Categories: Technology ServicesWeb Analytics

Google Announces Social Data Hubs in Google Analytics

So you’ve watched your social media tools expand and evolve, and you’ve wondered “when is my ability to analyze this traffic going to catch up?” Well today marks the next step in Google’s venture into social media measurement. Today Google announced the Social Data Hub, which I’m guessing this will include a bunch of the technologies they gained out of the purchases of Postrank and Socialgrapple. The primary role of this is to provide you with information on how social activities contribute to your goals and conversions, helping you aggregate social data and measure the impacts of your social media platforms.

So how the heck do you measure that kind of thing?

The Social Hub will be using the Activity Streams Specification, which defines an “interesting” social event as an actor, a verb, and an object. Or to write that in sensible english, an noun that verbs on a noun. Wait, is that more confusing? How about an actor who acts on an object. Joe shares a photo, Jared likes pie, etc.

So does how Joe likes Jared works in this case? Well, ‘author’ is an accepted object, as is a person (well, displayname, ID, etc. is). Yeah, you probably don’t need to think about this…

Personally, I can’t wait to see how it integrates with Multi-Channel Funnels.

Kent Clark

Some have compared him to the Dalai Lama, others to Kublai Kahn. When he isn't teaching third world children how to purify water with nothing more than a plastic bottle and a garden hose, he is creating mad waves for surfers off the west coast with little more than a paddle. Some say there is a boat involved, others that he walks on water. Little is known about his background. he appeared from nowhere 15 years ago and claims heritage from a land with neither want not need. He makes little comment, stating only that it was a pretty cool place. Fire does not burn him, cold does not hurt him. Words could... but they don't. When he passes, pedals fall off branches. When he speaks, hair tugs at skin, pulling just slightly in his direction. He does not sleep but he does dream. He has muscled his way into the lives of the famous and whispered his way into their hearts. And in the wee hours he plays oboe softly, as if to sooth the night to sleep.