From TheFutureOf (27 Feb 08): Now onto Eric’s “If I’m translating you correct, …” comment.

Well…I’m not sure I’d agree that my nod is your click. Actually I’m quite sure I wouldn’t agree. Consider the following example.

You’re at an eMetrics Summit. You’re talking with some folks mid-afternoon about what you’ll all do for dinner after the last session. Everybody is nodding, agreeing with the plans. But things change, other people come and go, and when you finally count heads at the restaurant you discover some of the nodders aren’t there and people who were never involved in the discussion are.

Your click is counting the people who show up at the restaurant. My nod is everybody talking, some showing up and others not. I chose to explore those nods because the degree, angle, direction, inflection, …, of the nods tells me long before people show up at the restaurant who will and won’t show up. This is — I think — one of the fundamental differences between what we measure and analyze and what I understand of web analytics. One of the fallouts from understanding the nods (if you will) is that you can determine if someone is paying attention as I define it and thus engaged as I define it.

Going back to the conversation about dinner. Consider the person who’s nodding while looking around the hotel lobby. Do you have their attention? Some and not all, and exactly how much depends on the individual’s cognitive, behavioral/effective and motivational {C, B/e, M} matrix (Headlines That Attract Attention, Adding sound to your brand website (I touched on this one at the DC eMetrics ‘07 Summit), Intelligent Website Design: Expand Your Market (Page 2 of 5), AllBusiness.com’s Chris Bjorklund interviews viral marketing expert Joseph Carrabis, founder of NextStage Evolution, Part 5, KBar’s Findings: Political Correctness in the Guise of a Sandwich, Finale, Notes from UML’s Strategic Management Class – Saroeung, 3 Seconds Applies to Video, too, Technology and Buying Patterns) and any environmentally available information that more accurately targets and activates their {C, B/e, M} matrix. More to the point, are they engaged by you or with you?

Now that’s an interesting question. Only to the point that whatever else their devoting their {C, B/e, M} resources to isn’t activated by environmentally available information. This is a polite way of saying “No, they’re not”.

Next up, Eric’s “I guess the problem I have with that…”. Now I must prepare dinner…