Analytics Is King

My grandmother always used to tell me that as we age time seems to go by more quickly. Of course, I was in my mid-20's and thought she was off her rocker. By the way, I'd never tell her that to her face. I'd always agree with whatever she said. She may have only come in at 5'1" (on a really good day) and 100 pounds, but she could've kicked my ass five ways to Sunday. Anyway, it turns out that once again grandma is right... Time does fly as you age... I woke up this morning and realized that I have been in Austin for exactly one year. Crazy, right? Hard to believe that a year ago yesterday I started the 21 hour trek down from Cleveland with just my clothes, some electronics, a few books and only a few pieces of furniture stuffed in the back of my car. Not only was I starting a brand new job with WCG, but I was basically beginning a brand new life in a city where I knew MAYBE 10 people. Whenever I'm speaking to a group of students or young professionals I always encourage them to look for the most challenging job even if it means moving away from their friends and family. After a year of being here, I can now truly appreciate how terrifying those words most seem to those kids...and that's realizing I have more experience than most of them. YIKES! After you get over that initial period of feeling totally alone and terrified you begin to truly appreciate why you've made the move you've made. Suffice it to say that it didn't happen in the first week, first month or even the first six months. As is the case with everything in life this kind of move is a process. Over the holiday break I had an opportunity to go home (to Cleveland) and enjoy time with the family. I absolutely love spending time with them. However, at some point during the trip I realized that Cleveland was no longer home. It is my hometown, sure, but it isn't the place that I identify as home anymore. I don't know what caused it to click in my head, but now everytime I leave town for work or pleasure I miss being in Austin. Before you make any jokes about the weather (though it is amazing - 75 and sunny today) this has a lot more to do with the people and the area than that. Instead of going on and on with introspection, I figured it might be more interesting to talk about what I know now that I didn't know before moving here... First...about the area....

1. The marketing talent in Austin is incredible. I'll admit that when I first typed that line I said "social media." However, I knew how my friend Kyle Flaherty would react to that so I changed it to marketing. I'll save whether social belongs in marketing or another communications discipline for another post. Before I made the jump to Austin I had heard rumblings about how great the marketing/technology scenes were here, but that was mostly through the grapevine. After being here for a year I can now attest that it is 100% true. In addition to having a large corporate presence from heavyweights like Google, Whole Foods, Facebook, Dell and AMD, Austin is also home to some seriously talented professionals. We're talking about people like Aaron Strout, Kyle Flaherty, Tim Walker, Bryan Person, Tim Hayden, Richard Binhammer, Andy Sernovitz, Peter Kim, Virginia Miracle, Lionel Menchaca, Susan Beebe, Bob Pearson, Greg Matthews, Colin Foster, Aaron Brazell, Spike Jones, Stephanie Wonderlin, Brendan Lewis, Sydney Owen (even though she's now leaving us) etc... etc... etc... How's that for a who's who? I'll go to war with that crew any day of the week.
2. The people are nicer than you think. Before making the move I had visited Austin a few times and knew how nice the people were down here. What I didn't fully appreciate was just HOW nice these people are. Trust me...when you are moving to a new city the last thing you need to be surrounded by are people who are cranky with life. There might be people here like that, but I've not met them yet.
3. The BBQ really IS that good. I think this statement kind of speaks for itself so I'll just move on...
4. SXSWi is a better event than people give it credit for. I wasn't sure what to expect of SXSW now that I was living here. I'll say that it is definitely unfairly trashed as an event. Is the quality of the panels as high as it could be? No. Are there good speakers? ABSOLUTELY. Is it the definitive networking event of the year? 100% no doubt. Are there plenty of brands here to network with during the event if you're an agency? 100% no doubt, and if you believe otherwise you're a flat out idiot.
5. Traffic sucks - Again, if you live here or have visited here you know the traffic is horrific. It's almost ridiculous seeing as how this city isn't that big. Anyway, that's one downside to an otherwise glorious place.
6. The weather. It's supposed to be 75 and sunny for a week. In February. I can leave it at that I think.

