Bob Williams

Defining an eCommerce Operation – Metrics Management

January 26th, 2010 | 2 comments | Tags: , , ,

UPDATE 10/27/10 – I posted a mind map of my eCommerce Operation on mindmeister that replaces the original map contained in this post. This includes the latest updates to my organizational thoughts on an eCommerce team.

This is my fifth post on the defining elements of an eCommerce Operation. Previously, I’ve written about management in the areas of solution ownership, content management, product management, and demand management. In this post I’ll explore elements related to the metrics management of the group. The term metric in this case refers to a measurable unit of an item that is relevant to the success of the eCommerce operation.  Typically, management will also specify …Continue reading >>

Bob Williams

What we can learn from carrier pigeons tweeting the score

September 7th, 2009 | Leave a comment | Tags: , , , ,

This morning I was reading a few pages in the Historical Baseball Abstract by Bill James. The book is full of baseball history “stuff”. The interesting find today was a story about using carrier pigeons to deliver baseball scores across Philadelphia in 1883. The account reads that zookeeper Jim Murray sent carrier pigeons with scores back to his fellow workers at the zoo after each half inning. Can you imagine a dude showing up at the ticket gate with a cage full of pigeons? Apparently the idea caught on and other fans requested to get on the message distribution (the first twitter follower?).

Carrier, or homing, pigeons had long since …Continue reading >>