Archive for February, 2008

SurveillanceSaver is a Windows and Mac compatible screensaver I recently discovered from the blogosphere that actually shows a live feed from 400+ network surveillance cameras located all around the world. The images even show city, location, and latitude/longitude so you know exactly where you’re “spying”! Whether this is voyeuristic and creepy or simply technology at its best, it’s amazing that you can literally watch something transpire in real time on a Saturday afternoon in your den, with your Mac plugged into live security cams around the world. It reminds me of 1984 or perhaps a real-world version of The Truman Show; technology is indeed amazing and the lack of privacy that this world now affords (Google Map Satellite View, anybody?) is pretty interesting to think about.  That being said, check out this screensaver!

• Download here for Windows and Mac OS X

The latest headlines from the social networking realm:

• More Firms Create High-end, Custom Social Networks
  “A highly customized social network can run between six and seven figures. But those are ones with lots of bells and whistles. Even with the cost, social networks have become the Web site of this decade. Back in the ’90s if you didn’t have a Web site you were irrelevant; the same was true with having an e-commerce site in 2001. That is where social networks are right now.”
  I couldn’t agree more with Jerry Sheer in this candid interview with the Wall Street Journal
• stickK Introduces the Self-Contract
  “stickK is designed to promote a healthier lifestyle by allowing users to create “Commitment Contracts” that oblige them to follow through with commitments such as exercise and quitting smoking.”
  An innovative spin on offering value to users while encouraging repeat visits and follow-through. This is a feature that will be interesting for other social networking websites as well to examine and incorporate with the right audience/niche.
• Social Network Marketing Campaign Strategies for Success
  “Many brands are considering it, some have done it. Done what? Marketed on social networks (Facebook, Myspace, or private label social networks). Why? Social Networks are attractive because consumers are connecting with other consumers and the trust tends to be higher. Secondly, there’s a tremendous amount of buzz from the media for this newest form of marketing. Lastly, there’s lots of folks using social networks (about 2/3rds of all North American youth use it daily, and about 1/3rd of NA adults use it as least once a month –data From Forrester Research, Q4, 2007)”
  A well-written breakdown of key areas to consider in terms of running marketing campaigns on social networks.
• Fake Facebook Profiles
  “Make a spoof celebrity profile on a major social network lately? Well, don’t. Not if you live in Morocco, at least. 26 year-old Fouad Mourtada, an IT engineer, has been arrested for making a fake Facebook profile for Prince Moulay Rachid, the younger brother of King Mohammed VI, according to FaceReviews.”
  5 years in prison? Are you serious? Facebook & mySpace scammers beware!
• The Web 2.0 Marketplace
  “Buy, sell, and trade anything Web 2.0″
  Excellent resource. This marketplace has categories including: websites for sale, websites wanted, jobs available, jobs wanted, consulting, blogger jobs, bloggers for hire, platform/software providers, Facebook developers, events, domains for sale, seeking funding, etc…

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the necessary art and science of positioning your website as relevant in the eyes of search engines. Often overlooked because of the time it takes to get results, SEO can be a very valuable marketing tool if used properly.

The following tools cover several SEO aspects that most websites require and are perfect for search engine optimizers, search engine buffs in general, or the overachieving website owner willing to take the extra step to make their site that much better.

• SEO Analyzer
  Grades your website’s search engine optimization level by analyzing download time, semantic structure, use of table elements, etc…
• Link Value
  This link value tool can help you decide if a link is worth paying for by calculating the link value per month of a given website.
• Another great tool from Link Vendor: Outbound Links
• Keyword Density
  To determine a website’s theme and relevant terms, one of the factors search engines consider is keyword density. This tool will help you balance your website’s keyword density by mimicking search engine spider behavior and returning a table of density values for key terms.
• Keyword Cloud “is a visual depiction of keywords used on a website, keywords having higher density are depicted in larger fonts. “
• KwMap
  Simply put: “A Keyword Map for the Whole Internet”
• Keyword Difficulty
  Great tool to analyze the competition you’re up against for particular a search term by analyzing “how difficult it will be to rank for a particular term.”
• Title & Meta Tags Generator
  Instantly create the meta tags you need for your website. This tool will also generate title tags, description, abstract, keyword, and robot meta tags (more info here).
• One great way to get your website noticed, is to submit to directories. Last time I did a search for “online directory,” Google returned 70,000,000 results. Clearly managing all those directory submissions is a pain (i.e, a slightly necessary pain). Enter the Directory Submission Manager, which removes the pain of “directory management”, while helping you monitor and track your directory submissions.
• Advanced Google Searches
  Very useful Google tool that will analyze, pages indexed by Google, pages with a specified keyword (in title, URL, file, etc..), keyword definitions and synonyms, and _many_ more.

