Web Books

The book was written by Brian Clifton, who actually works for Google itself, as a team leader for the Google Analytics team for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It is basically information from the source itself.

You could expect a sales pitch for the Google product, but this is not the case here. Well, there is also not too much profit to be made from writing a self serving book that is designed to sell the product, because Google Analytics is a free web analytics solution that does not cost a dime to use.

The book is a hands-on guide for how to use Google Analytics and in my opinion more geared towards the webmasters who have some technical understanding, basic knowledge in HTML and JavaScript and the folks who are doing the actual implementation and configuration of the web analytics solution.

It is full of specific and practical tips and uses real world examples to not only demonstrate the "how-to", but to illustrate and explain the "why-to" as well. It includes source code samples, which are often virtually ready to be used for your own site.

I stumbled upon the authors' site while trying to learn more about Google Analytics. After reading a few of his posts and learning that he was (until recently) quite high up on the totem pole in the Web Analytics team at google, I decided to purchase his new book, and I'm very glad I did.

I found it to be very useful and easy to read, despite parts of it being somewhat complex -- as I was hoping for given the title. The use of screen shots was excellent. I often found myself relating pages of the book to my own analytics account and in doing so gaining a better understanding of my own data and a better comprehension of what the book was talking about.

The book also provides some practical solutions to some common (but semi-advanced) issues that are not covered in any official google documentation, however if you have been faced with the specific issues, you would likely have found the answer in analytics blogs online if you searched enough. Having said that, if you had this book, you wouldn't have needed to search in the first place.

At the time I read the book I had been using analytics for about a year. I am very happy with the book -- I only wish I had it earlier when I didn't know quite as much, then I would have gotten even more value from it.

Very good documentation of Google Analytics. It's the manual we've all be waiting for. Excellent details on advanced filters and configuration. I recommend it as a must-have book if you're working with Google Analytics. Business/marketing people won't get much out of this. It's a bit too technical for them.

Brian Clifton's Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics should, for all intents and purposes, have the term "Advanced" in bold, possibly in a gigantic type font with fun colours and exclamation marks.

The first 3-5 chapters start innocently enough, and if you have been involved in web analytics or read any other material on the topic you will find it largely rehashes what you already know with a few nuggets of gold throughout. For instance, Brian's discussion as it pertains to Google's tracking of data and its privacy implications offers a wonderful metaphor relating to personal identifiable information, though his emphasis curiously seems to be trying to convince the reader, rather than positioning it as a tool that one can use to assuage stakeholders or individuals who are not sold on analytics.

Chapter 4, which aforementioned is innocent enough, gives one a glimpse of what is to come when Brian delves into a discussion on regular expressions (in order to filter data via GA's inline filter). If you are unfamiliar with a command line interface, advanced search expressions or anything of the sort, good luck. Even if you are, this section comes WAY out of left field and perhaps could have been saved for later, but the information itself is useful and I've been utilizing a number of the expressions ever since.

Chapter 7 is where this book really begins, and Brian starts it off by giving an in depth explanation of how Google tracks pages and summarily applies that logic to show how one can track things like dynamic URL's (rewriting them along the way), tracking file downloads, partially completed forms (cool stuff), and E-Commerce settings (with some neat tricks and workarounds for frequent issues and problems), Flash, and a whole host of things. All of this is done very clearly, but if you don't have some technical aptitude/background, you're going to struggle.

After the largely technical Chapter 7, Brian shifts back into a less technically focused discussion on best practices, including a fantastic write up on goals and funnels (including excellent examples for both). His knowledge and ability to write in a clear form is particularly visible when he discusses segmentation, which, while other authors have done a good job championing, Brian, at least to me, easily blows them out of the water. If you're not technically inclined, this is a great section, though you may still be a bit perturbed by the depth of the filter settings.

Chapter 9 is worth the purchase of this book alone, IF you can follow it. For reference, it's prefaced with the words "In this chapter I assume you have a strong understanding of JavaScript" and it holds true. In this chapter you learn a whole whack of cool things, and I literally have a pile of notes sitting on my desk as a result. Brian goes into everything from adding custom search engines to your GA results, tracking error pages and broken links and tracking referral url's from pay-per-click networks to differentiating links to the same page via site overlay. There's just tons of great tricks and tips in this section, and it's clear to anyone with a clue that not only does the author of this section have an understanding of Google that vastly exceeds your own, but that he can write about it in a clear, easy to understand (given the nature of the topic) way.

