Ed. Note: As we prepare for the 2010 Nonprofit Technology Conference, we wanted share a wee bit of the wisdom our speakers will be serving up, so as not to overwhelm you when you get to Atlanta. We're asking them all to share their answers to five very important questions.

Speaker: Marissa Goldsmith, Beaconfire Consulting

Session: Data Data Everywhere: Drowning in a sea of Analytics

1. What's the most important trend in nonprofit technology for 2010?

Analytics integration and interpretation. A web site is no longer your only (and in some cases, primary) presence on the Internet. To measure success, you need to see big picture data from every corner of the Internet, and know how to interpret all these numbers, even if they seem all over the map.

2. Why do you think your session topic is important for nonprofits to address?

Many nonprofits consider analytics an afterthought, and when they do have data, they get bogged down in visits, pageviews, and other minutiae. For a nonprofit, it’s important to make the implementation of an analytics package part of implementing a web presence, and the know-how to read the numbers, identify trends, and take specific actions to ensure success.

3. What's the one thing you want attendees to remember from your session?

There is more to analytics than copying and pasting the code at the bottom of the page.

4. Which Muppet do you most identify with and why?

Bunsen Honeydew -- I love experimenting and testing, whether it be for a web site or which tomato seeds work best in my garden.

5. Where can people follow you online (twitter, blog, etc.)? 

You can follow me and the work of Beaconfire on the Beaconfire wire at www.beaconfirewire.com.