Want more?

Here you go then:

• 30+ SEO Tools
• 136 SEO Tools
• Free Search Engine Optimization Tools from SEOBook

-FTK

What is a good Site Map?
There’s a debate going on about whether site maps will remain necessary with the advent of sites that do not immediately gain much from generating a site map (blogs, media sites, etc… ). While the debate about what will happen rages on, reality reminds us that this is today, and in today’s web, you need a site map.

What is a site map anyway?
A site map is simply, “a visual representation of a web site’s structure,” with the site map items typically arranged in hierarchical order. A site map can be used as a planning tool in designing a web site (the aspect this post deals with), or as a web page listing all of a websites pages (usually for search engines purposes and to help visitors easily find pages).

Site maps are displayed and presented in a variety of ways and have also been labeled structure models, a taxonomy, site hierarchy, navigation model, site structure, or site index. As a website planning tool however, site maps are best in outline format within a Word document or .rtf file.

Online collaboration tools have also proved to be helpful, especially if the site map is still being developed (my favorites so far are 37signals’ Writeboard and the handy Writemaps.

Why make a site map?
The importance of good documentation in a design project can’t be stressed enough. Anyone who’s been involved in a design project knows first hand the pain involved when ignoring good documentation comes back to haunt you later in the project.

Web projects are complex beasts requiring the skill and ingenuity of at least a couple people. The larger a web project is, chances are, the more people will be involved with the project (and not all of them will remain for the life of the project). Having good documentation then ensures that everyone stays on the same page, regardless of how often they come or go. This, however, does not just apply to large teams: even with smaller teams, it’s amazing how easy it is to miscommunicate ideas and/or spend time clarifying issues because of unclear documentation.

Did you notice how the last 2 paragraphs have been about documentation and not site maps?

That’s because the site map is the first (and possibly, most important) piece of documentation needed for a web project. As the name implies, it’s a “map” of a “site”, and without it, everyone would be lost.

What makes a good site map?
There are no “hard, fast rules” in writing out a site map. However, like the pirate’s code of yore, there are certain principles that should be followed:

• Remember that site maps are hierarchical and should clearly illustrate a page’s position (in relation to the others) within the website. IMO, the best way to achieve that goal, and come up with a usable planning tool, is to use a simple numbered, outline format.
• Use numbers. It’s a lot easier to say “1.4.2″ than it is visualize (then say) “I.IV.II”. (as if roman numerals aren’t bad enough, bullets are even worse).
• Pages, it’s all about pages. As a planning tool, the site map tells you a lot about the pages by not only establishing the relationships pages have to each other, but by also “mapping out” these relationships and how they relate to the different components of a project (of course, hence the phrase “site map”). These page relationships can be rather complicated, and adding technical details and aesthetic notes will only quadruple the complexity.

All of that to say, avoid including functionalities, images, placement instructions, etc… If necessary, put an asterisk next to an item and add a footnote. Which sort of leads to my next point…..

• Titles matter. Titles matter because if everyone refers to an apple as an apple, we would all understand that you want someone to pass the “round fruit with a firm white flesh and a green, red or yellow skin” and not, the “oval fruit with brown hairy skin and bright green flesh” in the fruit basket. As much as possible, choose the title for a page and stick with it. If you’re still trying to decide on the page titles, use “working titles” so that everyone knows you’re talking about the apple, not the kiwi, in the basket.
• Now tie them together. Although not a part of the site map, it’s a good idea to start compiling lists as you develop your site map. How many forms will it have? What will they be called and what kind of information will you collect? How about videos and pictures? Make a list of all the pages that will have videos, pictures, etc… (obviously that creates another list: “Stuff I Need To Put Together”. Do you see how useful a site map can be?).

Note: these lists you’re beginning to compile don’t have much to do with the site map. Essentially you’re compiling them at the same time you develop the site map so you can develop a clear picture of how your website will function3. More on what to do with the lists later….

