Big Promises – But how can you tell they're working?

Pete Cashmore wrote for CNN, the 10 Web trends to watch in 2010.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/12/03/cashmore.web.trends.2010/index.html?iref=allsearch.

He mentions lots of exciting stuff including Google Wave which is an interesting combination of email, IM and collaboration; Location based posting like Foursquare, Latitude and so many others; Augmented Reality which we will be discussing at our conference May 6, http://www.pincshow.com/, and more. There is so much that I can barely catch my breath let alone grasp all the concepts.

As exciting as it all is, I’m not yet convinced that there is an accurate way to monitor marketing effectiveness beyond the big picture. Yes, I know there are tools available that aggregate responses from some posting sites. But the web is immense and it’s tentacles far reaching. That is, if things go as you want them to go.

I don’t believe the days of data are behind us. Not by any means. And I know the numbers exist out there is cyberspace somewhere. I’m just not sure how to get an accurate handle on them. That said, it could be just that I’m not yet willing to pay for them. There have been a few applications that have crossed my desk, including Adobe’s Omniture that might begin to solve the problem. Does anyone have any experience with these?