Users Manual Not Included

Ever go site browsing?  Looking around at other websites to see how your's compares, or what’s “in”, or what’s eye-catching?  If no, you should.  If yes, you may be languishing thinking of your site as you gaze and ooh-and-awe at some of the competition.

Next time you go browsing around, maybe even looking at your own site, ask yourself, “Who is this site for?”  Is it for advertising?  Attracting new folks? Use on a regular basis for information?  Directions and times?

Here is the web’s golden rule to follow, above all others, when it comes to a website:  WHO IS THE USER?

If your site’s user is 55 years of age or older, tiny print may not be a good option.  Little tiny print can be interesting in some places,  but can your predominate user read it?

Do you feel users access your site via cell phones on a regular basis?  Guess what?  Those sexy animated sleek flash sites being touted quite a bit by website builders may not be seen on all types of cell phones.  Oops!  Coming out in the very near future is a new interface bridging this gap.  I predict its fluid use in the next 12-24 months.  In the meantime, there may be folks not seeing what you’re saying.

Do you know if most of your users have high-speed Internet?  If not, big downloads or streaming video may not be a good option for your site.

Are your users web-savy?  Do your users IM? (Instant Message) Use Facebook or another social site? Play games online?  Surf the Net on a regular basis?  Know what Twitter is? 

Don’t think these questions are trite.  If your site is predominately used for communication with your congregation, make sure they know basic computer skills OR know their level of Internet expertise.  This may sound crazy.  Trust me.  Not everyone knows the ins and outs of today’s technology.  If you have invested in a website, make sure your users understand the components or you may be putting a great deal of time and effort into a tool not being readily used.

As a web designer, it is part of my training to help my clients develop the best site for their needs.  It irritates me when I see designers selling sites that may look incredible but have little functionality for the user and absolutely no sense of navigational structure.  Websites don't come with users manuals.  That is why it is of the upmost importance for the site to be built to suit the needs of the user.

In the book "The Cider House Rules",  John Irving's main character is sitting one hot night on the roof of the cider house with an African American man who is one of the apple farm's share-croppers. : They come intemporarily for the harvest and stay in the cider house.  He asks the man why no one in the cider house follows the rules posted on the mainframe post inside.  The worker's response does not reveal defiance or disgruntlement against the management.  His response is a simple statement of their life situation.  The occupants didn't follow the rules because they couldn't read.  They had no idea what was on the piece of paper. 

Who is your user? Who is your visitor?  How do you help them know the rules?

It’s a Techie Kind-of Day…Or is it?

a.k.a.- A Self Indulgent Moment

Adobe rolled out its promo for CS5 yesterday.  I know that means absolutely nothing to you.  It means a lot to me.  (It’s that perspective and perception thing we deal with every day.)  The news yesterday from Adobe means I will be learning and educating myself to new technological software if I have any intent in keeping up with this ever changing Internet business.

What about you?  Any new things in your work?

The iPad hit the market this past Saturday.  Over 300,000 iPads where sold in one day.  One comic was reported saying, “We’re now a country willing to pay $500 to find out what something is…”  It says to me, “Wow!  Maybe the recession's over”.   But it also says we live in a society clamoring for new technology and ways to instantly connect and have knowledge or entertainment or communication at any cost.

My real techie experience was watching this live promotional webinar about this new software suite hitting the market while sitting in my office at my computer.  I didn’t have to drive anywhere.  I was participating without travel or cost. While watching, the sidebar of my internet screen, displayed instant Twitter comments about the presentation.  Wow!  I really felt connected to these strangers and decided I work in a field that is constantly changing and creating and pushing the envelope and finding new ways to engage people…. Whee, it was cool!

My prayer, wish, for you is that you can experience something in your profession that challenges you, exhilarates you, engages you and makes you want more.  Peace.

No Access Can Be an Opportunity in the Wings

Last week, as I drove down the road listening to NPR, my mind was captured by a statement that the FCC is exploring ways to bring broadband access to the whole country at an economical price.  It’s a good challenge to try and achieve.  In the meantime, have you stopped to consider what life is like for families who do not have internet access or a computer?

In today’s world, searching for a job or applying for a job often requires submission through the internet.  Most applications now ask for an email address even if you are applying in person.  Students do research for weekly work via the internet and sometimes even submit homework by this means. The internet, its usage and access, has created a silent unseen divide in our communities; those who have computer/internet and those who do not.  

The story I listened to on NPR told the story of a single mother with three children who was seeking a job and her struggles to apply for positions, list an email address, and stay connected to follow-up as she did not have either a computer or internet.  Her children attended a school near an upper middle class neighborhood where students were often required to post homework via computer/internet and the story told of the challenges this family faced trying to get to a library or get the children to school early enough to use the school computer.  Public computers, such as in libraries and schools which aren’t always free, are few and far between.  Getting time on a computer is valuable.  Hours available are small.  A family without a computer or internet constantly struggles with finding access.  

I have become obvious to the inability to be connected as my job uses a computer and I even have access to the web and broadband via my phone with my “3G network”.   If these 21^st century tools fail me, I feel my arm has been severed or my oxygen intact has been dampened and I’m gasping and choking to breath.

What would your life be like without a computer?  Without being able to read emails?  Without logging on to Facebook or surfing the Internet?  Without using a word processor to type out a document?  These are the struggles for many Americans today.  It’s a silent struggle.  You don’t talk about it because it’s embarrassing. You are impaired.  No computer?  No internet?  What???

The FCC’s attempt to meet the challenge to bring broadband across the country is no small task.  Making it economical is no small task either.  So consider this, what if you, your church, could provide free WiFi access and/or free computer usage?  Talk about an outreach program!  What if…..?