Want more? Check out:

• Communicating Good Design by Dan Brown
• Last, always remember that the way you want it to function is not always the most feasible, or may not even be the best way, so keep an open mind!

-FTK

Here are just a few of the latest headlines in the social networking realm. Both positive and negative, the social networking space is shifting and evolving with every day that passes as the expanding force of social networks adjust and re-adjust their approaches and strategies in light of changing statistics, problems, and breakthroughs.

It’s interesting to note that it seems more and more people are realizing that turnkey social networking platforms (e.g. “launch your social network in minutes!”) may not always be the best route to take. A custom, scalable social networking website built with innovative spins on “same-old-same-old” features combined with a new level of usability and integration with other non-networking based features may be the way of the future. It’s still very possible to create a hit as exciting news in mobile social networking, continued interest, and a shake-out of the clutter leaves room for the remarkable sites to rise to the top.

• Mobile Social Networking Revenues Could Reach $52 Billion Within 4 Years
  “Mobile Social Networking is already an established service in some regions, but in 2008 and beyond new features are attracting larger numbers of users and permitting new business opportunities. Mobile Social Networking is now a global phenomenon with expansion in all directions.”
  Couldn’t agree more and that’s why our entire team is focused on mobile social networking as the next level of our custom social networking services…
• Facebook’s Membership “Stickiness”
  “Are you a member of Facebook.com? You may have a lifetime contract.”
  They’re at it again!
• The Many Challenges of Social Network Sites
  “From white label social networks to existing social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, and on, there’s been much hoopa raised. Yet, we should always remember the challenges that are facing these tools, as there are many difficulties to overcome.”
  Excellent points of contention; each obstacle can be overcome, but the overall lesson is that it isn’t easy to build a vibrant community and a great deal of strategy, planning, and innovation should exist in order to spawn success.
• Social Networks Still Going Strong, Engagement Leveling Off
  “Stats to be released tomorrow by comScore show that traffic to most of the top social networking sites is continuing to increase in the US, although the amount of time users spend on such sites is leveling off. For example, while MySpace is showing 11.6% year-to-year growth in unique visitors and Facebook is up 78.6%, the amount of time the average user spends on each site is down 10.4% and up just 1.1%, respectively.”
  Time spent and repetition of visits will be the name of the game as social networking evolves.

99% of your social network’s current and/or future users are what I call “reactive users.” This group is content to read and accept, but isn’t the group that is going to customize their profile to an extreme, contribute blog posts, upload videos, spread the word virally, etc… I’m not saying that this group won’t do these activities, just that they will approach these activities with a limited amount of energy and commitment as well as a different paradigm.

The 1% left are the “proactive users.” Seth Godin in his new book Meatball Sundae (highly recommended) contributes the following:

“Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba’s book Citizen Marketer proves that in just about every community, 1 percent of the people are givers. In Wikipedia, for example, about 1 percent of the users create and edit articles. Same goes for Microsoft’s Channel 9 Web site. They get four and a half million visitors a month, and almost exactly 1 percent of them contribute comments. The same math works for Digg, Reddit, and YouTube. One percent of blog readers are blog writers. One percent of talk-radio listeners are callers. The thing is, you don’t know who they are. You don’t know which 1 percent of your customers and prospects are the ones who need to, love to, and want to post about their experience. It’s like Russian Roulette. You have to assume that every chamber is loaded, that every interaction is an interaction with a critic.”

What does this mean to a fledgling social networking website or to the likes of even Facebook or Bebo? IMO, there are several take-aways:

• You can try to figure out a way to increase the 1% to 2% or maybe 5%, maybe even 10%. Possible? Maybe. How? Make it easier to contribute, quicker to spread the word, more rewarding to post content, etc… It’s like our national voting problem: many people don’t vote simply because they feel, at least internally, that their vote doesn’t count. The same rings true on the web; if users don’t feel like their vote (or post, or video, or profile, etc…) doesn’t count, they won’t bother to show up and they certainly won’t wear the “I Just Voted” sticker (or, in terms of the web, they won’t spread the message virally if they themselves don’t buy into it).
• You must treat every interaction with a user as if they are or can be part of that proactive 1%.
• Appealing to the 1% is more important than anything in terms of marketing, yet appealing to the 99% is crucial for obvious reasons. Without the 1%, you won’t have the 99% and reverse. And just as passionately as the 1% can involve themselves into your social networking website can the 99% devolve themselves if rubbed the wrong way.
• If you thought you needed 1,000 users or 50,000 users for your community to be considered a success, think again. A threshold in terms of users doesn’t mean anything if only 10 out of the 1,000 are the proactive users or if you’ve discovered a way to increase this percentage. A passionate group of 100 users can be much more beneficial than a laid-back group of 10,000.

