What You Think You Know About the Web Is Wrong

If you’re an average reader, I’ve got your attention for 15 seconds, so here goes: We are getting a lot wrong about the web these days. We confuse what people have clicked on for what they’ve read. We mistake sharing for reading. Not an average reader? Here’s where we started to go wrong: In 1994, a former direct mail marketer called Ken McCarthy came up with the clickthrough as the measure of ad performance on the web. However, the click had some unfortunate side effects. In 20 years, everything else about the web has been transformed, but the click remains unchanged, we live on the click web. It’s no longer just your clicks they want, it’s your time and attention. At the core of the Attention Web are powerful new methods of capturing data that can give media sites and advertisers a second-by-second, pixel-by-pixel view of user behavior. The data gets even more interesting when you dig in a little. The most valuable audience is the one that comes back. Tony Haile—Chartbeat

How consultants interview clients | Consultants Mind This week my team interviewed more than 20 people, everyone from VPs down to the analysts and clerks. The interviews were a gold mine of insights – especially since we were still in the early days of the project and collecting data. My throat was killing me, but these interviews helped us get our bearings on the client’s business, the personalities, and the politics. 1. What are the company’s key products, customers, competitors? Management consultants usually create interview guides. 2. Be personable and attractive (more on this later)Find a connection (look around the office)Describe the objective of interviewRespect the interviewee’s time and space If this is an area you would like to improve, practice. 3. “Why do you think there has been a problem with XYZ?” 4. “Would long would you say that XYZ process takes you?” For consultants, it is not enough to get a laundry list of problems (client will say, “yeah, I knew that already”). 5. “Sure, that makes sense. 6. Related Posts: Like this: