Beta Code Looks Promising

Not only Ian Thomas has stated that the reactions to the pre-Beta code were pretty positiveE-metrics Event in San Francisco, but also René Dechamps Otamendi of the Belgian OX2 confirmed his excitement about the Beta. Microsoft, clever as they are, made everybody that saw the code sign an NDA and nothing can be revealed.

The best bet to get a pre-launch look is to sign up for the Beta-testing squad by sending an email to: gat-beta@microsoft.com

Microsoft Analytics: Job descriptions

As I was doing more research into the Microsoft Adcenter Analytics project I found out that Reeves Little like Ian Thomas
has confirmed the project and are working in Ireland.

Most Microsofts Gatineau developers are based in Redmond, while some other components are being buildt in Ireland. The funny thing is that the specifications of the jobs based in Ireland are still online: http://ajaxian.com/jobs/

They were looking for a Software Design Engineer, a Senior Development Lead and an Ajax Senior Developer, all with C++ experience. In the job describtion Microsoft states the following:

We are looking for a senior developer for adCenter analytics development in the
Windows Live Europe team in Dublin, Ireland. This is a unique opportunity to
make a significant impact on Microsoft’s global product development in Europe.

adCenter is part of the MSN Monetization platform and is dedicated to
creating a high end, innovative advertising platform to enable advertisers to
reach users. As part of the essential tools that we will be offering advertisers
and site owners are very powerful visualization controls to help advertisers and
site owners better understand the effectiveness of their campaigns and their
site usage.

Just something I thought I'd share, nothing special!

Microsoft Analytics tracker code found!

I recently came across this piece of code on Ian Thomas' website.
As he is on the Project Gatineau team and is probably already testing the Microsoft Analytics tool, I figured he must have a piece of code on his webpages.

And he did:

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript" src="http://x.live.com/analytics/analytics.js"></script>
<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
msACA.ProfileId = 'X123';
msACA.TrackPage();
</script>

I've never seen a code snippet like this and as it links to x.live.com/analytics.js which is a Microsoft domain it's probably the code Microsoft Analytics will use.

The javascript file itself contains a copyright statement: '// Copyright 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.'
And a quick scan through the file reveal a javascript class called 'AdCenterAnalytics'. Several function names create an idea of the features Microsoft Analytics will be providing: AddCartItem, TrackPurchase, SetView & SetGoal.

Please note, I'm not sure about this, but it all seems logical and searching for pieces of the code return nothing. Please let me know if this is from some other tracking system!

Microsoft Analytics look and feel!

Here's a error message you can get when trying tot log into Project Gatineau. It displays the look and feel Microsoft will probably go for.

Google Analytics Update

As Microsoft is showing more and more signs of being very very serious about their new Analytics Tool Google jumps in with an update before them.

Google strives to make the transition as simple as possible and therefore provides current users with an option to choose the old interface for another month. Google states that no changes in your personal settings have been changed (only the new Dashboard is not very compatible), and I’m still waiting for the first complaint.

So what’s changed?

• First of all Google Analytics hosts a new design that looks a lot cleaner and easier to understand.
• You can now email personalized reports at pre-scheduled moments.
• You can export personalized reports in PDF format.
• You can customize your Dashboard or mainpage to show your most used reports.
• This Dashboard can also be emailed to others.
• There are new graphs for trends in certain periods. You can compare short-term trends without loosing track of long-term data.
• A extensive Help system displays context sensitive tips.
• A new Conversion University is available from within every report.
• New links in reports make Google Analytics easier to navigate.
• The new version works best with Flash 7 or higher.
• Google Analytics now uses the same geographical information used in Adwords. This is useful for better Geo targeting.

Also, Google provides several sources that contain information about the new Google Analytics update: Product Tour & Help centre

Microsoft Project Gatineau Survey

After subscribing to a mailing list some time back I recently recieved this email from Microsoft (the link to the survey has been removed because of privacy):

Thanks for your interest in participating in the beta test of Microsoft's
Project Gatineau -- our free Web analytics service. The Gatineau team wants to
know more about how to best serve customers like you.

Upon completion of the survey, you will be added to the roster for the
Gatineau beta later this summer.
To help us know a little more about you and
your Web analytics needs, you must complete the survey to be added the beta
list. Your answers will be used for research purposes only -- you will be
invited into the beta regardless of site size, business purpose, etc. With your
help, we can build the best free Web analytics service for your needs.
You
will also be added to the list for our Thank You giveaway - one lucky respondent
will receive a Zune digital media player. The survey should take no more than 10
minutes to complete and closes May 31, 2007.

Thanks for your participation,

The Project Gatineau Team

The survey asks about my wishes for a new Analytics Tool but seems a little too short for gathering real usefull information.
Maybe this survey is just to find legitimate Beta testers for Microsoft Project Gatineau.

Could-be Preview!

No previews have leaked yet but this is what DeepMetrix LiveStats.biz looks like:
(Microsoft Analytics will probably be using the DeepMetrix software as Microsoft bought the company last year.)

Microsoft Analytics: Code Name Gatineau

Microsoft Adcenter and Adlabs is testing a Free Analytics Tools. It's name is project Gatineau. Just like Google Analytics, Microsoft is going to launch it's own project that let's users analyse their websites for free.
What it does and how it works isn't clear yet, but the project has been confirmed by a microsoft employee, Ian Thomas. He stated the following:

Microsoft Web Analytics Facts:

• The project is going to be based on the technology provided by DeepMetrix. DeepMetrix was stationed in Gatineau and provided website analysis software (DeepMetrix was bought by Microsoft last year). The actual name of the product is still not known (Microsoft is probably brainstorming about it now)


• A preview of the inlog screen can be seen here: Gatineau Analytics Page. It's still an Alpha version and is being tested on stability and proof-of-concept purposes. A lot of interface changes a are still underway and will be very different in the final version. As you can see the secure login even shows a missing link to the Gatineau logo!


• At this moment only Beta-testers are invited. These are probably veteran Adcenter users and have been invited by Microsoft.


• The Microsoft Analytics Center will probable be released during 2007. But users will probably be allowed access gradualy to avoid overrunning the system and to provide a good user-experience and good performance.


• Although Google Analytics users are part of Microsofts target audience the exact functionality of the Google Analytics System will not be replicated.


• The development team that DeepMetrix used for their tool has been greatly extended and their seems to be a lot of resources to make this a great project.


• DeepMatrixs' LiveStats.biz is a good example of what Code Name Gatineau is all about. The same functionality will be tried to achieve if not improved.


• The Microsoft Analytics project will be mainly optimized for Advertisers, but there are plans to add Publisher functionality.


• Code Name Gatineau is looking for Beta Testers. Email Ian Thomas

Microsoft Web Analytics Interpretations:

• Microsoft Analytics will probaly use the Windows Live Id system or Microsoft Passport (same as Hotmail.com) to allow users to login.