justin shaffer

yes, please. jessicabigarel: Via a conversation with Zach...

Sun, 30 May 2010 15:17:28 -0400

yes, please.

jessicabigarel:

Via a conversation with Zach Klein, Brian Jacobs, and Aaron Sittig at Marlow & Sons in 2009.

Seen recently at Hot Potato HQ.

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:09:24 -0400

Seen recently at Hot Potato HQ.

Where’s Zach?

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:33:19 -0400

Where’s Zach?

Sunset last night from the office in Williamsburg. I love it...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:56:52 -0400

Sunset last night from the office in Williamsburg. I love it here.

?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:00:31 -0400

this is why i love matt langer. langer: So I had a little fun...

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:39:46 -0400

this is why i love matt langer.

langer:

So I had a little fun with my latest project at work.

Every business realizes at some point that Google Analytics sucks but gets away with sucking because it’s Google and it’s free. We were looking to get a better view of our viral-specific traffic, and rather than wrestle with GA or try to plug in to another service we decided to farm our own data. It was up to me to figure out how best to do this.

My first step was to build our own vanity URL shortener, functionality we would definitely need because Twitter is one of our three main viral channels. I wasn’t comfortable with plugging into the API at bit.ly or anywhere else because I didn’t want to have to rely on another service for the longevity of our links. Plus, by doing it myself I not only got to build my own base-62 converter (fun!), but now whenever a user hits our server to expand that base-62 shortened URL I get full server-side control of the rest of that click’s lifetime. I know if that URL went out via Twitter or Facebook or email, I know its incoming referrer (if it differs from the original channel), and most importantly, I know the unique user session of whoever clicked on it.

Now, with a unique session in hand, I built a JavaScript tracker to capture a complete view of that first user experience. I record the entire map of their initial visit, including which site features they used, whether they created an account, and about a dozen other properties that interest us, all of which builds out a very important picture of customer acquisition and conversion. It also helps us gauge the respective value of these three separate viral media and track their performance over time as we tweak the ways we interact with them.

I was also asked to build a live dashboard so that we could hang a 50-inch LCD on one of the walls and get a realtime view of our incoming viral traffic. And while I find analytics and metrics and viral coefficients to be pretty interesting stuff, my cynical half can’t help but see it as all a lot of snake oil. In deference to this latter point I decided to name the tool the “VIRAL SCIENCE LABORATORY”, since I hear “viral scientists” are the new “social media experts”.

They don’t usually let me do much design around here. This might be why.

(full version here)

—

[ed note: the numbers pictured above are just my local testing data, not a representative view]

Bastille Day on Smith Street. Vive la France!

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:29:00 -0400

Bastille Day on Smith Street. Vive la France!

chelsaskees: Osaka Loop Line - Discovery

Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:37:50 -0400

chelsaskees:

Osaka Loop Line - Discovery

Anne’s dinner followed by a lovely evening with friends...

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 23:55:00 -0400

Anne’s dinner followed by a lovely evening with friends old and new last thursday. Really enjoying the new 5D Mark II. Here are some photos from the evening:

ihardlyknowher or flickr

stephaniewei: (via littlemiss) me too.

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:40:18 -0400

stephaniewei:

(via littlemiss)

me too.

Many thanks to Nick Gray for hosting a most excellent tea party...

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:17:00 -0400

Many thanks to Nick Gray for hosting a most excellent tea party last night featuring great music by the Freelance Whales.

Some photos for your perusal from the evening:

ihardlyknowher or flickr

Funny rant on web development.

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:20:09 -0400

Funny rant on web development.

Comments on How MicroPublishing Is Killing The Nuances of Knowledge

Mon, 11 May 2009 22:23:41 -0400

Comments on How MicroPublishing Is Killing The Nuances of Knowledge: This is worth reading. Comments...

"Sometimes.. I get lost in the Internet."

Mon, 11 May 2009 21:08:52 -0400

“Sometimes.. I get lost in the Internet.”

I’m loving Williamsburg so far.

Tue, 05 May 2009 02:02:55 -0400

I’m loving Williamsburg so far.

Barbara Lynch awesome-ness.

Tue, 05 May 2009 01:59:31 -0400

Barbara Lynch awesome-ness.

I don’t know this guy, but i like his interpretation of...

Tue, 05 May 2009 01:52:00 -0400

I don’t know this guy, but i like his interpretation of venns.

check it out on flickr:

Venn diagram set

rachellehruska: A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of...

Mon, 04 May 2009 13:54:00 -0400

rachellehruska:

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of playing “Modern Art” a really unique board game experience. I totally recommend checking it out.

Not only did we play, we WON!

505 sailing in 30 knots, awesome video. This is helmet cam...

Sat, 02 May 2009 19:03:55 -0400

505 sailing in 30 knots, awesome video. This is helmet cam footage of my one of my favorite things to do. But seriously, french dude who is crewing - when you capsize - at least try and get on the centerboard.. or you could leap directly into the middle of your carbon main and then swim away and let your boat turtle. Go figure.

I got the most awesome gift from a bunch of my former co-workers...

Fri, 01 May 2009 12:08:43 -0400

I got the most awesome gift from a bunch of my former co-workers at MLB.com yesterday evening. A signed ball, courtesy of the MLB.com technology group. I will cherish it forever.