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Ideas for Effective Analytics Strategy

 

Many websites have Google Analytics setup, but the majority are not making the most use of these resources. Often, analytics is an afterthought or is dismissed as merely a way of tracking the number of visitors on a given day. But there is so much more actionable data to be had with a little time [...]

Are We In Another Startup Bubble?

 

Perhaps you have noticed the recent explosion of online start-ups. With capital requirements lower than ever for start-ups, venture capital funds have turned into accelerators that now spread the same pool of money across numerous young start-ups. International barriers to entry have been decimated by the Internet meaning aspiring entrepreneurs from all over the world [...]

The Power of Visual Data

 

Data visualization means taking a set of data and representing it with visual modeling,in a way that makes it easier to understand and observe patterns.  In its simplest form, it can be a 2-dimensional chart or graph that represents a single dimension or a dataset. Or you can extrapolate complex representations as well. But what [...]

Are you Using Caching As a Bandaid?

 

When your web application is responding slowly, there are several levels at which the problem could be occurring. Until you instrument the application and begin the diagnostic journey, you really don’t know whether the problem is. It is often difficult to convince business stakeholders to allocate budget to uncover and fix an undefined problem, rather [...]

Online Marketing Strategies for SMBs

 

Through a convergence of recent events, local small businesses (SMBs) are beginning to flock to online advertising.  Businesses and consumers alike are making substantially less use of the Yellow Pages and other print directories to discover local merchants, in favor of more efficient tools search tools such as Google and Bing.  Traditional rating and review [...]

Waterfall or Iterative Methodology?

 

A debate has been raging for the past few years about the right way to build software products.  There are essentially two schools of thought and the two are pitted against each other with as much conviction and animosity as a presidential election.  And much like a political or religious debate, neither side seems to [...]

Starbucks Not Silicon Valley!

 

Why is it that some companies are able to scale to International and financial acclaim, while others get mired in competition and struggle to stay alive?  There are many obvious explanations of course such as finding good Product/Market fit (creating something people will pay for), and being competitive in terms of cost and value.  But [...]

Goodbye Flash, Hello Edge!

 

It is no secret that the iPhone does not support Flash.  Steve Jobs went as far as to explicitly rule out support of Flash by name, in his famous 2011 speech.  And now, Adobe has responded by announcing they will no longer support or further develop the Flash platform. Instead, Adobe is quietly releasing a [...]

What is a Product Manager?

 

The product manager is the person inside the organization who is responsible for the definition, development, maintenance, optimization, and ultimately the success of a product.  They are the glue between the product development team (engineering) and the marketing team. Many companies are still organized around the management of people, but in recent years there has [...]

The Need for Development Process

 

Many smaller and non-technical businesses are not familiar with web development process and thus may not fully appreciate the need for it.  Many times, the development team is pushed to override process either because it appears wasteful, interferes with a more organic process, or because there are looming deadlines that conflict.  While this may facilitate [...]