Demystified, but still a little Foggy.

Though this posting's title could be describing me, that wasn't the intent! It's actually the way I feel about this really great post by 'The Future Collective' (whatever that is? Part of the 'Fog'?)

ANYway....I LOVED the post, and it specifically addresses engagement. As alluded to in a previous post, engagement is key in all learning. (DUH!) And 'The Future Collective' does a good job of showing where web analytics fits into the "equation". They/It define/s it simply enough: A+B=C where:

A + B = C -> (they are engaged) + (the site) = (to do what?)

* If you can describe what you want someone to do (”C”) and
* You know what the demonstrations of engagement are for your selected audience (”A”) then
* You can determine what the site (”B”) needs to be in order for “A” to happen such that “C” occurs.

The only FOGGY thing still is...that I DON'T know what the demonstrations of engagement are for my selected audience (learners rather than customers). It's not quite as straight-forward as a purchase, or putting something in a cart, or even registering. AND it probably varies quite a bit by person (thus the 'intended audience' qualifier). But my biggest hang-up is that I try to define what it is that demonstrates (learning) engagement in terms of what I know analytics can measure. Right now. Today. I'm pretty sure that progress will only come when we see past that limitation (that for all intents and purposes isn't real anyway!).

Glad I found the site. Will definitely be reading more.