Eric Peterson on the X Change Conference

I recently talked to Web Analytics Demystified's Eric Peterson about the upcoming X Change conference in San Francisco this September.

Larry: I wasn’t able to make it last year, though I will be going this year. Can you tell us a little bit about the X Change conference and its objectives?

Eric: Sure, and we definitely missed you last year Larry!  The X Change is something that John Lovett at Forrester called the "unconference" for the digital measurement set.  Instead of trapping participants in occasionally boring presentations and thinly-disguised vendor pitches (sorry!) our model is built entirely around 12 to 15 person "huddles" designed to promote participation.  These huddles are led by the best-and-brightest practitioners from within the measurement industry --- folks like Greg Dowling from Nokia, Lynn Lamphier from Best Buy, Dylan Lewis from Intuit, and James Robinson from the New York Times.  The huddles work because our leaders and participants actually do the work they're talking about every day.  No vendors or consultants lead huddles, nothing "meta" ... real people doing real work.

Larry: Tell me about last year’s conference. What were the highlights for you? (and lowlights, if you feel like sharing!)

Eric: Well, the biggest letdown was, of course, you not being there.  My highlight honestly was just being at the X Change and helping to make it happen.  This is a really special conference, and as you know, I get to ** a lot ** of conferences.  Our industry is still young, and the group that comes to the X Change is very much responsible for the sector's evolution ... either because they're the CEO of a company providing critical technology (like you), because they're a consultant in the middle of the process (like me), or because they're putting hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars worth of measurement technology to use to improve their business (like most of our participants.)

Larry: Are you planning anything differently this year?

Eric: Well, other than having a big "Thanks for coming, Larry" presentation on Day One ...  The biggest difference is our keynote this year, something we call "Four Founders Perspective" where I will be moderating a conversation with Brett Crosby (Google Analytics), Bob Page (Yahoo Web Analytics), John Pestana (Omniture/ObservePoint) and Matt Cutler (Visible Measures).  These guys are unique in that each founded a measurement company (Urchin, Accrue, Omniture, and NetGenesis, respectively) and are still actively working in the sector.  The keynote will focus on where we've come from, where we are today, and where these four guys think the sector is going.  Since I'm a big fan of all four guys, I'm pretty excited about the keynote.

Larry: Feel like dropping any other names of who is already planning to attend? Who’s your target audience for this conference?

Eric: Well, rumor is that Larry Freed and Kevin Ertell from ForeSee Results are coming ... plus senior staff from WebTrends, Coremetrics, Unica, Omniture, SAS, Teradata, and a handful of other great technology providers, a handful of well-known consultants from the U.S. and Europe, and brilliant practitioners from companies like Apple, Adobe, HBO, TBS, Comcast, Verizon, Nike, Sony, Cisco, BBC, Barclays, Schwab, Kohler, Intuit, Best Buy, Avaya, Macys, and more.  In terms of attendance we're actually pretty selective and limit the conference to 100 participants plus about 20 huddle leaders and staff and so we're confident about selling out again (for the third year in a row!)

Larry: Why should people come to this conference above all others?

Eric: One reason: because they have experiences in measurement that they want to share and because they want to hear right back about the experiences of their peers.  There are a ton of conferences where you can go and be "talked to" but none in my experience where the participant is fully part of the content, other than the X Change.  The beauty of the X Change is that "rock stars" emerge where we least expect them --- there are a ton of brilliant people in our field but until we actually get together that brilliance is tucked away.  The X Change is about getting those folks together, having them network, and seeing what comes of it.  The conference is the best possible investment for companies wanting to retain and nurture their brilliant talent, and I haven't even mentioned our "Think Tank" training day on September 9th which is an awesome way for emerging talent to get hands-on training from some of the brightest consultants in the industry.

Larry: How should people register?

