I'm nerding out on a Saturday morning before the sun comes up. The Deeps waterfall is roaring from all the rain and snow this week. In an hour or so, I'll go trail running, but in the meantime I just installed ClickTale on NorthstarNerd.Org. I'll post my initial results later next week. This service appears to be real cool, not just measuring web analytics, but recording how visitors interact with my web site. In other words, I'll get mouse movement heat maps (where people physically move, hover, and click with their mouse on my web site) and other reports that show how folks interact with my content. Stay tuned.

If you use Google Analytics, you may occasionally wonder … wouldn't it be nice to track separate sections of my web site (i.e. folders) as if they were their own independent web domains? While it is possible to code your web site with multiple unique Google ID's, if you wanted to uniquely track eight different folders you would be required to create eight Google ID's, and install that custom code on your web site (i.e. on each page you want to track). If you ever changed your mind due to the need for different analytics desires, you would need to recode with new ID's. Sounds messy, doesn't it? 

Enter profile copy and paste. This is NOT a feature found via the normal Google Analytics dashboard. A few minor setup steps are required:

• Firefox is required due to script setup constraints
• Install Greasemonkey (a common Firefox add-in which enables scripts)
• Read the ROI Revolution Blog instructions (author profile copy/paste script)
• Browse to the Google copy/paste script
• Enable the script via Greasemonkey (see image given below)

Having installed the script, it's time to use its functionality! Navigate to your Google Analytics dashboard. The process could not be simpler: (images are given below … click upon any image to maximize)

• Add a new profile to the Google ID which you wish expand tracking
• Click "copy" from the master profile
• Click "paste" to apply the master profile to your copy
• Create filters to make your copy track sections of your web

After reviewing these images, you'll find some instructions later on in this post about constructing optimal Google filters. My examples show I set up an "Include Filter" for my Legos and Nordic Skiiing categories of this blog. Here is a brief explanation of what the ROI script performs:

• An exact duplicate of your desired profile is created
• Use Google filters to create unique analytics

Step #1

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Step #2

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More on Google Filters

If you don't create some unique filters, your new profile is just a duplicate with exactly the same data. Here is the code I used to create my folder filters:

• Filter Name: Leisure
• Filter Type: Include (only tracks data meeting the constraint)
• Constraint: Request URI (i.e. web address)
• Code: ^/(nordic-skiing|legos)/

It's worth learning the Google Filter operators. Here is a Google Forum conversation on tracking multiple folders. In my own case, the expression is interpreted in this manner: Only record analytics data for the root domain folders, nordic-skiing OR legos.

Occasionally a new product arrives on the scene which makes me really sit up and take notice … Cisco’s Umi is just such a product. Umi has the potential to be a market disrupter. Why? Imagine if you linked:

• Hi res, hi speed, 2 way video transmission
  and 
• High definition big screen TV
  and
• The consumer market

In other words, what if you put high speed, hi res video conferencing in every home in America? While you might ask, why would I want video conferencing in my home? The answer is that you may not know today, but some smart marketeers will figure out other applications for this technology linkage which will leave you drooling to have this system in your family room. I wish I had a crystal ball. 

While the price may seem a bit high right now ($600 for the cpu box and a $25 per month fee), within a short period of time I’m sure we’ll be out farther on the manufacturing curve.

Watch the video below, or link to this article from Engadget.

Here’s a photo of Umi (click to view expanded)

My computer has been in love this October! in the year 2010! How often do dates come along which are both binary and answer the ultimate question?! After all, yesterday, 10-10-10, in binary is 42, which is all you need to know in life (see Wikipedia for the answer to the ultimate question). After today, 10-11-10, my computer will be lovelorn for a long time.

• 01-Oct-2010 – 100110 – 38 
• 10-Oct-2010 – 101010 – 42 
• 11-Oct-2010 – 111010 – 46 

Sometimes I think the publishing industry must be totally clueless. Notepads (Apple or Android) represent possible salvation for their industry, and then a magazine like the New Yorker proves they just don't get it. If you desire, you can purchase a print subscription to the New Yorker for about $2 per week; if you want an electronic iPad subscription you must pony up an additional … that's right … an additional $5 per week. 

Obviously the monocle is frosted or cracked …