Finally...what have I learned about myself...

1. Comfortable tackling any challenge. No, that's not meant to be an arrogant assholic statement. I truly believe that after making this move, taking on a new job and then trying to write a book at the same time I can tackle just about anything. If I hadn't made the move would I know what I know about myself now? Probably not.
2. Still plenty of growing to do. There are things over the last year that I didn't handle as well as I could have, and I know it. There are people who are a million times smarter than I am in this area and in this field that I can learn PLENTY from. I'm looking at all of the people I listed above as a great starting point for that continued learning.
3. We're on the front lines of the social media revolution, but there's still a ways to go. You can't go anywhere in this city without overhearing someone talking about social networks. The enthusiasm is great. However, even though we're on the front lines in this city (I'd argue we're second behind Silicon Valley in this field) we still have a significant job ahead of us in terms of educating on how to use this stuff within large enterprise. It's nowhere NEAR deep enough.
4. I don't hate UT sports as much as I thought. Don't get me wrong I think Mack Brown is still terribly overrated. Rick Barnes likely falls into the same camp. However, the people here genuinely love their UT sports and that's something I can admire. Plus, they throw an AMAZING tailgate party. :)

There's probably more I could talk about but this post is ridiculously long as it is...Don't the "experts" say no more than 500 words? Well, that's shot to hell. Anyway, thank you Austin (and the people I've listed above and then some) for an amazing year. Here's hoping for plenty more where that came from!

"In learning to know other things, and other minds, we become more intimately acquainted with ourselves, and are to ourselves better worth knowing" - Philip Gilbert Hamilton When in doubt, look to English authors for inspirational quotes. Truth be told I struggled for a long time finding a quote that I thought would fit the tenor of this post. In the end, Hamilton's quote here about the exploration of people and ourselves I think fits rather nicely. I'm taking this opportunity to announce that I've decided to join Ogilvy's 360 Digital Influence Group as Vice President of Digital Strategy and Analytics. If you know me at all, the decision to leave a place is not something I take lightly. In fact, many of you can attest to the fact that I agonize over these kinds of decisions. Is the time right to make a change? Am I going to the right place? Are the people I am going to be working with great? How will the people I am leaving react? Of course I ask myself a lot of other questions, but these are the ones that cause me the most pain and anxiety. When I outlined these questions as they pertained to joining Ogilvy I had to answer yes to all of them. They have incredibly smart people, amazing clients and are doing high quality work. The chance to join one of the world's largest PR firms doesn't come across your doorstep very often, especially one with the reputation of Ogilvy. I'm very excited to be joining the team there. Of course, it crushes me to simultaneously leave WCG. The work they are doing is of the highest quality. They have amazing clients. They have amazingly talented people. I want to take this opportunity to thank them for the chance to come here and work with you and your clients. I genuinely feel grateful to have known and worked with all of you. These kinds of decisions don't come without the help and guidance from many people. I won't name them all here (chances are good I would forget someone), but the people I'm talking about know who they are. For all of the advice you provided over the last several weeks I am eternally grateful to all of you. Thank you. As an old boss once said.... onward and upward!

The holidays are a great time to catch up with family. Many of us live several thousand miles away from family, and this is one of the few times during the year where we are all in the same place -- yours truly included. It's also a great time to reflect on what's happened professionally over the last 12 months, especially after you've consumed one too many dinner rolls :-) Luckily for me I had a three hour plane flight from Austin to Cleveland to really start thinking about all of the great things that happened in 2010, and what I wanted to change in 2011. What I want to change in 2011 is the subject for a second post, but I wanted to take a second and outline some of the things that happened to me in 2010 that I'm particularly thankful for. This post isn't meant to do anything other then get my own thoughts out there. However, I'd encourage you to consider writing down your reflections on your year. I guarantee you it will help crystallize your own feelings (said by the numbers guy). So with that... here we go -