Chapter's 10 and 11 are also excellent, and one does not need to be overly technical to understand them. The former discusses KPI's in an extremely clear, helpful manner and even discusses creating reports based on specific job roles. In the process, Brian reveals a bunch of custom KPI's that he has created that are fantastic--which is to say, if you are reading this section do not skip a job role just because it's not applicable, there's lots of gold to be mined.

Chapter 11 focuses on real world tasks, such as diagnosing problem pages, delves deeper into funnels and how to use Google optimizer and is a great read that, no matter who you are, I promise you will learn something from.

In summary, if you are technically inclined and can follow some of the more esoteric topics, this book is an absolute must have--buy it right now. If you are not so technically inclined, there is still lots of value in chapters, 8, 10 and 11 which in my opinion still would merit a purchase, but of course, you are not getting the same value. So, as I said to begin this admittedly long review, this book is phenomenal, but there is one big caveat. You need to have some technical knowledge to truly appreciate how much valuable information it provides.

This is a really interesting and exciting book. The novella at the end is the best of the bunch, and the stories are otherwise excellent. Nobody I've lent it to has been able to put it down.

All I Can Truly Deliver is a refreshingly brazen collection of fiction that combines intellectual grit with sumptuous storytelling. The first two-thirds of the book is divided into six "cover" stories - new versions of canonical tales. Matt Vadnais explains, in a postscript to the collection, that he has hijacked "the cover" and applied it to fiction to "explore, challenge, reinforce, and defy" the "theory that there are no new stories." For him, "the cover merges the experiences of creating and enjoying art in a way that few artistic or cultural artifacts do."

Whatever one makes of the theory behind the writing, there's no doubting the allure of reading and rereading these cover stories, experiencing the reverberations of classical tales and themes while enjoying finely drawn characters in compelling circumstances. Starting with a bold and overtly theatrical retelling of Franz Kafka's classic story, "The Great Wall of China," and ending with an audacious, witty, and just plain fun retelling of Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (with a wink and a nod to Joyce Carol Oats as well), these short stories do deliver.

Building on the thematic arch from the first two-thirds of the book, the remainder of the book is a novella that follows three characters - a wealthy Marxist from Kansas, a once-famous child star, and a former bassist in a big-time rock band. A virtuoso with dialogue and unconventional twists and breaks, Vadnais weaves a tale about these unlikely colleagues, who are bound to one another through a simple vocation: buying the houses of famous dead people.

In the end, if there's one criticism I have of this book, it's that there isn't more of it. In an age when so many talented writers merely churn out stories with conveyor-belt characterization and cereal-box plot surprises because they fear that readers just won't get it, Vadnais has reclaimed the right to tell smart stories that truly entertain.

I am slated to see Matt Vadnais do a read from this book tomorrow night, so i thought i would pick it up. This is truly a wonderful collection of short stories. Very imaginitive and insightful.

The book covers more than the Amazon APIs so I recommend it if you are interested in mashups in general. I'm very keen on JSON right now and was pleased to find that covered as well. I think the author is a very good programmer who has many clever ideas like using XSL to transform XML into JSON (although using Yahoo! Pipes is easier). I'd have to say that this is one of the few programming books I've read that presented some really ingenious solutions and creative project ideas. Most books just provide uninspiring "Hello World" examples.

If you want to learn the various ways in which you can use Amazon's Web Services, this is an excellent starting point. Shanahan goes beyond "mashups" in the strict Web 2.0 sense of the term; he looks at the various ways of supporting wireless devices, and the use of the S3 storage service. The only nits (so far - I'm still working through some of the material) are that he assumes the use of Microsoft tools, and he identifies the term "JSON" with one particular style of mashup using script retrieval. (JSON is a serialization scheme which can be used for many different use cases, including RESTful interactions.) But these are minor points; this is an excellent book - and a lot of fun, too.

If you want to build applications and mashups using the Amazon E-commerce and S3 APIs this book from Francis Shanahan is a great place to start. It begins with a good overview of the ECS services and then covers useful topics like XSLT, Ajax, JSON, and mobile. Good coverage of both the Amazon SOAP and REST APIs. Includes mashup examples using primarily Microsoft tools like C# that mix with Yahoo Maps, eBay, and YouTube.

