Hear from Daniel Perry-Reed who spoke at a previous PHP Sussex event. We caught up with him after the event to get to know him a bit more…

Can you tell us a bit about you and the work that you do?

I work with companies to help them implement and use Google Analytics. I’m also an analytics trainer, running workshops and training programs to help individuals and teams learn and adopt Google Analytics, Tag Manager and Looker Studio.

What was the inspiration for your recent talk?

I have been working with Google Analytics 4 since before it was publicly released, familiarising myself with the tools and it’s pros and cons. Since Google announced it will sunset Universal Analytics in July 2023, a lot of focus has been on GA4, including it’s machine learning modelling capabilities. GA4 uses lots of ML models, all black box, all used by default, and each one has their own uses cases.

Any key highlights / takeaways for anyone who missed it?

GA4 brings ML into the hands of literally everyone. The question however is if it’s good for them, or good for Google…

Did you come up through a “traditional” techie route or has your career taken twists and turns along the way?

It was sort of ‘traditional’ – even though I’m not sure if the industry is old enough to have well defined traditions yet. I studied Maths at uni, which led me into a career in data. But I never thought of digital analytics when studying, it was a coincidental email from a local company (sent to all grads) that I replied to that got my foot in the door.

Is there a moment that helped define your career?

I’m not sure if it was a moment as such, but when I got into teaching analytics to others, that was a pivotal part that made me rethink about where I wanted to take my career.

What piece of advice would you give your younger self?

Tech changes, buzzwords come in and out of fashion and companies come and go. The skills that will take you far, and never get automated, is human-to-human communication. I hate the term ‘soft skills’ as they are anything but, but that’s where the value contribution is.

What’s your big tech prediction for 2023?

Automation, automation, automation – but not in the high-end fancy sense. 2023 will be the year that most people lose Universal Analytics, and into the GA4 world. And that world comes with lots of systems and tools for automating the day-to-day data and marketing tasks. Let’s see how much things change after July next year!

Silicon Brighton wouldn’t be here without people like you giving back to the community so… what does the word community mean to you?

Community is everything. Without meeting and talking with other people in the industry I think I’d go mad stuck in my home working every day! Thank you Silicon Brighton for facilitating these events, my sanity is indebted to you!

Anything else you would like to share?

I have an analytics blog danalytics.co.uk where I post the occasional tip, guide or rant about the analytics industry and GA4 specifically (I can share a link to add to the blog BTW – please don’t just use the plain URL!). I also would like to share the Ga4 training I run at Measurelab https://www.measurelab.co.uk/training/google-analytics-4-training/ (I’ll share the link again separately when you need it).

Missed Daniel’s talk or want to watch it again? Check it out here…