Rachael Gerson spearheads the Analytics division at SEER Interactive. Follow her on Twitter @rachaelgerson.
In my last Google Analytics post, I talked about the 10 new Google Analytics features you need to start using. Now that you already know what these new features are, let’s focus on how you can find them, and get started.
Basic Navigation
There are two main navigation methods for Google Analytics. The top navigation is used to view the Home section, Standard Reporting and Custom Reporting. Most of the reports from the previous article use the Standard Reporting tab.
The second navigation is the side navigation. Use this navigation to select the profile, search for a specific report or access the report you need. Each item in the side navigation can be clicked on to expand the full menu. Click here to view this gallery.
More About: contributor, features, Google, google analytics, Tech, trending, Web Development For more Dev & Design coverage: 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/google-analytics-access-new-features/?utm_sour...
NBC and Facebook are teaming up to co-host a Republican debate Sunday night with a unique social media component.
The debate, moderated by Meet the Press host David Gregory, will air on NBC Sunday, Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. ET, two days before the New Hampshire primary. The debate will also be streaming live on MSNBC.com and on Facebook, allowing political junkies to tune-in online.
Users who watch online (or on T.V. while online) will be able to submit questions directly to candidates via a Facebook widget. They will also be able to interact with one another in real-time as part of a comprehensive “second screen” experience, a setup familiar to many television fans.
“By allowing people to connect in an authentic and meaningful way with presidential candidates, we hope more voters than ever will get involved with issues that matter most to them.” said Elliot Schrage, Vice President of Global Communications, Marketing and Public Policy at Facebook, in a statement.
We originally reported on the NBC/Facebook debate in July of last year. Since then, NBC and Facebook have been asking users to share issues they would like to be addressed during the debate. And, as former President Bill Clinton famously said, “it’s the economy, stupid.”

The Facebook portal isn’t constrained to a simple poll. It features a widget for more complex debate where 2,000 comments have been left over the past few months. Users aren’t just dropping comments and leaving, either. They’re replying and coming back to answer other users, showing real interaction on the site.
This isn’t the first time Facebook has been heavily involved with a political debate, but the built-in stream and widgets are a significant evolution in Facebook’s involvement with politics.
In 2008, Facebook partnered with ABC News and featured “Debate Groups,” simple spaces where users could discuss the night’s events. When President Obama was sworn in to office in 2009, Facebook brought users streaming video via CNN alongside “Livestream,” an instant chat tool. And during the 2010 midterm elections, Facebook and ABC again teamed up to livestream a town hall broadcast from Arizona State University.
Other social media networks are in on the politics game, too. In July of last year, Twitter joined up with the White House for President Obama’s first “Twitter Town Hall.” The president took questions live from Twitter users and answered them via an online stream hosted on the White House’s website.
To follow the debate Sunday, tune your TV to NBC or point your browser at MSNBC or Facebook. Then, check out Facebook’s politics portal to get involved with the social debate by asking questions for the candidates or by having a conversation with other online users.
Are you excited about taking part in the NBC/Facebook debate? Let us know in the comments below.
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, carterdayne
More About: 2012 presidential campaign, Facebook 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/nbc-facebook-debate/?utm_source=feedburner&utm...
The second round of Google TV hardware will be in full swing at CES 2012, and the folks at Mountain View just officially announced LG is joining the list of hardware partners at the show. While we know Logitech was taking a pass on the latest hardware, previously announced partners Samsung, Sony and Vizio are still in and the latter two will have new hardware to show next week. While this morning's announcement by Marvell revealed the platform's switch to ARM processors from the Intel chips it launched on, the company mentioned MediaTek is also on board to build compatible chipsets, while the line of products from LG will run on the company's own L9 setup. LG's press release (included after the break) reveals the HDTVs it's bringing out will feature its Cinema 3D FPR technology as well as support for a "Magic Remote QWERTY" that combines its gesture and voice control Magic Remote with, you guessed it, a QWERTY keyboard. It will have two lines of TVs based on the Android OS, while it continues to feature its own NetCast setup in other displays. While Samsung is mentioned as building new devices, it does not appear they'll have any to show off just yet, which matches the rumors that had gone around earlier. Update: LG has posted some pics of the Google TV sets (above, after the break) featuring its custom interface, although we're still waiting for a peek at that remote. According to the company, users will have the option of using LG's UI or the default Google TV build, so whichever way you prefer should work. The Google TV team has also uploaded a fresh trailer on YouTube ahead of CES, featuring several apps and promising this is just the beginning -- check it out embedded after the break. Continue reading Google TV adds LG to the fold, will demo new hardware along with Sony, Vizio (update: video, pics!) Google TV adds LG to the fold, will demo new hardware along with Sony, Vizio (update: video, pics!) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | Google TV Blog, YouTube | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/google-tv-officially-adds-lg-to-the-fold-w...
