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
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 The general consensus has been that the W3C is outdated and that the EDDL is the future.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
Over a year ago (after the 2019 Adobe Summit) I offered to chat with anyone on the phone about data layers (that offer still stands, by the way). One such conversation was with my friend Yehoshua Coren, who you may know better as Analytics Ninja. He spent a good chunk of the call trying to … Read more
There are a lot of companies out there who operate many sites using a similar framework (or template). One good example is from my favorite airline Delta, who owns Virgin Atlantic. You can see both of these websites run on the same template. From an implementation standpoint, I want rules I create on Delta to … Read more
After implementing dozens of Event-Driven Data Layers (EDDLs), I want to share some of my experiences. I want to be clear that while a data layer is critically important to a sustainable implementation, it doesn’t just fix everything. Like any development initiative, a data layer can even create frustration. I’m not going to talk about … Read more
Before I dive into this – I just want to say that I hope all of you and your family are staying safe. This post isn’t intended to ignore the suffering that’s going on. Among everything else in this world, people are what’s important. We’re fortunate enough to work in an industry that allows flexibility … Read more
As implementation specialists, we need to think like product-builders. Our product is the implementation. This product has 2 end-users: stakeholders who use reports and teammates who help maintain the implementation. To get the most out of this article, we have to agree that reliable data is good and that you don’t want to spend your … Read more
I’ve thought a lot about Adobe Launch naming conventions over the past year or two. I’ve always been very principled: name your rules after the action and keep your Data Elements semantic. That was how it was intended with Satellite (pre-Adobe DTM)… and architecturally, things haven’t changed that much. You still have Rules and Data … Read more
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Since posting about the EDDL (Event-Driven Data Layer), I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how this works. If you’re a user of Google Tag Manager, you’re likely already familiar. For everyone else, this concept might be a little foreign. For instance, on the surface it doesn’t seem as readable as the W3C. I want … Read more