One thing you'll get here but not in a lot of other comparable books are architecture diagrams for each project. This is particularly helpful for mashups where there's often lots of integration happening at multiple layers. The illustrations help solidly conceptualize what happens where.

Great book for designer and technical architect, the presentation of the book is very good, it go through the guidelines, implementation examples and case studies in nice and simple way support by good charts, graphs and tables. That is one of few books in the market which cover all the phases of software life cycle including analysis, application architectures and design... Its easy to read and understand, but hard to find in the books stores, my guess its one of the great books I had in my library from couple of years.

Great book for designer and technical architect, the presentation of the book is very good, it go through the guidelines, implementation examples and case studies in nice and simple way support by good charts, graphs and tables. That is one of few books in the market which cover all the phases of software life cycle including analysis, application architectures and design... Its easy to read and understand, but hard to find in the books stores, my guess its one of the great books I had in my library from couple of years.

The author made no assumptions regarding the reader's technical knowledge. Thus, he provides a comprehensive guide beginning with the fundamentals of application re-engineering to the technical details of Web development; e.g., CGI and JAVA. Experienced architects will rejoice, because finally someone put all the information needed in one book. Those who are inexperienced with architectures or re-engineering can sit down and learn how all the different pieces fit together. This is the only book I have ever seen that puts all the pieces of application architecture and system design together tjat is easy to read, easy to understand, and steps through each part of the process. Well done!

This book will take you from absolutely no knowledge of DotnetNuke and get you well on your way. Simple to follow. Like any good intro book it will help you to understand how DNN works and gives you enough information to know where to go to learn more. For example after you are shown what a skin is and how to use it you are then shown how to make one of your own. You should then understand where you want to go from there. My experience level is 1.5 years as an ASP.net, VB and C# Developer with SQL server 2005. I have no previous knowledge of DNN. It will be very helpful if you know a bit about Visual Web developer, Light Coding, CSS, XML and some graphics program knowledge such as Fireworks or Photoshop. However, this book will get even the non programmer where he needs to be to use DNN. In short - if you are new, Start here.

It's not for the complete novice and it won't teach you how to code. But it will get you up and going with VWD and DNN. Well written with good screenshots. He also takes you through the process of creating modules. It's a good primer and was what I was looking for.

This is a very good introduction to DotNetNuke. It will help you install DNN on you own machine and guide you through building a simple website.

If you know a little about programming in VB and know something about HTML and CSS, this book will show you how to write your own DNN modules and create your own DNN skins and containers. You won't learn how to write complex modules or elaborate skins but you'll learn the basics.

If you already know how to install DNN and how to create DNN modules and skins, this book is not for you.

If you know nothing about programming in VB and know nothing about HTML, then you should probably learn about them before you tackle this book.

Most guides to combat sports are hampered by poor quality photography. This short, good-value book is an exception. The large, full-color photos show clearly how to execute moves and the text contains lots of personal testimonies from experienced wrestlers past and present.

Only one word. Great!!! This book improved my wrestling skills. Wow, I loved the photo's too.

Phil

I've been wrestling for a few years and when I saw this book I was so excited to see a wrestling book in color. When I got the book I was quite pleased with all the advice from coaches and Olympic wrestlers. It's all really practical information and I feel like this will help me stay focused this season. I like the step by step instruction as well. Everything is explained so I can understand it and apply it. I think this is a great book for anyone currently wrestling.

Shirley's a colleague and friend (disclaimer), but her new work via ALA is a much-needed cut-to-the-answers handbook for busy researchers, librarians, and information professionals. Kudos for the spirit of humor and yep-been-there tales that lace the solid tips and site information with her personal style and elan. I'll keep my copy right beside my autographed copy of Reva Basch's "Secrets of the Super Net Searchers." For serious Internet searching today, this is the guidebook to cyberspace.

As reference librarian at the North Dade branch of the Miami-Dade system, I have found this superior and more up to date than the mass produced guides found everywhere these days including the supermarket. Our two week old copy is already thumbworn as we keep it by our copies of the terminals for patron reference. I think we may order another one and hide for staff use only! Good job Ms. Kennedy...just keep updating the book!

