I had a slightly shocking, and certainly eye-opening moment a month ago or so. I was chatting with Cornell, who is not only my colleague, but also probably the best Target consultant I know. He shocked me by casually saying that he thinks the future of A/B testing and targeting is server-side. As a developer, … Continue reading The Era of Server-side Everything
Tag: javascript
Switch off DTM server-side
There's a monster hiding under our beds right now, called "GDPR". Since I am not a lawyer, I will not write about GDPR, but I'll happily use it as bait. ð Seriously, though, GDPR is a great reminder that in our business (analytics, optimisation, but actually the web in general), privacy is a topic, and … Continue reading Switch off DTM server-side
Dynamic Variables – still a thing?
In April 2013, I wrote about "Dynamic Variables", a mechanism that helps remove duplication in the tracking URLs, making the tracking requests potentially shorter. Even at the time, the original reason for doing so was no longer a show stopper: Internet Explorer up to version 9 had the annoying habit of not requesting any URLs … Continue reading Dynamic Variables – still a thing?
Launch? Launch!
A recent, non-representative poll on twitter urged me to write introductory articles about Launch, the new tag management element in the Adobe Experience Could. I presume I won't be the only one, but I will abide anyway, and so here is the first of a bunch of articles on Launch. (It was really hard to … Continue reading Launch? Launch!
Bad Data – Prevention & other Aspects
Someone asked me the other day: if I cannot currently run tests to improve data quality, is there anything else I can do to make my data better? Now there's a good question! The obvious, easy, and somewhat lame answer is: well, why can't you run tests? You'd be able to catch and prevent, like, … Continue reading Bad Data – Prevention & other Aspects
Using the new Callbacks for Tracking
Sometimes you find surprising little things when you don't expect it. Take this little gem: Since 1.8.0 (released 19/1/17) Added the following pre- and post-tracking call hooks. (AN-134567) s.registerPreTrackCallback s.registerPostTrackCallback These functions take as parameters: the callback (a function), and the parameters to that function. For example: s.registerPreTrackCallback(function(requestUrl,a,b,c) { console.log("pre track callback"); console.dir(requestUrl); // Request … Continue reading Using the new Callbacks for Tracking
CSP and the Experience Cloud
There is a new kid on the block of web security: Content Security Policy, or CSP. It is not actually that new, but people start using it in earnest, and I have over the past months have had a couple of questions about how CSP influences Analytics and other parts of the Experience Cloud. So … Continue reading CSP and the Experience Cloud
Cookies, IDs, and the Experience Cloud
In January 2008, when I joined a company called "Omniture" and started working as a consultant on a product called "SiteCatalyst", ÃŽt (like most web analytics tools at the time) relied on cookies quite a lot. There was one cookie, specifically, which was important. It was called "s_vi", and it held what we called the … Continue reading Cookies, IDs, and the Experience Cloud
Useful Data Elements
Every one of us has a bag full of little tricks that they carry with them. The bag contains knowledge, ideas that we developed with or for customers, snippets of code, pieces of architectural blue prints, and much more. This blog, every now and again, empties the bag onto the floor and explains some of … Continue reading Useful Data Elements
The 2 Faces of the Audience Manager – Analytics Integration
So here you are, wondering. Your friendly marketer has told you to add a new tool to the toolbox â Adobe Audience Manager. She told you that you have to implement some code for it to work. You checked the help site and came away none the wiser. Let me help you. There are currently … Continue reading The 2 Faces of the Audience Manager – Analytics Integration
Web Analytics for Developers 