Eric: Your readers can point their browsers to http://www.semphonic.com/XC/XChangeRegister.aspx and get started now.  For more information about the conference folks can either visit http://www.xchangeconference.com, email me directly (eric@webanalyticsdemystified.com) or Twitter me @erictpeterson.

Thanks Larry, and I'm glad you're finally coming to the big event!

Larry: Thanks, Eric, and look forward to seeing you then, if not before.

Comments

[Kevin Ertell]

Great overview, Larry and Eric. I'm really looking forward to attending. I can't wait to get into some really meaty conversations in the huddles.

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For fairly experienced professionals, I think the most valuable part of many conferences is the side conversations you have with peers. At X Change, the fundamental idea is to make those conversations THE CONFERENCE. You get a chance to talk in-depth, peer-to-peer, with other leading enterprise level web measurement managers and practitioners about the problems and opportunities you are actually dealing with. You don’t have to do this in-between the presentations. Instead, you get a chance for long, in-depth exploratory conversations – the sort that are hard to fit into any other type of experience – and you get it in an environment where no one Is selling you anything.

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X Change is the premier conference for Web analytics professionals. The X Change Conference is built around “Huddles” – small group break-outs led by enterprise analytics managers and senior practitioners.

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XChange UK are the worldwide source for extended technology including QuarkXPress XTensions, Photoshop, Acrobat and InDesign Plug-Ins, PDF utilities

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You get a chance to talk in-depth, peer-to-peer, with other leading enterprise level web measurement managers and practitioners about the problems and opportunities you are actually dealing with.

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For fairly experienced professionals about the problems and opportunities you are actually dealing with.

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I have already started reading some of your articles. I found great articles here. And I will get back here. Thanks.

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Greg Dowling started his new life as a Semphonic VP, Head of New York Office and unofficial leader of our Mobile Practice.

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Eric T. Peterson is the founder of Web Analytics Demystified, Inc. and the author of Web Analytics Demystified, Web Site Measurement Hacks, and The Big Book of Key Performance Indicators.

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For professionals with enough experience, I think the most valuable part of many conferences is secondary you have conversations with their peers. At X Change, the fundamental idea is to have these conversations CONFERENCE.

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You do not have to do this in the middle of the presentations. Instead, you get a chance for long talks, exploratory in-depth - the kind that are difficult to fit into any other type of experience - and you get in an environment where nobody is selling anything.

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X Change is the premier conference for web analytics professionals. The X Change Conference is based on "cliques" - small group break-outs led by business analysis of managers and senior professionals.

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XChange UK are the source of all the world for extended technology including QuarkXPress XTensions, Photoshop, Acrobat and InDesign plug-ins, PDF utilities.

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For very experienced professionals about the challenges and opportunities are actually trying.

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The biggest disappointment was, of course, is not to be there.

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Huddles work because our leaders and the participants actually do the work they are talking about every day.

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overview, Larry and Eric. I have a great desire to attend. I can not wait to get into some conversations actually curls up in the flesh. Comment

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overview, Larry and Eric. I have a great desire to attend. I can not wait to get into some conversations actually curls up in the flesh. Another informative post. This is a very nice blog that I will definitively come back to several more times this year!

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airly professionals with experience, I believe the most valuable part of many conferences is secondary you have conversations with their peers. At X Change, the fundamental idea is to have these conversations CONFERENCE. You have the opportunity to talk in depth, on an equal footing with other managers at the company's leading web measurement and professionals about the problems and opportunities really are trying. You do not have to do this in the middle of the presentations. Instead, you have the opportunity for a long time, the exploratory talks in depth "of the type that are difficult to fit into any other type of experience" and you get in an environment where nobody is selling anything. The world is becoming more and more weird this day. It's okay, let's be open mind about it.

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X Change is the premier conference for web analytics professionals. The X Change Conference is based on "small group" huddles' break-outs driven enterprise analytics managers and senior professionals. Hey I object your name I instrument agree for your insert please prepare bill!

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