I just got back from Xchange 2000 (the premier web analytics conference) last night and I’m inspired.  The conference was amazing.  Gary Angel and Eric Peterson were the perfect hosts for this conference. 

Unlike traditional conferences, Xchange is mostly a collection of huddles with a small group of like minded participants who really dive deeply into the issues.  I attended 5 huddles titled: 1) Getting Analysts to Produce Analysis and Getting the Business to Listen, 2) Slicing and Dicing Visitors: Segmentation Strategies, 3) Integrating Customer Experience and Marketing Data with Web Analytics, 4) Searching for Success with SEO and SEM, and finally, 5) Driving Visitors Up the Value Chain.

The nicest part about the huddles is that almost everyone participates and adds to the conversation.  There are almost 100 experts who attended the conference and everyone shared their ideas freely.  This is in direct contrast to some other conferences I’ve attended in the past.  Typically, a vendor will host a session and tease you with promises of great results if you follow their advice.  Of course, the advice is impossible to follow without help from the vendor.  Fortunately, the vendor will be happy to provide you their solution for a fee.  This conference was the opposite of that.  Ideas flowed freely from all who attended. 

The event was held at the Ritz Carlton in San Francisco and went off without a hitch.  The hotel was a perfect venue.  We got special pricing on our rooms and everything was well organized from a logistics point of view.  I must make a special note of the food.  Gary Angel is a gourmet and his influence on the meals was evident throughout.  All meals were both healthy and delicious.

So next year, be sure to attend this who’s who of analytics.  You won’t regret it.