As an instructor of Internet research to audiences at all levels, I appreciate the direct, no-nonsense, and humorous approach Kennedy takes. The author manages to demystify a subject that intimidates many, even some librarians, who would benefit from reading this book themselves before they check it out to their patrons.

This book has given me immense new ways to work with the Windows XP. It is infomative and simple to understand. I highly recommend it to all Microsoft Windowa XP users. You will be glad you got a copy.

PC users who would understand the underlying power behind the Windows system will appreciate the weighty, information-packed Preston Gralla Big Book of Windows Hacks, a coverage packed with time-saving tips and hints. From how to save regularly-used searches to disabling Windows Mail's splash screen, stopping Firefox memory leaks, and backing up Vista hacks, THE BIG BOOK OF WINDOWS HACKS is a 'must' for any collection catering to patrons behind the novice stages.

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Despite Microsoft's claims that their vaunted "focus groups" and client experience consultants have allowed them to offer us painless computing, you and the rest of the world know it isn't true. Waiting for Windows XP or Vista to boot up and shut down certainly are irritations in themselves worth a hack or two.

As you can imagine, this is a large book. That is not just the number of pages (650) but also the format -- of the fold-flat variety. This big book of hacks is easy to work with physically.

The editorial review on this page describes the contents well except that I would alter "contains more than 100 hacks" to "contains almost 200 hacks." Quite a difference.

The writing is clear and informed. I'm sure you have read many of Gralla's magazine contributions over the years. Be sure that the book is not all text. There are plenty of illustrations and even photos (for the hardware hacks) to guide you. The hacks themselves are directed at all versions of Windows, with the focus on XP and Vista.

Consider this book a compendium of all those tips you always rip out of your computer magazine subscriptions to save -- then lose track of. Here they are, all in one place, not easily lost given the size of this book!
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Perlmutter offers an entertaining and insightful review of the history of blogging (pre-internet to its current form), and peppers his analysis with information gleaned from interviews with the most important bloggers today.

This is a particularly well-written book: inviting enough for those new to the blogosphere, yet penetrating enough to satisfy those more well-versed with the phenomenon.

Great read.

Prior to reading the book, I was pretty ignorant to the world of Blogging. As one who does not read political Blogs, I was mainly confused about why people do Blog and why others read them. Those answers, and then some, were answered by this book.

Perlmutter starts out explaining what a Blog is, which is easy to understand to the non tech-savvy individual. However, the book does not insult one's intelligence at all. It moves along quickly with fascinating facts and humorous bits that make the book a joy to read.

The introspective book is an excellent jump-on point for the non-Blogger and Blogger alike. It's fun, informative and just plain enjoyable.

As a blogger, this has possibly been the most informative book on blogging that I've read. Perlmutter tells us the history of blogging in an enjoyable and readable way. Never redundant and never boring, he's plunged us into a "bloggy" world that even I didn't realize was so huge.

I think this book is a definite "must read" for those looking to start their own blog, not necessarily political, and looking for insight about how a blog reaches the masses and if what you're saying is affecting them.

The impact of blogging is finally noticed and it's great to read along as Perlmutter tackles it. Though he makes valid points about blogs not having the physical evidence to back them up, he still regards them with poignancy and value.

For all bloggers or even just those interested in the cyber world of writing, this book is it!

This book is a ptome repleat with every-day events in the life of Margo Phillips that would put most boomers in an early grave. She has masterfully told the tale of her errant youth, conservative mother, odd-ball friends and hangers-on and beloved brother. The honesty, gutsy narrative style and cruel truths of this brainy little girl gone to seed in her 20s is worth every dime. Just following one month in Margo's life is like seeing 5 bad 'B-movies' in one day. Run - don't walk to buy this book if you are of 'a certain age'. This is a movie begging to be made.

I loved this book. The journal-entry style writing made it feel like you're reading something you're not supposed to see, which made it fun for me. At times, I had to force myself to put it down; I kept wanting to see what happens next, and believe me, it does. If even part of this stuff came from the author's own experiences, this lady has lived a wild and interesting life. If you're not a prude and can handle the racy language, and like the idea of reading someone's diary, I think you'll really enjoy this book.

A wonderfully hilarious account of my generations lifestyle (well, some of us). I couldn't stop reading as this woman took me through her everyday life and everyday thoughts. The characters are alive and real. Would make a great movie.