Today, at SMX in the Santa Clara convention center, I stood for a while talking to analysts June Dershowitz and Avinash Kaushik.  Later at dinner, June told me that two or three people came up to her while we were talking and asked, "Do you guys work together?"

"You know," June mused, "To the rest of the world, it probably does look like we work together.  Maybe we do work together. We collaborate and it really is our job to work together."

As I wrote this post, I used the word, "coopetition."  June reread it and pointed out that I had a typo, didn't I mean cooperation?  No, I really meant coopetition, and showed her the word in Wikipedia (mostly in an effort to figure out how to spell the verb, to coopetate.) Because isn't that what we do, compete for business and cooperate in our efforts to teach the world about web analytics (and to learn it ourselves?)

Robbin

Comments

[S.Hamel]

Coopetition should be added to the realm of Web 2.0 concepts & philosophies! I guess all web analytics consultants have been coopeting in some way. When we meet at Web Analytics Wednesdays we coopete, when we share ideas and knowledge we coopete, when we blog we coopete... and, the best example: getting solution providers, consultants and practitioners to join the same association for the advancement of the industry and every individual member is the ultimate example of coopetition! :)

[Daniel Waisberg]

That sounds like fun! If I knew three of the most prestigious Web Analysts in the world would be there I would have gone all the way just to have dinner with you...

But Robbin, when I started reading the post I was sure that the end would be: "Of course we work together, we are active volunteers on the WAA, come join the WAA and you will get a chance to become friends with the brightest minds in the WA community"... or some Marketing slogan like this one ;-)

Anyway, great post, I love the coopetition concept.

[Robbin Steif]

Oh Daniel and Stephan, you guys are so on the same page as each other! But no, I wasn't doing a "Isn't the WAA great" post. Because as much as I care about the WAA (and I really do, as you know), I was just struck by June's story, and wanted to retell it.

And she already pointed out that I misspelled her name, ah, I will have to go back and figure out how typepad allows for reedits. I am such a Wordpress lady any more....