Note: This post comes from the Whitespace archive and was originally posted by Scrivs on January 28th, 2004. Links referred to herein may have been moved or modified.
Rhetoric is a framework that allows us to quantify valuable information as having a beginning, middle, and end. This philosophy can be carried over to your websites to create an effective experience for your users. However, the three steps differ slightly in that they become attract, inform, and invoke.
Attract Them
The ability of blogs to attract customers is directly related to the quality of the content on their site. This also involves the topics discussed on a site. However, another element that generally gets overlooked is the aesthetics of the site. If the aesthetics of a site compliment the content, then you are already one step closer to a better design.
Just because you start another web design site, what differentiates it from the rest that will make people want to visit? How will it attract people? Will it be through the looks and feel of the site, the content, or both?
When attempting to attract people to your site and your message there are two main questions that must be answered by you, “Why should I listen to you?” and “What’s in it for me?”.
To answer the first question you must achieve credibility and in this community that can be a difficult thing to do. Over time if you continue to write quality content that others link to then over time you will develop a credibility for yourself. One should not expect credibility from simply placing a website on the web. Another way to gain credibility is through the endorsement of someone else who has high credibility. If Bowman was to one day write an entry talking about a designer that taught him everything he knew then that designer would be given instant credibility and people would be more willing to listen to his words.
The quick answer to the second question is that you will provide the audience with something new to learn and share. If there is nothing to be gained from your site, then there is no reason to visit it.
Inform Them
Once you have attracted users to your site it becomes your job to inform them. Certainly they have showed some interest because they are on your site, but how do you go about informing them? Of course the answer is content, but there are other issues that are involved with informing someone.
To effectively inform an audience you have to convince them of the relevance, importance, and timeliness of the message. This opens your audience up and allows them to more readily receive your message. The best example of this occurred when Zeldman began his tract on Web Standards with the article, To Hell With Bad Browsers.
Invoke Them
There are a lot of “call to actions” in the web community. Examples range from building accessible websites to getting rid of “www” in urls. A major problem with these movements is that they do not address anyone’s needs. To invoke individuals into action (eg. purchasing something online) their interaction with your message must address their real motivations and their real needs. It’s no use saying everyone should develop sites with CSS if making quick money is the intention of the audience.
The Three Steps
If you are consciously aware of the three step process and use it to relay your message over time then you should have no problem developing an audience that is willing to listen. All of the great writers on the web have captured this ability to implement the 3 steps in almost all of their writings whether they intended to or not.
Many of these ideas can be found in John Lenker’s excellent book, Train of Thoughts.
Note: This post comes from the Whitespace archive and was originally posted by Scrivs on March 28th, 2006. Links referred to herein may have been moved or modified.
When I came up with 9rules back in 2003, the only other company that I was aware of that used a number to start off their company name was 37signals. I am sure there were more, but at that time on the web they were the only ones I could think of and therefore I didn’t see any issues with using a number for my company. If I were to start all over today I would think twice about using a number simply because there are so many sites and companies out there that employ this naming scheme.
So what are the criteria for coming up with a godo company name? Well the list is short and sweet, but that doesn’t make the process any easier. So many names have been taken up that now you are either starting to see some recycled goodies or names that come from words that don’t even exist.
In his book The Brand Gap, Marty Neumeier has come up with a wonderful list of seven characteristics that you should consider while coming up with your company name. Here they are along with my own thoughts.
- Distinct. Is it unique and does it help you stand out from the crowded field that you are more than likely entering?
- Short and sweet (aka brevity). Can people get it out without having to take a breath in between words? The longer the name, the more likely people will come up with an abbreviation that probably won’t make sense to the person they are talking to. Does anyone even care what IBM, GE, or GM even stand for anymore?
- Is it appropriate? This one is a bit more flexible because unique names are rarely ever appropriate. Yahoo and Google don’t signify what the companies really do, but Bob’s Plumbing should be a plumbing business and not a pizza delivery service.
- Easy. Can you say the name easily? Can you spell it easily? It’s hard enough getting people to talk about your company so don’t make it even less enticing by calling yourself Xzving.
