willaustin.net

This is an example of a reporting console I built for the Scripps Interactive Newspaper Group that’s built out of Omniture reporting widgets, PHP, and JQuery.

When dealing with iFrames and AJAX elements, traditional engagement is more oft than not stymied. In other words, what traditionally would have been counted as a page view, becomes lost in history somewhere between web 2.0 and prominently displayed page counters.

Think of the non-AJAX pages as your old Windows 3.1 operating system (3.11 if you’re nasty like Janet) and new RIA pages as Windows 7. The old Windows 3.1 machines allowed one program to run and that program took up your entire screen (before the dawning of alt-tab multi-tasking).

In contrast, Windows 7 machines allow you to have numerous applications open, there’s now a multitude of things refreshing and hence requesting remotely stored updated data on your desktop. Now some of these programs are simple like calculators, or even desktop display properties, while others are actually productivity vehicles like your email client, or your spreadsheet and presentation software suites. Some of these products have the ability to make money, while others are just there to change the way you’re viewing things on your desktop.

Now apply this scenario to your websites, and think of traditional webpages in terms of Windows 3.1. You have only the one page, all interactions are static, and in order to call up new content another page has to be loaded.

Now in contrast apply this scenario to a page built with RIA (in this case we’ll say AJAX) and in terms of Windows 7. You have multiple applets running interdependently on the page, each with the ability to refresh itself, and each with the ability to access scores of additional data.

Here lies one of the dilemmas of web analysts in todays complex landscape of widgets, iframes, and the insatiable thirst of our core visitation to have an infinitesimal amount of data instantly.

• When do we consider that interaction akin to the former “traditional page view”?
• What actions constitute changes in ad blocks (assuming you subscribe to the traditional rotational ad block model)?
• What actions start and stop the unit of measure we use in assuming an additional engagement opportunity?

Assuming you want to track this all with events, Macro and Micro event designation is a way to apply some method to the madness.

Macro (the broad look at anything from a very high level) events are what we would consider the equivalent of “traditional page views”. These events are the ones that if on a static page would cause the reload of data, the refresh of a view, or a request for additional information (sometimes referred to as a hit, or server call).

Micro (the study of the individual parts that make up a complex system) events are the interactions that are merely cosmetic. The changing of a color scheme, scrolling on a page, or any other actions performed on a page that would be considered form, and not necessarily function.

With this in mind, when tracking events on rich media content pages, it’s important to classify each interaction in terms of it’s true importance in terms of what actions or reactions they trigger. If an event would have triggered a page refresh, a new ad, an additional page view, or something I refer to as a “game changer” then it’s a macro event and worthy of a “simulated page view”. If it’s something that would have minimal impact and more than anything just a cosmetic change or UX/UI consideration, then it’s a micro and while important to look at when assessing the true importance of a wire-frame redesign or usability testing, it’s inconsequential when looking at the overall revenue potential for that particular page.

I’ve been working on a gigantic spreadsheet form for one of our sites, and I have to admit this one took me a while. To unlick all selected click boxes in an Excel 2007 worksheet, use this code:

Sub ClearAllCheckBoxes()
Dim ChkBox As OLEObject
With ActiveSheet
.CheckBoxes.Value = False
For Each ChkBox In .OLEObjects
ChkBox.Object.Value = False
Next
End With
End Sub