Translation – Keep it simple, stupid. This is one of the taglines from Father Avinash the Analyst. Actually, he is Avinash Kaushik of the Occam’s Razor blog. For a true analytical, he was inspiring to listen to, and one that even I, with my severe attention disorder, found myself attentive and really learning. First on foremost – I am not an analytical person. Those who know me will laugh because I am a master of spreadsheets dating back to VisiCalc on an original Apple .
How did I get this way, with a dislike of doing numbers? I guess that it stems from the fact the my father was a CPA who could run a 10 key with the best of them. When I got the Apple I was working in Dallas with Harte-Hanks and my boss was also a CPA. We used to have races when trying out new rate schemes, and I’m proud to say that I always won – both in speed and accuracy. It was fun to deflate his ego balloon – he was a graduate of The University (Texas) and thus knew more than anyone else.
Back to what I learned from Avinash in that webinar – it had nothing to do with numbers, but a better lesson. He simplified everything with the statement that all of the numbers and analytics for your sites will be nothing if the site ‘sucks.’ His motto – one which is now at the top of my monitor – is, “First of All, Don’t Suck!” That should be goal one, and analytics only work if the content and design are functional, attractive, and compelling.
Every day, just remember – Keep it simple, and don’t suck!
