Daily Learning: 13 May 2020

Today I read articles on reading speed and watched a video on data collection and processing in Google Analytics. In addition to that, I watched a video on tips to succeed on freelancing platforms like Upwork, plus an article on making an introductory video for your Upwork profile. I ended the day with a video on why you shouldn’t use Upwork or other freelancing platforms.

Reading Speed

I read an article on reading speed by Brett Nelson in Forbes Magazine. Nelson lists average reading speeds for people in various roles, such as college students, college professors, and business executives. The numbers are based on a speed reading test sponsored by Staples. He’s interested in how “mere mortals” can consume as much information as highly informed business leaders, without devoting too much of our lives to reading.

The article made me think of a statement by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren in How to Read a Book. They say that being a master of reading is about more than speed. More words per minute aren’t inherently better than fewer words per minute. The proficient reader knows how to adjust their reading speed to match the value of the content.

I also read an article by Matthew Warren in the research digest of the British Psychological Society. The article is about a meta-analysis of studies on reading speed, performed by Marc Brysbaert of Ghent University. Brysbaert found that the average reading speed in English for people age 17 to 60, according to studies from 1901 to 2019, is about 240 words per minute. Brett Nelson cites 300 words per minute as the average speed for adults, but Brysbaert’s analysis calls this 300 wpm estimate into question.

If you’re curious, I read these articles because I installed a plugin on my website that says “x minute read” for my posts. I wanted to know how many words per minute to expect when setting up the plugin so it can estimate the minutes required to read a post. I know that I normally find the estimates grossly inaccurate when I see them on Medium or elsewhere. That may be because those platforms expect a reading speed of 300-400 wpm.

Data Collection and Processing

The episode of “Advanced Google Analytics” focused on data collection and processing in Google Analytics. In the basics course, I learned that Google Analytics tracks user interaction via a snippet of JavaScript code that is placed on every page that is to be tracked. This episode expanded upon the information in the basic course. The essence of how Analytics collects data includes,

1. A snippet of JavaScript activates when a user loads a page.
2. Google Analytics drops a cookie onto a website domain and its subdomains.
   1. Google Analytics does not automatically track user data across multiple domains. You can configure Google Analytics for cross-domain tracking, but I do not know how to do that yet.
3. Google Analytics receives a “hit” whenever a user interacts with a page. A “hit” is a URL string with parameters of information about the user, such as the language of their browser and the name of the page they are on.
   1. There are several types of hits that Analytics tracks, but the three most common hits are,
      • “Pageview hits” occur whenever a page is loaded.
      • “Event hits” occur whenever a specific action is taken on a page, such as playing a video or clicking a link.
      • “Transaction hits” occur whenever a user transacts with a webpage. These hits may vary by business but can include signing up for a newsletter or adding an item to a cart.
4. Along with the information gathered from hits, Google Analytics tracks “ad-serving” data about users. This data may include location, browser, age, gender, and source/medium.

At the moment, I don’t know how this information will affect my interaction with Google Analytics, but I think it is interesting and important to understand the process behind the tech.

Successful Freelancing

In addition to all that, I watched a video of tips to succeed on freelancing platforms like Upwork, plus an article on making an introductory video for your Upwork profile. The video, “3 Things You Must Know to Win on Upwork,” is by Earl Hall. To succeed on Upwork, he says you need to,

1. Bid early on projects because clients typically want you to start soon.
2. Create a killer profile that focuses on how you can help the client, not self-glorification.
3. Respond line-by-line to the job description when you apply to a gig.

In contrast to Earl, I also watched a video by Lex DeVille on why you shouldn’t use Upwork. Upwork has pretty insane fees, such as having to pay to apply to gigs and paying a 20% fee on the first $500 you make in a contract (then 15% up to your $1000 in a contract, and 10% thereafter). He recommends finding clients elsewhere, away from all freelance platforms. I think you should have a website that prospects can contact you through. You may also want to cold email prospects, reach out to people on social media, or connect with people locally.

Finally, I found a video by Marie of Dream in Autumn. In the video, she discusses why she quit using Upwork, but I haven’t watched the video. She’s a digital nomad, so I think she can provide a unique perspective on freelancing, too. Although I’ll continue to use Upwork for the time being, I plan to move away from the platform over time. Therefore, I’m curious to hear about why other people choose to move on from it.

The featured image is by Fabiola Peñalba on Unsplash.