* Being cunning with real time Web apps metrics
An area of overlooked value in Web applications is that if engineered correctly Web apps can generate valuable data about user behavior and if monitored in real-time or near real-time can be used to fine tune business processes to fit the target market more effectively.
I was told of a great example of this technique by my good friend Jim Sterne over lunch yesterday. I have mentioned Jim in previous newsletters, and as he recently wrapped up this year’s Web Analytics Conference (see editorial links below) I asked him about the insights into analytics that the conferences revealed.
One of the insights Jim told me about concerned this feedback intelligence loop idea: In a presentation by Shari Cleary, the research manager for CBSNews.com, CBS.com and UPN.com, she noted that the CBSNews.com news and operations director, Mike Sims, monitors the CBSNews.com Web site traffic in real time to track the popularity of news stories and videos. This intelligence allows CBS to “re-rank” site news items to more accurately address user concerns.
Cleary quoted Mike Sims as saying: “Web analytics allows us to really get a deeper understanding of who our audience is, what attracts them to our site, what they are interested in.” But to take that data and continuously “tweak” your content to make sure you don’t disappoint your audience is brilliant!
But here’s a thought: What if CBS took this a step further and used this intelligence to tailor its TV news broadcasts? And by comparing Web site traffic before and after each broadcast, it could determine how well its TV broadcasts reflected what viewers were currently interested in.
So, what opportunities might you have to be equally cunning?
