From Kevin Newcomb at ClickZ:

The online marketing world has been buzzing for the past six months over several published reports that users are deleting cookies in record numbers. Since then, industry groups have been studying the situation to determine the best way to approach the situation.

"The first step is to do our best to get clean data," said Greg Stuart, CEO and president of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). "We don't want to try to move an industry without having a clear picture of the situation."

From Neil Mason at ClickZ:

My previous column outlined the need for measuring and optimizing Web site performance to become a more holistic, consumer-focused discipline rather than a purely quantitative analysis of data from a Web analytics tool. An effective measurement strategy for optimizing site performance has four key components ... Today, let's look at the meaning of "market intelligence." Market intelligence provides the context for a business' performance. To ensure the marketing plan operates in the right context, you must understand how the external world behaves and develops. The kind of things you might want to know include...