-RB

Why do you elude me when I need you the most? Is it because I spend more than I save? Or is it because I have champagne taste but a beer pocket? Maybe I can just use the economy as my scapegoat?

You probably have an array of reasons why you or your business is cash poor. Maybe you spend too much, make too little, went through a rough patch, or simply don’t know how to say no.

What it probably boils down to, though, is poor (or no) financial planning. Good financial planning will help you succeed and potentially live a good life. The question remains, can you live a great life without money? Perhaps, if you’re deserted on island and no one exists, but let’s get real; you need it to survive and thrive more often than not.

As of late, everyone seems to talk about money (or the lack of it), and this shouldn’t be the sole objective of our lives. However, at the end of the day, everything we do involves money (most of our life is dedicated to get it). So if you want to survive in today’s world, you must plan for your (or your business’s) future. Never live day-to-day thinking tomorrow is going to be okay, always plan for the worst. When worst actually hits, it will be a minor bump in the road. Having financial freedom will help your stress levels decrease and can put your mind at ease. Recessions are looming and scary, but a love for economics has shown me that on average the pain lasts eleven months. So with an emergency fund and a good financial plan, you can still insulate yourself better than an attic!

Here’s a favorite resource to get you started.

Now go make some paper and save some if it, too!

-SM

There are a lot of questions to be answered during the design phase of a web development project: What is the most effective homepage layout? When and where is multimedia beneficial? Should you use Flash? Where should ads be placed and how does that affect the eventual design? Should ads even be used?

The findings of this eye-tracking study conducted by the Poynter Institute reveals some interesting insights on how users read web copy. Although conducted with print media in mind, the study also has valuable advice on how to present website content and ways to improve a website’s layout.

Some highlights of the study include:

• Users pay attention to lists longer. Lists are a good way to break up paragraphs and present information in an easy-to-read format.
• Font size affects viewing behavior. Use a larger font size to encourage scanning or a smaller font size to encourage focused viewing.
• The top left portion of the page receives the most attention. You might consider integrating some teaser content here. This might also be a good place for the company logo or ads.
• Keep it short, simple and sweet. The study suggests users will not read large blocks of text regardless of how well-written or informative the content is. Break up large blocks of text into short paragraphs instead and consider using bullet points or lists (see #2).
• Function over form. Users pay more attention to one-column layouts than they do to multi-column layouts. Multiple columns will more than likely by ignored by users, so eliminate clutter from the get-go.
• Headlines draw attention. Users gravitate toward headlines, so use this to engage users and draw them into spending more time on your site.
• White space is good. To ensure an enjoyable user experience, leave some visual open space so you don’t overwhelm your users.

Want more? You should checkout 23 Actionable Lessons from Eye-Tracking Studies from the information-packed Virtual Hosting blog.

Jakob Nielsen also has more on eye tracking research and writing content for the web.

Another good read is Seth Godin’s post-mortem on an eyetracking study of Squidoo readers: “What I learned from eye tracking.”

See Also:

• The Best of Eyetrack III
• Eyetools Research and Reports Eyetools is a software company that specializes in eye tracking analysis. The resources on their research page and their blog, Eyetools Eyetracking Research are great resources on website layouts.
• EyeTrack III - Can It Really SEE Your Visitors Thought Patterns?

Key lesson: “If you want people to scroll down and view the content that you have near the bottom of the page, make sure that ALL of your content flows towards the bottom. Try not to break it in any way. The more flow you have, the more people will browse down.”

Free Download: “Eye Tracking Survival Guide”

-FT

Interesting recent article in BusinessWeek on how users are spending less time on social networks (despite a still strong 11.5% growth rate) and are getting frustrated with advertising.  All of this while more and more companies are spending more and more money on ads.

It will be interesting to watch the next breed of social networking websites that aren’t over-funded and over-valued do a better job at monetization then their gargantuan brothers in Palo Alto.  IMO, the recipe for monetizing a social networking website can’t simply be ads or another innovative way of reaching prospects with more clutter.  No, the new breed of social networking websites need to focus on offering truly valuable features/tools/capabilities, integrating commerce with community, and providing a higher level of user experience.   If you’re building community so that you can eventually pillage the community via ads, pause for a moment.  Is there another way of monetizing your site without undermining it?  You just might be two or three thoughts away from a breakthrough… so keep thinking!

