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ISSUE #26
26-July-99
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WebWord.com Newsletter
"Usability & the Internet"
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List Owner
John S. Rhodes
John@WebWord.com
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July 26, 1999 Newsletter #26
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Table of Contents
1. Portable Devices Cause Usability Problems
2. WebWord.com Permanent Sponsorship Model
3. The One to One Marketing Forum
4. The Web Changes...Nothing?
5. Live Intranet Demonstration: A Complete Failure
6. Pass It On, Tell a Friend
7. What Can You Find at WebWord.com?
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ITEM #1
A new Moving WebWord.com article is now online:
<http://webword.com/reports/portable.html>
As we move toward a time when we can access the Internet
at almost any place and at any time, we need to consider
the usability impact. Most of the portable devices that
connect to the Internet were not originally designed
for such a purpose (e.g., cell phones). When technology
evolves in this way, users ultimately suffer. That is,
they gain functionality, but it is painful in several
ways.
Read the article:
<http://webword.com/reports/portable.html>
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ITEM #2
WebWord.com Permanent Sponsorship Model
I've been toying with different ways to entice people
to sponsor the WebWord.com site. I hit on an idea that
might be of great interest to you.
Normally, when you buy advertising, you spend money and
expect to get a limited amount of advertising. For
example, you spend money and in return you show your
banner to several people over several weeks. Or, you
do something that is similar. The idea is that you spend
money and get a limited, but understandable return.
It works, but...
What if you could pay for your advertising to exist
forever? Unlike radio, TV, newspapers, magazines and
so forth, content on the web often gains value over
time. Don't take my word for it; usability guru Jakob
Nielsen says 84% of the site's value comes from old
content! <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/981129.html>
Old content is good content. That is the bottom line.
So, what if you could sponsor content forever? This is
an interesting idea when you think about it. Every web
site I know about is growing. That means more links,
more traffic, and therefore, your sponsorship will
actually gain value over time.
What about ad rotation. What if people want to find your
ad again? It could be lost. Your ad, if targeted
correctly, is actually valuable content to an audience.
Why would you want it to go away. Imagine going to a web
site, seeing an interesting ad, but not being able to
find it days later because your balance has run out.
This has happened to me several times.
Think about having a sponsorship message that lasted.
This changes the game of advertising. If your ad is
permanently added to a page (or pages), it becomes a
permanent asset to you. It also means that your ad
better be darn good. And, it better provide readers with
value that will last over months (note: this is a great
branding mechanism). This forces appropriate usability.
Your ad must be aimed at your readers, for your readers.
The WebWord.com Permanent Sponsorship Opportunity
Very few web sites offer you the opportunity for
*permanent* sponsorship of content. At WebWord.com
I'm going to offer you an opportunity you cannot refuse:
you can sponsor all the content that is generated on
WebWord.com in the month of August.
1) You sponsor every new article, report, an interview
that is produced on WebWord.com in August.
2) Your message is placed at the top of every new page
created in August.
3) Your message will *always* remain on the sponsored
page -- your message becomes part of the page.
4) Your sponsorship message will be added to the
WebWord.com Usability Newsletter (currently there
are about 930 subscribers), for the month of August
(that's 3-4 mailings).
5) You’re given space for a text message, about 3-4
lines long (unless you are willing to pay a *lot* more
for a banner ad). Assume you have about 65 characters
per line.
6) The message should be in line with the interests of
WebWord.com readers, for your sake and for the sake
of everyone else.
Last month there were about 3,500 page views on
new content and about 10,500 on old content (including
navigation pages). Readers are diverse. They are online
writers, web developers, usability professionals,
web masters, CEOs, and more. They are from around the
world, so your reach is global. WebWord.com reaches an
excellent audience.
So, what will this sponsorship opportunity cost? I'm
thinking that $300 for the month is fair. Remember,
your message will remain with the content *forever*.
As you probably can tell, WebWord.com is growing quite
well and continues to add loyal readers. I'm doing
everything I can to improve WebWord.com for you and
every other reader. You, and every other reader,
continue to help WebWord.com grow. This ensures that
your investment will grow.
I'm pretty sure that this opportunity will not last very
long. If you are interested, please contact me as soon
as possible. The $300 price tag is very reasonable and
will probably excite many people.
Contact <john@webword.com>.
Remember also that this model might apply to your web
site. This is an interesting idea that might be the
advertising model people have been searching for.
I plan on writing an article about this sponsorship
model. Please send me your ideas, comments, and
suggestions <john@webword.com>. I have several
ideas
about why this model is usability oriented. What do you
think? Send me your thoughts and I'll try to include
them in my report.
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ITEM #3
The One to One Marketing Forum
Is one to one marketing impossible? Is it unnecessary,
and unwelcome?
Many folks think one to one marketing is the golden
answer on the web. Many think that it is the marketing
cure. However, most folks visiting Tim Lee's One To One
Marketing Forum have some other ideas. They seem to
think that one to one marketing, and perhaps
personalization, is not realistic. If you are curious,
you might want to read what these folks are saying.
The One to One Marketing Forum
<http://www.webcmo.com/forum/onetoone/onetoone.htm>
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ITEM #4
The Web Changes...Nothing?
"...almost everything you buy on the Internet
requires advance planning and deferred gratification.
Whether it's a steak dinner, a new car or a little
something from Victoria's Secret, I want it now. By
the time I actually receive my purchase over the Web,
what with downloading delays and then shipping delays,
I could have covered every inch of my local mall."
Ouch! When you think about it, we can't actually get
what we want when we want it. Except for photos and
information, for example, we often have to wait *longer*
to get what we want. Is the web really doing what we
think it is doing?
Want to read more? Here's the article:
<http://www.cio.com/archive/070199_think.html>
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ITEM #5
Live Intranet Demonstration: A Complete Failure
I was looking the other day for examples of great
intranet sites. Intranet sites are those sites that
are behind corporate firewalls. In any event, as you
might expect, finding examples is difficult since
intranets are, well, hidden from the public.
I was happy to hunt down a page with three examples.
Indeed, I found "Live Demos" -- a golden opportunity
to actually *try* these sites first hand. Unfortunately,
all three demos were an absolute waste to me. The first
one required a user name and password, and the other two
were broken. Here's the web address if you care to try
your luck <http://intrack.com/intranet/demo1.shtml>.
The point is obvious. Broken links and "linkrot" ruin
the web. They ruin opportunities and they seriously
detract from a web site. In my opinion the intrack.com
site has serious problems and its image is tarnished.
What a loss.
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ITEM #6
Pass It On, Tell a Friend
Do you enjoy this newsletter? Feel free to pass it
along to a friend. Or, recommend the WebWord.com
site using this simple, easy-to-use web form:
<http://webword.com/cgi-bin/birdcast.cgi>
Thanks for all of your support.
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ITEM #7
What Can You Find at WebWord.com?
Articles (Moving WebWord)
<http://webword.com/moving/>
Expert Interviews
<http://webword.com/interviews/>
Recommended Books
<http://webword.com/books/booksindex.html>
Newsletter Archive
<http://webword.com/archive>
Usability Reports
<http://webword.com/reports>
Recommended Web Sites
<http://webword.com/hotsites.html>
Free Stuff
<http://webword.com/freestuff.html>
Friends
<http://webword.com/friends.html>
---- End of WebWord.com Usability Newsletter #26 ------
(c)1998-99 by John S. Rhodes. All rights reserved.
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