Friday Buzz: Google Analytics on the Go

Run your association’s website? Then you probably check out Google Analytics regularly.

There’s just one problem, however: For the longest time, it wasn’t so easy on mobile devices. Eventually, Google released a mobile version of Analytics for Android, but an iPhone version wasn’t forthcoming, leading many admins to rely on third-party tools of varying quality.

That’s no longer the case. On Thursday, Google finally gave iPhone-owning site admins mobile access to analytics, putting one less burden on their already loaded backs. Download the Google Analytics app in the iTunes App Store  (opens in a new tab).

That it took so long is a bit of a surprise, notes Mashable‘s Christina Warren  (opens in a new tab).

“Google Analytics for iPhone was a curious omission for the search giant,” she explains. “Despite having its own mobile operating system, Google has historically done a great job of maintaining app parity between iOS and Android—if not feature parity.”

If you want to see how many visitors are on your site at this very second while sitting on the train, now you can. Pretty cool, huh?

Analyze Your Needs

The unexpected benefits of requirements analysis: try it, you’ll like it. (by @delcor  (opens in a new tab)) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) http://t.co/ZOGD1wE2lI  (opens in a new tab)

— Deirdre Reid, CAE (@DeirdreReid) July 18, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

The 6 components of a good requirements analysis process by @dcoriale  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) http://t.co/0cY45iyXvf  (opens in a new tab)

— DelCor (@delcor) July 18, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

You may have approval to go with a new system from your board, but your work is far from done.

In a set of new posts, DelCor president Dave Coriale breaks down the benefits of getting your association to take part in requirements analysis (RA), an engineering process that lays out the needs for each of the stakeholders involved in a project, such as setting up an association management system.

“We’ve learned from the hundreds of technology projects we’ve managed that the discussions and decisions made during RA are often as valuable as the solution selected,” Coriale writes.

Often this kind of analysis helps organizations discover new opportunities to collaborate and make processes more efficient, he says.

“For example, while discussing integration requirements for a new enterprise system, the team realizes they have data in various systems that can be integrated in a way that provides members with new insights about the value of their membership and the organization’s efforts,” he adds.

Read more on the potential benefits of the process  (opens in a new tab) at The Delcor Connection blog, as well as a breakdown  (opens in a new tab) of what your organization should have in place.

Other Links of Note

Getting a slow charge from your mobile device? Wired explains  (opens in a new tab) what might be causing charging to take so long.

If you’re trying to use direct mail to appeal to your members, don’t just send a letter from the chairman, David M. Patt says. You have to get more personal than that  (opens in a new tab).

Facebook just launched an app for celebrities or users with other verified profiles—and nobody else  (opens in a new tab).

Digiday has advice for organizations looking to ask their audience to post selfies: Don’t do it  (opens in a new tab), because it’s cliché.

(Associations Now illustration)