Grab Bag: Your Five Random Links of the Week

1. http://tinyurl.com/q64kv2n — If things don’t seem to be quite right in your Google Analytics account — if your data and reports just seems off — it’s possible that tracking wasn’t setup correctly. This support page shares the most common Google Analytics tracking setup mistakes people make that cause data collection issues, including extra whitespace or characters, using incorrect snippets, and using multiple tracking snippets.

2. DollarShaveClub.com — An online service receiving rave reviews and continuing to gain popularity with men across the U.S. Here’s how it works: Sign up and choose your preferred razor style from their three options. You’ll pay a low monthly fee ranging from $1-$9/month plus shipping and handling. And that’s it. Now just wait and your box of new, sharp blades shows up on your doorstep or in your PO box once a month. The service even provides you with a free compatible handle that works with the blade style you chose. No more over-paying for brand name razors and no more forgetting to buy blades and having to use dull ones (again) — all while saving money and time. They’ve made everything about this service fast and easy. A couple clicks and you’re done. Plus, there’s no long-term commitment required; you can cancel any time you’d like.

3. http://bit.ly/120MNJt — Receive a beautiful, intuitive weekly website statistics report in your inbox every seven days using this fun tool. Just connect this tool to your Google Analytics account (takes about 20 seconds to do this, just login), and each week it scans through your website’s activity and auto-generates a short-and-sweet overview of your visitors’ behavior, then sends the pretty overview to you via email. Note: While this tool is perfect for those looking for a regular, quick snapshot of their site’s performance without having to login to their Analytics accounts, the reports are definitely too high level and the insights are definitely too general for those needing granular statistics/data tracking to drive more advanced website improvement decisions.

4. http://bit.ly/14TQCAe — This recent blog post I wrote shares a fascinating concept/question for you to ponder that — while it does indeed apply directly to website improvement for businesses — goes far, far beyond websites, with implications that affect how you experience the world on a daily basis.

5. http://www.Curbtxt.com — CurbTXT allows you to instantly and anonymously communicate with people using their license plate number with the purpose of addressing the various annoyances and challenges of parking in a city. CurbTXT lets you text a car’s owner directly, which is great if, say, they’ve left their lights on, accidentally (or not so accidentally) blocked your driveway, or left their dog in their car with the windows up on a hot day. Alas, this helpful service is currently only available in San Francisco, but it’s a genius idea that shows a tremendous amount of promise. So, take a look through the FAQ page if you’re A.) curious, B.) moving to San Francisco, or C.) currently live in San Francisco and just happen to be reading this article. Thanks very much to Otis Halverson for the share!

Erin Pheil is the owner of TimeForCake Creative Media—the Web Strategy company voted #1 in Best of Summit. Visit the timeforcake website at http://www.timeforcake.com or email Erin at erin@timeforcake.com.