A Tangled Web                                                July/August 2008

In this Issue
 

Welcome

The information superhighway long ago proved itself a valuable tool when used to gather facts, sell products, and share thought-provoking opinions. A turn down the wrong side road, however, can bring drivers to debilitating detours filled with bogus or cumbersome content that wastes time and steers readers to different destinations. This issue of Momentum takes a look at the wonderful, weird, and wacky side of the Internet world, and provides helpful strategies to keep your web presence in the ‘common sense’ lane.

THE SPOTLIGHT: Is your website worthy?

Ever visited a website that’s ultimately a wasted URL? Perhaps it takes too much time to open, or presents a cluttered, confusing hodgepodge of information. Chances are you quickly exit sites like these and move on to more inviting locales.

On the other hand, a well-done website helps customers and prospects quickly identify a business, its breadth, and its benefits. More importantly, it entices readers to find out more about products and services by clicking through to additional content.

Is your website doing its job well? Though not all sites can be measured using the same criteria, performing a basic website audit by answering these questions…and then thoughtfully evaluating the answers…can help you proactively determine your website’s worth and plan actions to improve it.

• Do you overload your home page or is it inviting and informative?
• Do you make it easy to contact you?
• Do you regularly review basic content and provide newsworthy updates?
• Do you ask customers for firsthand feedback?
• Do you review your web statistics?
• Do you research competitive sites?

DOWN-TO-EARTH SOLUTIONS:

New website provides clarity, touts capabilities

When leaders from Blackhawk Hills Resource Conservation and Development Area came to M45, they were looking for “web relief.” Their situation? Though they had an existing website, it was not helping their regional audience understand their mission. As a multi-service organization that reaches beyond its named focus, it was imperative they enhance awareness of their broad capabilities while clarifying their roles and responsibilities.

After careful fact finding, M45’s web team set out to simplify, streamline, and solidify the Blackhawk Hills web strategies that we helped identify. A thorough site map was proposed to provide necessary structure, and a new design and improved photography were recommended to give site visitors a more inviting overview. The end result?  “A vast improvement,” according to Dave Dornbusch, Blackhawk Hills RC&D Coordinator.

Before	After

STELLAR STATS:

Blogs — more are writing, more are reading

Just who are the people who write blogs (web logs, a type of online diary or journal)? According to a study by Pew Internet and American Life Project, findings indicate:

• 12 million adult Americans blog.
• About half of all American bloggers are men.
• About half are under the age of 30.
• About half use a pseudonym.
• About half say creative self-expression or documenting personal experiences is a major reason for blogging.
• About half think their audience is folks they already know.
• About half say changing people's minds is not a major reason behind their blog.
• About half had never published before starting their blog.
• About half the bloggers surveyed say they don't know anything about the size of their audience.
• Only 13 percent claim to get more than 100 hits a day.
• 65 percent of bloggers don't consider their output journalism at all.
• The blog audience is growing, with 57 million Americans confessing to the habit.

The dramatic growth of blogging helps illustrate its potential as a business tool. It:

• Demands continuous updates so content remains current.
• Can be informal and conversational, while allowing individuals to be seen as experts on a variety of subjects.
• Can help reinforce brand recognition.
• Is easy to learn using simple software.
• Has been shown to increase company presence on search engines.

But despite these benefits, the blogger must beware: legal issues, brand management risks, and the temptation to get drawn into controversial conversation can turn blogging into a nightmare pretty quickly.

The risks and benefits of blogging should be carefully considered before you proceed. Remember, there is no eraser.

I bought it on the ‘Net

While retailers struggle with weak store and catalog sales, shopping on the Internet continues to grow. In 2007 online retail sales grew by 21.8% to a total of $165.9 billion. The top five most successful online businesses based on 2007 sales:

1. Amazon at $14.8 billion
2. Staples at $5.6 billion
3. Office Depot Inc. at $4.9 billion
4. Dell Inc. at $4.2 billion
5. HP Home & Home Office Store at $3.4 billion

Busy website traffic

In 2007, the Top 500 retail websites received 1.88 billion average monthly visits. There are 188 million Internet users in the U.S., who visited an average of 10 retail sites each month in 2007.

STARLITE:
Twice as creative and at least a third less serious than your average newsletter copy

Gee, it sounded true…

Snopes is a wonderful website resource that helps determine the truthfulness of Internet myths, e-mail forwards, and other popular stories that have sprung up in popular culture. The most bizarre stories often turn out to be true, and those that are believed to be factual can be exposed as fraud.

Test your knowledge of actual information posted on Snopes – are these claims true or false? Click on the image to find out if the claim is TRUE or FALSE ... and remember the age-old adage, "Don't believe everything you read!"

	The lubricating spray WD-40 is so named because it was the product of the 40th attempt at creating a water displacing substance.
	Chewing gum takes seven years to pass through the human digestive system.
	The Star Trek theme has lyrics.
	Tapping the side of a soda can will prevent its contents from foaming over when you open it.
	Outdoor temperature can be determined by counting the chirps made by crickets.
	The Great Wall of China is the only man-made object visible from the moon.
	Coca-Cola used to contain cocaine.
	Multiplying your dog’s age by seven will produce its equivalent in human years.

“You can purchase anything off the Internet except common sense."

~Jim Harrison (Kentucky Reptile Zoo Director, regarding websites
that advertise the sale of poisonous snakes and reptiles)