1. A brand new city - In early January, I accepted a role as an associate, social media, with WCG. The job was in a brand new city -- Austin, Texas. Frankly, until I came to do my final interviews with WCG I'd never been to the area. However, anybody who has spent any time in Austin will tell you that it immediately sucks you in. There's something about it. And yes, there's something other than the 60+ degree temperatures in December. It really does have everything. Nice weather. Nice people. Great nightlife. Great food. Proximity to other cool landmarks in Texas. There's very little not to like about Austin. From the second I arrived I knew this place was going to be home for the foreseeable future.
2. Goodbye to my hometown - With a new start in a new city, came the departure from the only city I'd ever really known. Yes, I lived in Phoenix, Arizona when I was a kid, but I barely remember those years. Cleveland, up until this last year, was the only city that I ever knew. I was familiar with the people. With the culture. With the streets. With the people I worked with. With friends in the area. Picking up and moving is no small thing. I may have downplayed it at the time, but I now realize that picking up and leaving a place isn't easy. I always tell students that the only way you'll ever know how truly prepared you are for your career is if you take the challenge you aren't totally sure you can complete. I do miss Cleveland, and my old colleagues at Dix & Eaton, but I'm happy with the decision I've made because I now know I can meet the challenge.
3. Some fantastic new friends in Austin - This is the area of the post where I could get myself into trouble so let me provide a disclaimer in advance: If I leave you off of this list in this bullet or the subsequent ones, please come and note it in the comments. It certainly isn't intentional, but I'm writing this post late at night and it has been a long year. Anyway, a cross-country move doesn't become successful without the support of a lot of people. I'd like to take an opportunity to personally thank Aaron Strout, Kyle Flaherty, Tim Walker and Bryan Person for really making this life transition as easy as it could have been. Not only have they helped me navigate a new city, but they've provided timely advice on almost anything I've asked whenever I've asked it. Thanks, dudes. Here's to an amazing 2011.
4. Some fantastic new colleagues and friends - This transition would also not have been possible without the people I work (and sometimes play) with at WCG. It's a group of immensely talented people who I couldn't be happier to work with on a day-to-day basis. They are truly thought leaders (an overused term), innovators (another overused term) and are genuinely interested in producing the best quality product for our clients. Thanks, guys. I owe you more than you know.
5. Some fantastic new friends outside of Austin - It's no secret. I did a lot of traveling this year. I think I saw my fair share of New York City and Minneapolis over the last several months. And, to be frank, I love those cities almost as much as I love Austin. Those trips afforded me an opportunity to meet plenty of people in real life that I wouldn't have had an opportunity to meet otherwise. This includes colleagues like Mark Bennett, Matt Snodgrass, Alexis Bizares, Naj McCoy, Tracy Naden and several others in our NYC office. Those people are all top notch professionals and people. In Minnesota, I've met many social media/communications professionals there before but 2010 afforded an opportunity to know them better. This includes Kasey Skala, Arik Hanson, Dave Folkens, Jason Sprenger, etc... A trip out to Blogworld Expo afforded me an opportunity to meet another Minneapolis pro, Lisa Grimm for the first time. She's an immensely talented PR/digital/all around communications pro doing great things at the Mall of America. Since our initial meeting I think we've become pretty good friends. She provides such valued, straight forward advice that I know I cherish all of the time. To everyone on this list (and even the group I didn't explicitly mention) thanks a lot for an incredible 2010.
6. And yet we still have open ends - There was a lot accomplished in 2010. Met a lot of new people. Started a brand new job. Worked with a lot of cool, and interesting clients. Traveled a lot. Helped to develop some cool new products. However, there are still are several things yet to do. There are a number of people (in Minneapolis and otherwise) that I want to meet. Frankly, too many to layout here or I'd be linking to Twitter accounts well into 2011. The people that fit into that category have likely already heard from me anyway :-) In addition to meeting people, there are still more things I want to do. For example, I didn't do a ton of speaking this year. Not because I didn't want to do it. Mostly because I didn't have time. I want to do more of it in 2011. As Kasey pointed out in a recent Twitter chat, there are a lot of imposter's in this line of work. Those of us who know what we're talking about need to get out more. Well, that's assuming you all think I know what I'm talking about :-)

