members and staff can interact, discuss the situation in a structured and moderated fashion and maybe even come up with some proposed answers or approaches to the challenges. They could also take some of the general or educational sessions and provide a platform/location/forum where they could still be presented and members could attend regardless of where they are. It doesn’t have to be a multi-day affair, it really doesn’t have to be an all day affair, but by doing something it not only sends the message that the association is still there for the membership and wants to create/provide as much value as possible – even in tough times – it also provides the staff and membership a forum for future discussion.

I think the point I am trying to make is the fact that even in times of total change and uncertainty there are options and alternatives but status quo is not one of them. The key is not overlooking any potential option fearing that it is too little. What the members of ASNE probably want and need is some sort of grounding force to bring some clarity and uncertainty to rather uncertain times. They need to be inspired and kept hopeful. The news industry itself is definitely not in the position to do it but it would have been a great opportunity for one of the industry associations to step up and assume a leadership role.

One final note. While I may have been strong in my choice of words and how I used the example of ASNE as the source of inspiration for this post, I don’t want it to be misinterpreted as an attack on the association itself. ASNE did, and will continue to do, what is in the best interest of their membership and the association as a whole based on good stewardship and a intimate knowledge of the realities of their situation. I simply meant this post to point out additional opportunities, that may or may not be viable or visible, from the perspective of an outsider and as someone who realizes the potential and power of change. Even in times of disruption and change, there are always alternatives and opportunities…seeing them however is and will continue to be the challenge.

Note: I made an edit to this post to correct an egregious spelling error. My apologies to Jeff De Cagna for the mistake due to fat fingers and a small keyboard.