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Data with a Soul: 3 Surprising Things I Learned about Analytics from a Best Selling Empathy Researcher


December 16, 2014

I was reading Brene Brown’s book Daring Greatly recently and was struck by this quote:

“Connection is what we are made for.”

I’ve found that Brene Brown gets right to the heart of our purpose as humans. I love meaningful conversations with loved ones and friends. Sharing honest, personal, poignant and vulnerable stories about our struggles gives others a clearer picture of who we are, what we’ve been through, and the solutions in life we seek.

In her popular Tedx talk on her clinical vulnerability research, she said “Maybe stories are just data with a soul.”

Story telling around the campfire

Everybody has a story

 

What in the World Does This Have to Do with Analytics?

Glad you asked….

At Analytics Pros, we like to say data is the story of us, and what we do with that data is solve human problems.

Data with humanness. It has a kind of dignity to it.

I love these ideas, but as a new hire, I still had to learn the basics of analytics.

The road to learning Google Analytics was quite the journey for me, and my co-workers who have had to learn GA from scratch would also agree.

What helps me make sense of the charts and graphs is to make it more personal. I do that by visualizing real people connected to the numbers.  Clicks and pageviews aren’t data points in lifeless charts and tables, but are windows into the lives of real people looking for answers, advice, service and solutions.

These data points–these small windows into other people’s lives–have dignity because they’re connected to real human beings. It’s data with dignity.

Data with Dignity Does Three Things:

  1. Data shares a story
  2. Data tells the truth
  3. Data brings clarity

But first, some definitions.

Dignity Defined

Humans inherently have dignity. They are worthy of honor and respect. If we rely on data to only count web users and their actions, we completely miss the rich qualities behind people interacting with their virtual world.

Dignifying Data

Dignifying data means giving data a level of respect and meaning. Data represents the choices, desires, frustrations, and needs of the people that generate it. Seeing data in this light honors its value and worth in its ability to accomplish the goals of the people we are serving.

Dignified data:

  1. Shares a Story

    Data tells the big picture story of our online presence and when properly analyzed opens the door to explanations behind the why of the numbers.

  2.  Tells the Truth

    We are all aware of the desire to expand, excel, and exceed in business. What we must not give in to is exaggerating profit or overpromising on deliverables. Data helps ground expectations in reality and allows us to honestly and accurately assess where we are and where we are going.

  3. Brings Clarity

    The sheer volumes of data that Digital Analytics produces, if not used rightly, can be overwhelming and unhelpful. Vast amounts of incorrectly analyzed data can distort the picture you are trying to see. Digging deeper into your existing data clarifies the who of your user, the how and why of their behavior and leads you to the “what will we do to respond?” This adds value and direction to your business objectives.

There is dignity in data so long as we don’t settle for depersonalized data. As we give data the dignity it deserves, it becomes more effective in helping us better understand our customer’s needs and help them achieve their goals.

I think Brene is right: “Maybe stories are just data with a soul.”

After I’d passed my Google Analytics IQ exam and had a basic analytics vocabulary, the dignity of data became clearer. The Analytics Pros mottos of “data is the story of us”, and “solving human problems” came more alive.

Reading Brene Brown helped the concepts of analytics stick for me. What book, quote or illustration has helped you learn the GA basics?  


Share your stories in the comments below.