Vuzix has announced plans to develop a stylish head-mounted display solution in the form of Smart Glasses, through a licensing partnership with Nokia. The yet-unnamed product would integrate a bright, high-contrast display that's integrated with a pair of ordinary-looking sunglasses -- sounds like a perfect companion to the ZionEyez in-glasses camera prototype we saw last month. In Vuzix's words:
This amazing new technology starts with a compact display engine capable of hi contrast and brightness for outdoor use. The output is then relayed into a 1.4 mm thick plastic waveguide lens with input and output hologram structures on the surface which squeezes the light down the waveguide and then two dimensionally expands the image back into the user's eye, creating an image that is then mixed into the real world.
Naturally, the company envisions its Smart Glasses solution as a web-connected device, letting you watch videos or browse the internet while still being able to see-and-avoid pedestrians as you walk on the sidewalk or obstacles while behind the wheel -- try doing that with a Kindle or smartphone (better yet, please don't). Vuzix expects its Smart Glasses solution to start appearing as early as this summer, but we'll be getting an early look next week at CES. Continue reading Vuzix designs Smart Glasses to look like plastic sunshades, sport connected transparent display Vuzix designs Smart Glasses to look like plastic sunshades, sport connected transparent display originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/06/vuzix-designs-smart-glasses-to-look-like-p...
OK, Yahoo, now you’ve done it. You’ve gone with PayPal tech whiz Scott Thompson for your new CEO, and that’s fine.
Picking a technologist as your new leader wasn’t what everybody wanted you to do (if the market is any indication). But the move is a clear bet, and Thompson himself says he wants the company to innovate again. The question now is: Do you have enough confidence in your choice to play the hand without folding?
Yahoo’s stock fell yesterday after the news, and it’s struggling today. Scuttlebut says that’s because investors wanted Yahoo’s board to move closer to either selling the company or actually following through on turning the brand into a media powerhouse — a goal that eluded previous CEO Carol Bartz, who was fired last fall.
Thompson is a technology guy, not a business or media guy, so it’s obvious why Wall Street is disappointed. It’s also been said he has no “turnaround” experience, and rejuvinating a digital brand is a nigh-impossible task. But the board clearly liked what it saw in Thompson, who started at PayPal in 2005 as chief technology officer, then rose to president 2008.
PayPal grew a lot during that time, but so did online commerce in general. Now Thompson has a chance to prove it wasn’t a fluke, and Yahoo has another shot — probably its last — to revive its brand. That must be its plan in picking Thompson, though to get the company moving in the right direction again he’ll need to make some big strategic moves, some of them painful. Check out our recommendations in the gallery below.
1. Get Back Into Search
 Yahoo partnered with Microsoft to have Bing power its search engine a couple of years ago, part of a deal that let Yahoo run advertising for both. While the arrangement may make sense from a financial standpoint, it robs Yahoo of direct control over one of its primary products, and strengthen's Bing's brand more than Yahoo's. Sure, most people familiar with tech were using Google or Bing anyway, but the move basically told them to never come back.
Those tech-savvy people are influencers, and Yahoo needs to win them back if it's ever going to grow again. Ending its soul-leasing deal with Microsoft would free Yahoo up to innovate in one area most associated with the brand. Yes, Google is the 400-megaton gorilla in the room, but ceding the search-engine war when you're primary business is advertising is like saying you'll fight, but you're leaving the heavy weapons at home. Click here to view this gallery.
More About: bing, carol bartz, Google, Opinion, paypal, Scott Thompson, trending, Yahoo 
from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/01/05/yahoo-scott-thompson-tips/?utm_source=feedburn...
The wireless-for-all carrier's been agreeing to all sorts of partnerships of late in an effort to keep its users content, the latest one being the tie-up with Mobile Content Venture that'll bring local broadcast TV live to your MetroPCS handset. The service, which is said to be coming later in the year, will be offered via a Dyle Mobile TV app, and the companies are guaranteeing that you'll be able to watch the content "right out of the box." There's 15 total broadcasters named in the deal, some of which are: FOX, ION Television, NBC, Telemundo and Univision (for all your novela needs). We've seen a plethora of mobile devices come and go since we first heard of the Mobile DTV promise, but they did say 2012 would be the year, and, well, here we are. A peek at the PR below tells us we'll see this in action next week at CES, so we'll let you know if it's as marvelous as it sounds. Continue reading MetroPCS hooks up with the Mobile Content Venture for live TV on the go MetroPCS hooks up with the Mobile Content Venture for live TV on the go originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 22:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds. Permalink | | Email this | Comments
from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/04/metropcs-mobile-content-venture-tv-partner...
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