-RB

People don’t read online content. Okay, maybe that’s a stretch, but think back to the last time you were on a website. What percentage of the content did you actually read?

Exactly.

It’s easy to think that you have five to ten minutes before readers lose interest. Even my father, despite the pride & joy he gets from his son’s writing, will not take the time to fully read my articles and blog posts.

Truth is, visitors to your website won’t spend a couple minutes trying to figure out how it works, or why they should sign up and sign on. In fact, if you can’t get a member of your target audience (the person you should be selling your idea to in the first place) to pump a triumphant fist in the air because they found the perfect solution/product/service/website, you just might be in serious trouble.

Clearly and compellingly incorporate the answers to the following questions as you write, and your content will go a long way in achieving its original goal: a clear explanation of an abstract concept.

What am I offering?
You understand your product better than anyone else, so you’re more than qualified to answer this. After all, this is your idea, your vision; this is your dream.

The thing is, we don’t understand it in the same way you do, so it’s up to you to put it in simple, appealing terms for the rest of us. Or we’ll go somewhere else.

Who am I offering this to?
For a second, forget about the millions of people who could potentially benefit from your product, and propel you to instant millionaire status and online fame.

Instead, take time to carefully define your target audience. Who is most likely to jump at the chance to get their hands on your product or service? How old are they? What are there tendencies, characteristics, etc…?  Would they spread your idea?

What sets them apart from the people outside your target audience?

Once you figure that out, put yourself in the shoes of your target audience, and tell them why what you’re offering is perfect for them.

What problem(s) will my idea or offering solve?
A wise man once said, “Find out if there are mice before you build a mousetrap.”

If your offer doesn’t benefit your target audience, they’re going to go somewhere else.

Even if your offer does benefit your target audience, but you don’t communicate that to them, they’re still going to go somewhere else.

Now, what’s so unique about your solution to their problem?

Why don’t you tell them* about it?

Some great examples of online content:

37signals
Apart from the short, concise writing, note how they throw the traditional idea of a website’s layout out of the window. Instead, the emphasis is on the content, which is layered so that the most important material is more prominent.

Feedburner’s Feed 101
This page does an amazing job of not only educating a newbie on the beauty of RSS feeds, but also explains how Feedburner works and why it’s so great.

Mini Cooper
The entire Mini USA website is full of short, often humorous, messages. Also, note how the sparse use of text causes you to pay more attention whenever you see a block of text (a great way to insert calls of action).

Read more….

• It’s the content, not the icons
  “So think twice before badgering readers with “vote for me” pleas… Instead, focus on delivering great content. If you do, people will figure out how to spread the word just fine.”
• Web Content, Writing for Web Sites
  A valuable resource on “content writing, development, and preparation for Web sites”, plus another article resource billed as a  “one stop shop for free articles & web content”
• From Jakob Nielsen.
• Tagline Blues: What’s the Site About?
  “…look at how you present the company in the main copy on the home page. Rewrite the text to say exactly the opposite. Would any company ever say that? If not, you’re not saying much with your copy, either.”
• Long vs. Short Articles as Content Strategy
  “There’s no reason to limit yourself to only one content type. It’s possible to have short overviews for the majority of users and to supplement them with in-depth coverage…”

*them = your target audience

-FTK

“Sat-ur-day”
noun
The day after Friday and before Sunday when entrepreneurs brainstorm, organize, and get ahead of the unremarkable. 

Are you a “Saturday entrepreneur”?  Foregoing family time for fanning fires in the hearts of prospects?  Skipping the Saturday nap for a Saturday re-write of the ol’ website?

If so, allow me to encourage and inspire:

“Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking.”
-Anita Roddick

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
-Steve Jobs

“An entrepreneur tends to bite off a little more than he can chew hoping he’ll quickly learn how to chew it.”
-Roy Ash, co-founder of Litton Industries

Weekend Tech Reads:

• The template dilemma
  
• How to talk to bloggers

And, simply remember that if you bust your butt today, tomorrow night your reward awaits you!  To help you get in the spirit of the super bowl, this list of the 20 best websites for the best super bowl ever may help whet your whistle!

-RB