- Popular. Are people going to like the name? I like saying Yahoo and Google. They are fun names and that already leads to a favorable impression.
- Extendability. Can the name be used for multiple purposes. This is the beauty behind 9rules. You can come up with your own set of 9rules if you wish or simply 9 types of anything.
- Protectability. You probably don’t want to go with a name like Apple today because it’s nice to be able to trademark your name. It’s also nice if the name is actually available on the web to use.
So if you can’t afford to buy a 3-4 letter domain like everyone else seems to be doing, I suggest you follow these guidelines when thinking of the next great thing you are creating. Don’t let a bad name put you back 10 paces before the race even begins. A lesson that Pajamas Media definitely learned with their original name of Open Source Media.
UPDATE: Great. Today Jon Udell linked us up in his entry about 9cays. Of all the numbers they chose…
In case you didn’t already know, Microsoft today announced a table top computer that interacts with whatever is touching it. Zunes, Cameras, Credit Cards, Drinks, hands, feet, whatever. The new product titled Microsoft Surface was formally announced by Microsoft at midnight, however there was news leaked of the impending release several hours earlier. Within minutes of the story hitting Digg, Apple fans were swarming it and starting the age old fight of Apple vs. Microsoft.
First off, before I say anything more about the product or the main subject of this post, kudos to Microsoft for innovating something for themselves. Yes I implied that they knock off a lot of ideas, and usually from Apple. I don’t think anyone can say this would be one of those ideas. In any event go check out the video spots that show how it works. I will be like a kid in a candy store the first time I get to interact with this product! I am a little interested in how it picks up and works with the devices laid on it, but that’s another post.
Now back to Apple for a second. This is where where the release of this product gets somewhat aggravating. As I found the news story on Digg, I totally ignored the 800+ comments and went straight for the Microsoft site to check out the technology and was totally and utterly in awe. I immediately wondered what this would cost and when it might become available. For this I headed to the Digg comments section only to find the typical Microsoft vs. Apple war that happens at the launch of every product of each company. It’s not even the constant bickering that aggravated me but more a few Apple voices that poked fun at Microsoft saying the name is lame, and that Apple already has this in development, or Apple would be releasing this next month and beat Microsoft to the punch, and so on.
Apple fan, get over it! If there is one thing that drives me nuts about rabid fans of either side, it is their inability to recognize something that is cool technology that “their” company didn’t create. It almost sounds like a couple of 8 year old kids saying they won’t touch one another because the other has cooties. It’s technology, we use how many brands of how many different products on a day to day basis, so why is Apple vs. Microsoft the big issue that it is today?
Surface is a cool technology weather you want to admit it or not, Microsoft happened to create it and market it first. One comment I read stated that if Apple would have created the “ISurface”, it would have been Apple fans going into rabid MacWorld Expo type of frezies, much like when the IPhone was announced. If Apple created it, it would still be a cool technology and maybe even more so with the things that they have put out lately, but that’s just not the way it happened.
Now since I will undoubtedly get slammed as a Microsoft fan let me say that admittedly I am. Although I am indifferent I like to take shots at the couple of guys I work with just because I know that most Apple fans are in fact very loyal to the brand. At the end of the day though I don’t own any Apple products, but I would never say I won’t. In fact the IPhone is a very cool concept. I was on the bandwagon to buy the AppleTV until I found it had no DVR capabilities. My wife is wanting an IPod which we will probably purchase in a month or two, so I am by no means a snob about my technology companies and I guess I don’t see why others are either. Cool technology is cool technology no matter who makes it, just like a cool car is a cool car regardless of if it’s made by Honda, Ford, or Buick.
The basic fact is it doesn’t matter who makes it. What matters if it accomplishes what it is supposed to do. Forget all the technical issues of this or that, because the fact of the matter is that everything has it’s issues. When you look at the raw technology that is exposed, that is where you should be making your judgment. Not your bias towards one company or the other.
