Google Analytics Milestones

So in my midst of research for one of my own websites, I was using GA to try and find when I first reached 1000 visitors, when I had my first 100 goal conversions, etc.

As far as I can tell, I can set data ranges to read data but cannot input say, a # of visitors and show all dates on which that occurred. Or even request mile stone days like highest this, highest that. Sure, I can just graph out the entire time period and look at when the graph spikes, but it'd be far easier to do reverse lookups.

Does this already exist in GA (or Urchin or elsewhere)? Any other useful benefits of reverse data look up or other searches through your web analytics?

Note: I know that milestones and 'goals' exist, but what I mean is different.

No more signatures!

One thing that really gets me is email conversations in GMail (and probably other email clients, as well) where the 'signatures' aggregate to make the email take up my entire entire screen when the email text should only take a couple lines. I only need a given person's information one time or should even be able to 'Hide Signatures'. This is particularly annoying on my BlackBerry when I end up having to scroll through a bunch of sig's so I don't miss any of the actual email content.

If sig's were scripted as some sort of separate entity (I'm still a coding newb), which they seem to be since they are a component of GMail and BB 'settings', then they should be capable of isolation.

I would love to 1. hide signatures 2. show signatures 3. only show signatures for first reply email in a conversation.

Any thoughts? Is there anything for this yet?

Prioritize the Mini Feed

Maybe there is a fix to this already with apps and privacy settings on FB but here's my idea:

You should be able to give people higher priority and lower priority for appearances on your mini feed. I really don't want to see some people's comments on other people's wall; it seems inherently peeping. I know FB has the thumbs up/thumbs down function but it doesn't seem nearly as effective as me saying, 'These are my close friends. I want to follow their stories more closely and see more of what they're up to. I could care less about knowing someone i don't even remember meeting has joined a new group.'

There are consequences. FB helps us keep in touch with the fringes; this counteracts that. Also, advertisers like leveraging the breadth of our social networks to say SO and SO is a fan of this or that. I even used that technique as an advertiser in the past and albeit hard to say for sure, it works well. So if I limit my news to a few people, it might limit the scope of ads I receive and the number of impressions FB can deliver (or maybe they'll fill the space any way. anyone know?).

Anyway, I want to separate my news feed better. Any other innovations in this space?

Delete your ipod

Well, not really. But you should be able to delete songs right off of your iPod. Free up space and streamline the process of cleaning up your library.

Read up a service, Tune Up ,I believe, that basically cleans up your tags and song titles. There is a lot of innovation possible with iTunes; I'd like to discuss this more.

Memoreez

New spin on microblogging. Update your personal journal and tag people involved with funny stories and memories in your life. Submit photos, text and more by your phone and a web app.

Sorting Blogs

So today I started work and needed to get in touch with a lot of blogs in the healthcare industry. I was dumbfounded by how hard it was to pull together this scattered data and make it easy to contact people.

A blog directory sorted by their tags, user-submitted titles, content areas and more. The contact info is accessible to premium members.

Follow up emails

As a budding entrepreneur, I email out a lot of people who I need to follow up with in order to make something happen. I have to be dead persistent. They don't come to me.

When I send emails out though, it's very difficult to track my past contact with someone and when I need to get in touch again in the future and contingent on xyz happening.

Now I'm getting into CRM territory and things like SalesForce or other things. I don't intend to go so far. Let's stick with this niche of follow up emails for the average person who's not going to use SalesForce.

Solution: Via GMail, when I send an email, just as much as I can forward something or add an event to my calendar, I should be able to hit 'Follow Up' and integrate a time/date to send a follow up email to someone via my GCal. Then when the time comes, an 'email compose' window or the previous conversation (whatever I choose at the time) shows up and I can follow up quickly and easily. When I make the 'follow up' event, I can enter notes also to remember what needs to be achieved or remembered in this follow up email.

Just the basic idea. A lot of potential to build this out.

Catchpatch Catch

I think that's what the name is. But it's not. It's close. I'm talking about the dis

WAIT

Just googled 'distorted images website registration' CAPTCHA

OK so they're free apparently which is great but they need some work.

Problem: Trying to make a new Blogger acct today for this Blog, I mistyped the CAPTCHA. Not in haste. Not for fun. I couldn't read it. This is a problem...it's so good, it keeps even the right people out (and not just the evil bots).

Solution: Why don't CAPTCHA's make registration more effective fun and even more secure by asking intelligent questions? Maybe a current event you HAVE to know. Or give 3 options for questions to answer if the q might be too intelligent. Show a pic of GW Bush and ask people 'who is this?' or ask where the Olympics are this summer (might be too intelligent so then you need options)

Anyway, just my 2 cents on this for now.

Export Facebook Birthdays

Idea: Export FB birthdays to your Google Calendar and GMail. This will allow me to receive easier birthday updates on my Google Cal, so I can plan ahead of the day or 2 for some of my more important friends' birthdays. Sure I should know it off the top of my head, but I don't really.

Exporting it would not only allow me to plan ahead but also if I could export this info into Google services somehow then I could ping people easier because I send email happy birthdays instead of what has now become so impersonal...the FB post.

Interesting observation: My 'personal' emails on birthdays are so well received by people. We are beyond phones and face to face's. Emailing for a birthday is now personal, at least for acquaintances and pretty close friends. Don't email your wife on her birthday and forget the flowers.

Other thoughts: Not sure if this will happen bc of the GOOG/FB competition and FB's stranglehold on data, but maybe. With FriendCSV app (started by a coke scholar!) on FB you can export all your friend's data...except contact info. So maybe with that CSV and Google...you could import that data into your contacts and make a setting to receive notifications.

But I want a 'Birthday/Anniversaries' etc. Cal on my Goog Cal.