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Data Visualisation: Network Graphs (work in progress)

Data Visualisation: Network Graphs (work in progress)

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networks-and-nodesThe following is inspired by (and based loosely on) a tutorial by data journalist Clara Guibourg: Network analysis of a Twitter hashtag using Gephi and NodeXL (hat-tip @KirkDBorne), worked up in a ‘Heath Robinson’ fashion since I don’t currently have Java or MS Excel installed on this laptop. (Java v.7+ is required to run Gephi, “the leading visualization and exploration software for all kinds of graphs and networks”; and, without Excel, not much use in trying to run the NodeXL Excel 2007+ template “that makes it easy to explore network graphs”.)

Graphs don’t just come in curves:
A standard Cartesian graph consists of a set of (x,y) co-ordinates (the points or vertices on the graph) and the relationship (the edges, arcs or lines) between them. The result is the graphed line, which may be also expressed as some algebraic function specifying the relationship (for example, in its simplest form: y = x). [Read more…] about Data Visualisation: Network Graphs (work in progress)

Black Screen of Death

Black Screen of Death

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black-screen-of-deathJust got the black screen of death on my Toshiba laptop. Aaarrrghhhh! Thought the whole thing had completely gone kaput. Friendly IT person online (searched via smartphone) basically suggested that old classic: “Have you tried turning it off and turning it back on again?” OK, OK. Turns out the damned plug wasn’t plugged in properly so it was running on battery without me realising. Works fine now. Phew! (Am I really going retrain into a more system-based role? Really? Need to avoid schoolgirl errors in future then.)

Digital Marketing (Web) Metrics

Digital Marketing (Web) Metrics

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web-metricsLet’s take a first look at the branch of Marketing Analytics known as Digital Marketing Metrics (or Web Metrics), which sit within the category of Sales Metrics (see earlier posts here and here). That is, they relate specifically to sales, and their measurement and improvement leads to increased sales revenue for the business. They are also a kind of Dynamic Metric: one which is likely to change significantly in a short timeframe (within one month or less), and one which can be significantly impacted in the short term by actions the company can take now. For example, making small tweaks to the customer journey through the website may increase additional purchases, or shortening the number of steps, and hence time to checkout reducing cart abandonments, and so on. [Read more…] about Digital Marketing (Web) Metrics

How Data Becomes Knowledge

How Data Becomes Knowledge

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knowledgeData questions and data analysis:
The journey from raw data to actionable knowledge takes us through various stages, each with a different kind of question we can ask of and analysis we can perform on that data, ranging from the simplest through to the very complex. But it will always begin with the question.

Descriptive analysis
This is the simplest kind of analysis, which describes some event or data set in order to get a better understanding of what has happened (descriptive step) and why it happened (interpretive step). This kind of analysis won’t be used to generate decisions as its difficult to generalise from the descriptive data, but is used instead to support understanding. [Read more…] about How Data Becomes Knowledge

Finding My Ideal Job

Finding My Ideal Job

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finding-my-ideal-jobGrowth Analyst
TransferWise
London

Job description
TransferWise is the clever new way to move money between countries. Co-founded by Skype’s first employee and backed by some of planet’s most experienced innovators, including Sir Richard Branson and PayPal founder Peter Thiel, we’re disrupting the world of international money transfer. That means flipping a gazillion dollar industry on its head and taking power away from banks and the establishment. [Read more…] about Finding My Ideal Job

Descriptive Customer or Marketing Analytics

Descriptive Customer or Marketing Analytics

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descriptive-customer-analyticsDescriptive customer or marketing analytics are a way of linking the customer or the market to the business through information or data, specifically the kinds of useful data the business will require to allow it to make effective actionable decisions. The focus of descriptive analytics is always on what happened (and why it happened), and on the behaviour of the customer or market.

There are three kinds of descriptive analytics, each being used in a different kind of situation, or where the kind of decision management wishes to make varies. [Read more…] about Descriptive Customer or Marketing Analytics