As the new Wisdump design pushes forward, we’re seeking a fresh identity for the site. With my desire to get the readership more involved, what better way to achieve this than to have an open contest.
The winner, which will be chosen by the site viewers by way of a poll, will receive;
- Permanent link to his/her website from Wisdump
- $300
- A selection of branded clothing/accessories such as Polo shirts, Laptop bags etc featuring the chosen design
To enter, send your design to lee [at] maxafi.com with the subject ‘Wisdump Logo’. Entries may be submitted in any web-format, however final artwork will need to be either .ai, .psd, or .eps.
Closing date for entries is Friday, 8th June 2007 and voting will begin the following Sunday.
Edit: As requested, here are a few pointers for what I have in mind;
I tend to prefer text-based logos, rather than something with a meaningless icon. As an example, our corporate logo (www.maxafi.com) is what I would call a text-based logo.
The design should be relatively simple and uncluttered.
Color scheme is yet to be decided, however the chosen design will need to work well in a solid color and be suitable for applications such as embroidery.
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Yesterday I was taking the usual 15 minute drive back home from the office, taking time to relax, listening to Zero7 and taking in some of the great views of the river front as I drove over it when seemingly from out of nowhere came a rust speckled older model ford swerving wildly around me. A quick glance that direction brought me to realize very quickly that this man had a fire to get to and I was prohibiting that by not moving at the pace that he wanted. After a quick finger gesture he gave me a look that the devil himself would be proud of and sped up again quickly disappearing into the mess of vehicles ahead of me.
As I thought about his actions a little bit I began to take a look at the constant rush that people are in as we lives our lives at a 160 kilometers per hour. Although I would venture to bet that most of the Web community is not this way, I think typical users take this same behavior from everyday life online. A prime example of this might be the almost constant need for the MySpace generation to constantly see who might have dropped them a message or what event might have been planned in the 2 minutes since they last checked their profiles. On for a quick second to check, then off again.
I would venture to guess that most of the “typical” users don’t often deviate from their everyday routines. Most I would bet have a routine similar to this:
- Logon
- Check email
- Check social networking (Facebook, MySpace, etc)
- Maybe check news
- Log off
Most of us (Web folks) have many other methods of finding new and cool information on a day to day basis. Tools like Digg, Techcrunch and Slashdot are largely unrealized by the average user population because most of the information presented on those sites doesn’t pertain or interest them. Even something as simple as WebMD doesn’t hold the attention of the average user as they are going to get on, research their condition or ailment, print that information and move on.
Is there a way to eat up more of the average user’s time online? Let’s face it; the group that I am considering average users is a considerably larger group then the tech savvy or Web group of users. That larger base equals more dollars, so why don’t we try harder to bring them in? This lends directly back to the lack of time that we all have in our lives.
As technical people most of us have hours in front of or near the computer. Time we get to spend working, playing and learning on the internet. Most people are not afforded this convenience, and once work is done many go home to children, spouses, workouts, television and any number of other things that take up their time.
It can be said that until the Web makes its way even further into the fabric of things like television and appliances to where the average Joe is more exposed to it we may not gain that user base. As media center PC’s and home automation become more prevalent people will be forced to become more reliant on technology and become better users of it. It’s at this point I think people will slow down a bit to look around. If not maybe the technology will relieve the time stress that we put on our lives.
A Quick Introduction
Being that this is my first post on Wisdump and most of you are going to notice a different writing style then that of Scrivs, Ryan, and Lee I figured some sort of introduction would be appropriate.
My name is Kyle P. Johnson a writer and developer from the Omaha area. I have been working in the Web industry for nearly 7 years on a number of different projects and with a number of different companies. I have been writing on my personal blog for about 3 years before Lee gave me the opportunity to write for him and Wisdump.
I hope that you all can appreciate my writing and writing style, and although I am definitely not Scrivs hopefully my writing will strike a chord with the reader base that has decided to stick it out.
First off, in a quick paragraph I would like to introduce myself as one of Wisdump’s new bloggers. My name is Ryan Barr, and I am a young designer that has been designing for almost eight years now. My personal interests are web standards, validation, web programming, and seeing in what ways CSS can be bent. Honestly, I am completely honored to help contribute to Wisdump, and I hope all of you guys can do your best to put up with my sometimes-nonsensical ramblings.
