I was discussing changes with a client for a news website, which had an atrocious design. One of the most annoying things was that every single link opened up in a new window.
Me: I think it would be better if links opened up in the same browser window — having everything open up in a new page is a little frustrating for users.
Client: I don’t understand this. Doing it the way we do allows people to close the story they open without closing the site. That’s important for traffic and keeping the site sticky. We don’t want to make it easier for people to leave the site!
Me: But just pressing the back button lets people navigate just fine, and that way they don’t have to deal with multiple open windows.
Client: But nobody ever uses the back button.
The most cost-effective form of advertising for a product or service is word-of-mouth/referrals. Everybody know this. If you don’t consider yourself a member of the everybody group, I’ll explain: when somebody you trust tells you that something is worth paying for, it’s far more convincing than when a 30-second commercial on the television or the radio, or a blinking sidebar on a website, tells you. Most people have learned to give those latter mediums the cold shoulder, the skeptical yeah, right treatment. I always do.
Think about all of those advertisements you see or hear on television, the radio, and the Internet, on a daily basis. Now think about how often you say to yourself, damn, I should buy that service/product. If it’s less than 50% of the time, which I would bet my first-born child that it is, the signal-to-noise ratio you’re dealing with is terrible. Sadly, we’ve come to expect it, but happily, most of us filter it out. The result? An incredibly ineffective and expensive waste of time for the businesses offering those services and/or products.
Now think about all of the times a friend or family member told you about a service or product they recently purchased and are very happy with. How often did you say to yourself damn, I should buy that service/product? Not every time, sure, but I would imagine that it’s a higher percentage than the previously mentioned scenario. Guess how much money it cost the business who provides the service or manufactures the product to put that far more trustworthy bit of information in your ear?
$0.00.
My point is that, in my opinion, business who provide services and/or products should spend far more time, money, and energy making their services and/or products incredibly useful and satisfying, and far less time, money, and energy on overpriced advertising campaigns seen by a majority of people who don’t really want those services and/or products to begin with, and who, on a large scale, intentionally tune-out when the business’ advertisements cross their proverbial radar.
These thoughts are brought to you with AdBlock Plus in mind.
Also, seahorses.
Dear @NESNcom, please fire Dennis Eckersley immediately. He’s awful. Or at least make him stop saying “this ball” and “piece of cheese.”
Facebook must monitor user activity to some degree. I wonder who the most active Facebook user is and what their activity stream looks like
I missed my bi-weekly haircut this weekend. I feel like I have a mop on my head. Thinking about buying clippers..
Finally got around to setting up www.tjkelly.com Excited to consolidate my websites into one place
A collection of stuff and what not.