Well, that's it for 2010. I could go on forever recapping this year. It was pretty jam packed. But, alas, I'm already up to an 1,100 word blog post and the experts tell me thats too long. So with that I'll say sayonara to 2010. It's been a blast. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, wait....How could I forget.... One last note about 2010. Shawn Morton, David Alston, Greg Matthews and I did confirm that Ken Burbary is not a bot. Oh, and that Vegas has some super expensive hamburgers. Ok, I'm serious this time...bye 2010!

We all struggle with questions of work/life balance, are we on the right path, what can we change about our personal or professional lives and even is there sanity in the universe. Setting aside the latter (because there obviously is not), how we handle these questions are part of what defines who we are as people. Sure, these aren't the only questions we ask ourselves, but they often cause the most angst because they are typically the most difficult to answer. I'm not going to spend this post trying to espouse one lifestyle over another. That's 100% your call. Working hard is important, but understanding priorities is similarly so. I know I've had the reputation ever since starting my career at D&E as somewhat of a "workaholic." To be totally frank with you, I was OK with that label because it meant I was working hard for our clients and the firm. The older you get, though, the more you realize that workaholic is more of a pejorative term. Do you really want to be working 250 hours a month? Do you want to be constantly tethered to the iPhone or BB? Do you want to be stuck in front of your computer every weekend? I think you'd be hard pressed to answer any of those questions with a "yes." So why do we do it? Is it professional achievement? Are we looking for recognition from our employers? Has it become a habit you can't break? Do you put in countless hours because you love it (I know this is most often my rationale)? Questions I ask myself continuously and you should too. When I came back from Blogworld, I had many of these questions in my own head. Several experiences during the BWE week/weekend contributed to the resurrection of these questions, but most importantly it was sometime during that weekend that I realized how little I'd achieved personally. Sure, I loved the work I did for D&E, and now am continuing to build on at WCG. Wouldn't change those experiences for the world. Yes, I've been promoted a few times and that feels great. I've had an opportunity to work with some amazing clients, and of course that's phenomenal. But, really... what have I achieved personally? I'll spare you the gory details of a 6 year relationship that ended with a broken engagement (unless you really care that much). All I know is that there's been a real lacking of personal achievement in my life so far. And, coming on the heels of the Blogworld experience, I've been wondering if that's because this is how I really want it. I think after almost 3 weeks of asking myself the question I think I'm comfortable saying the answer is "no!" (Before you coming running after me with a pitchfork, please know that I understand the career I've chosen dictates obscene hours sometimes. I'm OK with that. It's part of the job.) So you're probably asking yourself where this post fits in with an analytics blog. Guess what? It doesn't so stop trying. Where did it come from then? I was fortunate enough on Friday to watch a video of Scott Stratten's talk at TEDxOakville that caused me to think about this very thing (again) all weekend. I wont spoil the video by telling you what it entails. Just know that I'd highly encourage you to check it (click the TEDxOakville link above) out if you're curious about work/life balance perspectives. When you do, come back and answer this question: Are you ready to stop and move things around to accommodate things in your life that are equally as important? For me, the answer is a definitive YES! Enjoy...

As some of you know, I am in Austin this weekend searching for a new place to live when I start my new role at WCG. That process really kicks into gear today, but I received some great news via e-mail this morning. 

I've been selected to serve as a Fellow for the Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) in 2010. The SNCR is, according to their Web site.... 

"... is a global nonprofit 501(c)(3) research and education foundation and think tank dedicated to the advanced study of the latest developments in new media and communications, and their effect on traditional media and business models, communications, culture and society."

I'm obviously very excited to get started, and wanted to thank the SNCR board/management for selecting me. I also wanted to thank Katie Paine for sponsoring my candidacy. I can't wait to get started working with such talented people.