Understanding a Web Application
It is a lot to take in, a web application is often a powerful, useful, constructive tool that betters a website, manages content or information, and helps the user with the main purpose of whatever the application is. Although, when you are the person who is building the application, it is something completely different compared to using the features and (for those involved users) submitting bug-reports and feature requests.
Putting Yourself in Their Shoes
When I started to build the web application I am now working on, my first thought was to jump right into coding its design and its main features. Now, I did start going through with that thought, and I stopped right after I finished the front-end and back-end design.
Your first thought should be ‘what is the main purpose of my application?’ and then furthermore, ‘how are people going to use this?’ and ‘what features are really necessary and what ones should be put on the side?’ Doing so will give you a better understanding of what you should focus on when building your design, and what things will be the main engine that powers the content the application will hold.
Now take a breath, I understand I just probably threw a whole-lot at you and a simple one-sentence statement is needed to actually get what I said: Ask yourself basic, broad questions from a users aspect before doing anything else. This will weed out silly little thoughts, useless little features (for now), and help you build in the long run.
Designing Your Application
You can’t just throw any ol’ design at a web application. There is this new thing in Web 2.0 that is called usability, and any good web application should probably hold it. What better way to do so than have a usable design that functions with your features, and not against them. When you log into your application it should be inviting, and in some way have the more important content stressed and be the main focus, but also carry the eyes to the smaller features. The only way to accomplish this is to have a good flow.
This is where you need to think back to 3rd grade art class when you started to learn contrast, repetition, and flow. Yes, designing websites is an art and all of your handy-dandy little art lessons can probably help in some way. In this case, using those aspects in your design can help the users eye to stay where you want them to be, and allow them to flow thru all of the content and features that your application has to offer.
Finally Building The Application
As you run through all of the pre-stages of getting your application going, you will run into quite a few roadblocks and such that make you think. Doing (in my eyes) the first two steps might take a while, seeing as if you ask yourself a good enough amount of questions, you will form a good business plan ASWELL AS making a good choice, design-wise, might take some time to hit the nail on its head. But after you pull yourself through all of that, it will be time to actually getting your dynamic coding in there and building an engine and some good features to go with it.
Now, there isn’t much to say about actually building your application, just for that reason: its YOURS. Although, my advice would be to make sure all of the big features are in there first, and build your little features on the side of them. It will help you realize what features you might actually want to hold off on for a later version, or perhaps give you more ideas for better features.
Pre-release and Releasing
You have your application’s design and system complete, and hopefully took the initiative to build a website where people can acquire your system, although there is something you might want to consider: beta-testing. Without beta testing hell could break loose and your system creating a pathway to some private files on someones server, or your system not having the right security to eliminate iframe injection and other corruptive things could lead to some pretty big arguments in the long run. So before putting out that 1.0 release, try a 1.0b release and let selected people play with the system on your server, then after you fix those bugs and problems they find, let them move to their server and do bug-reporting. Eventually you will have a strong system that is safe to release and ready for the world to enjoy.
Closing Statements
This will be the only time I include closing statements, only because it is my first post. The whole time while writing this entry, the thought that it will be put on almost 8,000 feeds just drove me wild and put a pavilion of butterflies in my stomach. Now I do apologize if my writing was a bit scratchy, bumpy, discombobulating, or eye-burning in any way. I would love to personally open you to e-mailing me ( ryanbarr [at] gmail (dot) com ) and letting me know your thoughts in how I can improve, because personally, I really want to write more enjoyable pieces in the future.
It’s taken a while to get here, but I’m pleased to finally introduce myself as the new owner of Wisdump.
My name is Lee, and I run UK-based Maxafi Ltd. We are *not* a blog network, but more of a publishing and web-app network. In fact, this is the first blog we have ever been involved with.
Why did you buy Wisdump? Are you mad?
