During the first week of the month, I spend some time looking back at the Google Analytics reports for my website for the previous month. I especially like the report that shows me which page was most popular. Looking at the number of hits for each blog post gives me an idea of what topics people are most interested in. However this month one blog post far surpassed the rest, and I realized it's because I commented on a popular blog and mentioned my post, so I was reaching a much broader audience than usual. This reminds me that data must always have a context. This is true of a website analytics report, and it is also true of the data closest to us - our emotions. A strong emotional reaction is a trigger to remind us to stop and assess the context. It's most important to remember that external circumstance (or other people) cannot cause these reactions - it's a reflection of something going on internally. Had I not stopped to think about why that blog post had so much more activity, and realized that I had linked it elsewhere, I might have put extra, unneeded focus on that topic. Similarly, if I don't stop and think when I feel outraged or wronged, I might not see the whole picture and react in a way that hurts myself and others. |
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Daily Practice >
February 3, 2010 - Analytics and Contextposted Feb 3, 2010 6:36 AM by Gretchen Duhaime |