Facebook Pixel is an interesting new tool that Facebook launched earlier this year. It allows advertisers to track and monitor customer activity and re-target to a customer’s Facebook feed.

Google recently added a new tool to its analytics suite which allows users to create custom metrics based upon the existing information in the software.

Data is, by itself, just a mass of zeros and ones that is displayed to us by a computer or in some other form. Data by itself is not very useful - it is what we do with it that makes a difference to our business.

Google’s analytics and trends data can provide some interesting information about shopping, searching and even which stores people are visiting when - not just online, but in real life too.

Way back in 2003, Google purchased Urchin Software and then used their technology to launch the first free analytics platform that offered commercial-grade analytics. The platform is now one of the most well-known and frequently used analytics tools in the world (perhaps more accurately, it is the most used), but it has now grown so big that most people still don’t really know how to use all of the features.

When Tim asked if I wanted to go the Thinking Digital Conference the other week I was like “Yes, that’d be awesome!” as I’m on maternity leave it wouldn’t be like I’m missing a day of work, my 5 year old would be in school, and my 8 week old….crap….how would I go to a business conference with an 8 week old? What if she cries during a talk? Will they have baby changing facilities? How am I going to manoeuvre the pushchair around loads of people? I guess I could have just told Tim it’s probably a bad idea...but that’d be boring, right?