When Scrivs first put the For Sale sign up, many people thought he had over-valued the site because it was based around him and would fail without him at the helm. This may well prove to be the case, but I prefer to look at it from a different point of view.
Taking over an existing site presents a few challenges - firstly, you want to maintain the existing readership. Secondly, you want it to grow and build on the success the previous owner built. I’ve seen many sites acquired in recent times where the buyer has seen the pagerank and pageviews and simply expected that if you keep posting, visitors will keep coming. I don’t believe this to be the case, as is evident from many previously high-profile sites now virtually defunct as the realization hits the owner.
So, my challenge is to build on the previous success seen here, add my own personal flavor and bring some extra features along with me.
So, why should I keep reading?
I remember the not too distant past, when Whitespace *was* 9rules, long before Scrivs became the wealthy net celeb he is today ;-) Back then, it was about design, speaking your mind and commenting on the goings-on in the industry. A lot has happened since those days, and those that read Whitespace back then have watched as 9rules went from Scrivs and his personal blog, to the massive community it now is.
In many respects, I find myself at the point Scrivs was back then. Whilst my destination is different, the journey will be pretty much the same - and I hope you’ll stick with us for the ride. We’re working on some really exciting stuff right now, and I hope to be able to bring you some insight into the challenges faced by startups, with a bit of light relief (and, probably, some moaning) along the way.
However, I’m not vein enough to think everyone is interested in what I have to say, and I believe some variety is important to any site. That brings me nicely on to my next point…
Do you want to write for Wisdump?
The first thing I want to do here is bring a few more authors on board to bring a variety of content and opinions.  So, if you think you can be an asset to Wisdump, I’d love to hear from you. I’m specifically looking for people that can write in a warm, endearing manner. Subjects include design trends, usability, startup commentary and the web industry in general. However, if you believe you can bring something else to the table, I’m open to ideas. This is a paid gig with exceptional rates and incentives. If you would like to be involved, drop me a mail directly at lee [at] maxafi.com with the subject ‘Wisdump Bloggers’. Tell me a little about yourself, your blogs and what you feel you can offer.
What else is changing here?
The first change to come in the next few weeks will be a re-design. We have a crack team of designers working on a new layout and style, and as we near completion I will begin posting some teasers of the changes to come. What I can promise you is that I’m a firm believer in clean presentation, usability and aesthetics.  You won’t see a barrage of advertisements cropping up everywhere (you’ll notice I’ve already dropped adsense). The content is first and foremost, as it should be.
From there (or possibly around the same time) we’ll be adding a few features to the site. I’m keen to get the readership more involved and become part of Wisdump itself, and I’m hopeful these additions will help make that happen. More details on these to come.
Finally, and most importantly, I want to hear your input along the way - what do you want to see here, do you have suggestions or complaints - they’re all welcome. Wisdump is nothing without it’s readers, so I’m listening.
The iSalient folks trust me with a review of their product so they have paid me megabucks through ReviewMe to provide my superior analysis to their survey software.
If you run a website or your company does then more times than not you would like to get into the head of your visitors. You can do this either by writing an entry and looking for comments or the more popular way of doing a survey. Unfortunately, much of the survey software out there is generic and not of a professional quality. iSalient has created an online survey application that takes the headache out of managing surveys and does so through an interface that with a little improvement makes this a total winner.
The Interface
The interface that guides you through the software is fairly intuitive although I do wish the icons were a bit larger along with the font. Working with 11px font on an application interface isn’t my idea of fun, but it is good enough to get you through the steps. The tabs help to keep things simple while helping you get to the area you want quickly.
Features
For me, when I think of survey software I simply envision a package that lets you create a question, some answers and get the results. iSalient takes that idea and runs with it allowing you to customize your surveys with a number of options. The reports that are generated from the surveys become more like statistics reports which should help you get the information needed.
You can also setup email lists that are gathered through your surveys so you can track the answers left by people. This is key when you wish to simply go beyond an anonymous response that you might not be able to follow up on. Too often you see surveys where the responses are silly answers with no foundation, so if you get curious about any responses you have a means to communicate with the respondents.
