So, can you guess what I did over the holidays? Yes, I baked, visited, laughed and argued with family, ate too much, and exercised too little. But I also studied like mad at Conversion University, experimented with both a Google Analytics account I added to a Meetup group I run, as well as a profile that Perry Drake with New York University makes available to his students taking his Web Analytics: Integrating Website and E-mail Data for Effective Digital Marketing Programs class, powered through much (if not all) of Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics by Brian Clifton, and finished up the IQ exam before Google switched over to testing for the new version of Google Analytics. (I haven’t done much with the new version, but if it’s anything like the new Gmail, I’m leery!)

So, now I’m Google Analytics IQ Certified! I’m very pleased to have passed the exam, and I’m even more pleased that the certification lasts for 18 months! Many, many thanks to Perry Drake for a really great class that gave me a much better appreciation for what a bit of code can do for an organization’s marketing efforts, and access to a profile that made it possible to really see what Google Analytics is capable of doing. My Meetup group is small, and I only added the tracking code about two months ago, so using just that account would have been pretty insufficient.

In the past 8 months, I’ve taken four online self-study courses to improve my skills with WordPress and HTML, learn CSS and XHTML, and taken three classes on my way towards earning a Certificate in Digital Media Marketing through New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

This all ties in to my belief that continual professional development is essential to remaining employable and continuing to attract clients. While I’ve been on a bit of tear this year seeking “official” resume builders, it’s always been important to me that I develop and use new skills in order to grow professionally (doing the exact same work for 40+ years sounds incredibly depressing).

I begin another NYU class in February. In the meantime, I’m considering Hootsuite University. (Anyone gone through it?) And also thinking about learning a bit about HTML 5. Or maybe just take a break.

What will you be doing in 2012 to update your skills?