The Dawn of the Authenticated Internet

Times are changing. Stuff is… harder. More complex. In particular, with the advent of generative AI, LLMs, and all those other words/abbreviations that basically mean “robots that know more than you, think faster than you, and can do stuff for you.” As we approach this new era of technology, I want to get practical. Robots … Read more

Make Launch Better: Consent Mode

Make Launch Better - Consent Mode

Launch (sorry, Data Collection Tags) has been in the wild for 6 years. Since then, the team has gone through a lot of changes. New product ownership, resources reallocated to other projects, and generally work reprioritized to other stuff like Event Forwarding. The great thing is that the team is working on some really cool, … Read more

My Shoes Don’t Have Laces

My Shoes Don't Have Laces

The title feels like clickbait, but it’s so ridiculous it could be. So… I don’t wear shoelaces. There are a few exceptions like a few pairs of formal shoes I’ve had in my closet that I wear a few times per year – but every other occasion? Nah. I’ve been working out barefoot for years … Read more

Analytics Needs a Culture Change

Analytics Needs a Culture Change

This is a tough one. It’s difficult to take a critical look at your career – your life – over the past 20 years and see the direction of an industry pivot in a direction that forces you to take a step back and ask whether it is sustainable. A lot has changed over the … Read more

The Modern Digital Analytics Existential Crisis

The Modern Digital Analytics Existential Crisis

This article title isn’t clickbait but instead a thought exercise. It’s something I’ve been trying to mentally reconcile for quite a while without much direction. In fact, I started mulling over this right around the time I posted about bot traffic. Our industry will never go away. There will always be jobs… so why is … Read more

Adobe Analytics & CJA in Google Tag Manager (via Web SDK)

GTM to AA and CJA

Ever want to know how to implement AA & CJA in GTM via WebSDK? Okay, that’s a lot of abbreviations. Maybe this time in English – do you wanna send data to Adobe from Google Tag Manager? Yes? Wonderful! Let’s go through the steps to do that. Step 1: Create a Schema You should be … Read more

You’re Buying Bots: An Inconvenient Truth

You're Buying Bots

There could be a major problem that very few people even know about: companies are likely paying for 90%+ non-human traffic. I will not name specific advertising platform; but I’ll say if you have any kind of media budget you’re using them (mostly display and social). We’re not talking about 1 platform – we’re talking … Read more

Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) Dictionary

Adobe Experience Platform Dictionary

Adobe Experience Platform (AEP) introduces a lot of new stuff that can be tricky for folks to wrap their head around (including myself). When you look at Adobe’s documentation and presentations, they’re very buttoned up and often use industry jargon. This makes sense – it’s an enterprise selling to enterprises. Unfortunately, that’s not how my … Read more

Data Layers and Server-Side Tag Management

data layers and server-side tag management

There is a lot going on in analytics right now – much of it catalyzed by browser privacy changes. These changes can be scary! We’re now in a world that’s considering server-side tracking. As a front-end guy, that’s super intimidating. I have about 10 blog posts that are half-written. One talks about the state of … Read more

The Adobe Client Data Layer (ACDL)

Adobe Client Data Layer

It’s been a while since I started writing about the Event-Driven Data Layer (EDDL). Since then, I’ve had a lot of really incredible discussions with practitioners around its usage and best practices. The general consensus has been that the W3C is outdated and that the EDDL is the future. Now admittedly, it’s also the past. … Read more