Finally, you have the ability to add new styles to your surveys or import old ones. Nobody likes a generic looking survey so this ability goes a long way in helping the survey fit your brand although as you will see in a bit that might not be that important considering how the surveys are implemented.
Implementation
Now honestly this part disappoints me a bit. I would think that you would have the ability to paste your survey on your site as is the method used in most cases. Instead you are given three options:
- A link that points back to iSalient for your survey.
- A pop-up survey.
- A text link that you can use for emails.
None of these sound like a method I would want to use. Implement an onsite feature that isn’t a popup and I think they are well on their way. Of course if you have a newsletter or mailing list, the email option works perfectly for you. But for the rest of the web I am sure they will be looking for a bit more.
Conclusion
Not a bad product, but a slightly improved interface and the option to have the surveys directly on the site would go a long way. The reporting and email lists functionality is a great feature to have for anyone seriously looking to get quality results and an understanding from their surveys.
With the huge ad company acquisitions happening over the past couple of weeks it seems some talk has gone back to who is going to acquire Facebook. If you have read any of the articles by Mark Zuckerberg or the VCs they don’t seem to plan on cashing out through acquisition. Instead there are continued talks of bigger things for Facebook and I believe they plan on following the Amazon and eBay plan of becoming a platform.
There comes a time where the price is simply too much for any company and with the system Facebook has in place and the people backing it (Peter Thiel of Paypal fame) I can see them opening up the system to 3rd parties to leverage the people system that is in place. In theory this seems like a cool idea, but unlike eBay or Amazon there really is no revenue stream for Facebook beyond advertising. Of course I could be thinking short-sighted here and they have a clearer vision.
Because of this you can fully expect them to go the IPO route as they will be forced to do after acquiring 500 shareholders (SEC regulations). I could imagine that a lot of companies would love access to the 1,000s of regional networks that Facebook has in place along with the trusted contacts that people have setup. That’s just my quick theory on what they have in store and why they walk away from $1B offers.
With that said there is only so much money a man needs in his life and once you hit that 9 0s mark I think it’s time to take a bow and peace. Hope it works out for them.
The latest Guy Kawasaki (bonus points to anyone that can tell me a successful online venture backed by Guy) venture launched and it is called Truemors. In a nutshell anyone can post any type of information they want and it gets posted on the frontpage where people can award it points. Look at that again.
Anyone can post.
Any type of information.
And it gets posted on the frontpage.
Maybe in the Web 2.0 world there is this level of trust we give users where we believe they will do no harm and actually use our great ideas the way we intended them to. In no way can a system like this work without some sort of moderation or a strong community already in place. This is no different than providing a huge wall for people to paste their posters on top of one another without waiting in line. Why would anyone think an idea implemented this way would work?
This is the user bubble of Web 2.0 that needs to burst. This is where innovators need to step back and realize that as great as the users are to sites, you can’t trust them with the site right away. You can’t expect them to create a miracle for you simply because you give them some tools. In one way or another users are going to do what benefits them the most and it is just too easy to get benefit from posting your link on the homepage and leave it at that.
People began to think Slashdot was behind the curve because they added a level of moderation that Web 2.0 sites just don’t do now. There are actual editors monitoring the stories that get posted and yet the site is still going strong. Sure there aren’t as many new stories posted as you can find other places, but there certainly isn’t the level of trash being posted either. A system where anything goes is not really a system at all.
What is worse is that people are saying that the site has potential, which can only mean that any site you visit has potential. Instead of the old axiom:
- Create useful site with regulations and control.
- ???
- Profit
We have gone to:
- ???
- ???
- Sell to someone, maybe, hopefully.
When creating a site think of it like this. Users are greedy. They want to visit the site and get something out of it for them otherwise there is no reason to visit. They won’t do it to help you out, they want to do it to help themselves out. If you keep that in mind and figure out a way to make something quality then you are on the right path. If you fulfill their selfish ways then you have a chance of success, otherwise don’t even bother and in that sense, yes Web 2.0 is all about the user.
