Oct 0814
Last weekend at the mall, while purchasing a pair of shoes, the saleswoman gave me a tantalizing offer: give us your e-mail address and we’ll give you 10% off the price of the shoes.
I had a lot of time to think about the offer because everyone in front me willingly gave up their e-mail address and contact information. Me, it took about 30 seconds to realize that saving less than $5 on a pair of shoes worth $49.95 was NOT worth getting spam from a store I don’t visit often (even though the shoes were really cute).
My shopping experience went from bad to worse. At a kids’ clothing store, I waited in line as each mom was asked, “would you like to give us your e-mail address and get $250 worth of coupons, would you like to subscribe to this magazine for the discounted price of $20, yada, yada.” And I was amazed at how many people provided their phone number AND e-mail simply when asked! When it was my turn, I paid cash and said no thanks when asked for my phone number, address and e-mail.
So I got to thinking. What is my e-mail address worth and when am I willing to share it with a site or vendor? Read the rest of this entry
Jul 0810
In recent months, several clients reported declines in their Web site traffic. “Where did all my traffic go?” they asked anxiously. Turns out, the traffic is still there, but it’s dispersed and these clients have to look at usage reports from different sources to learn their true usage patterns and volume.
The number one reason for the seeming decline is splitting up Web traffic over multiple domains. For example, many clients are moving to Web-based membership databases hosted by their providers. Which means they now have usage at www.association.org and www2.association.org. Their Web traffic is now on two different servers, in different log files. So, if a lot of your functionality (e.g., member directory, events calendar, meeting registration, manage profile) moved to another server, your traffic on the main Web site could take a nosedive. The solution? Get usage reports from your providers, arrange to download log files and run reports yourself, or add Google analytics or Webtrends on Demand to your header files to get consolidated reports.
Read the rest of this entry
Jul 0807
There is a raging debate in the office re: full vs. partial RSS feeds and e-mail updates.
The question is which option drives more traffic to the Web site?
This blog publishes partial RSS feeds and e-mail updates. You get the title and the first 60+ words and a link to the full article. The thinking is that you would get the gist of the article, then click through to read the rest of the article. While viewing the full article on the site, you might be enticed to click on past postings, the favorites on the right, or perhaps the related projects at the bottom.
Sounds logical right? But wait, there are many some views:
According to Rick Klau, VP of Publishing Services at FeedBurner, there appears to be no
significant difference in click through rates between full and partial RSS feeds.
http://thewrongadvices.com/2007/04/20/full-vs-partial-rss-feeds/
Jonathan Christopher of Monday by Noon, defends partial feeds because of the scraper sites that publish full articles on their sites and possible negative penalty that search engines associate with duplicate content. Klau agrees with Christopher on the issue of scraper sites. http://mondaybynoon.com/2006/09/04/partial-versus-full-rss-feeds/
Read the rest of this entry
Jun 0810
A recent study by Nortel and IDC showed just how wired and connected we have become. The study found that:
- 16% of global workers are already “hyperconnected,” fully embracing a world of multiple devices and intense use of new communication applications. The hyperconnected worker uses a minimum of seven devices for work and personal access, plus at least nine applications like IM, text messaging, web conferencing, and social networks.
- 36% of global workers were designated as “increasingly connected,” meaning they use a minimum of four devices for work and personal access to six or more applications.
- The most hyperconnected country is China and the United States. The least hyperconnected countries were Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
- The ranks of the hyperconnected are expected to rise to 40% in the next few years.
Seven devices and nine applications! Okay, I use four devices: My laptop, iMac, regular phone, and cell phone. And I thought that was over the top, but seven?
Read the rest of this entry
Jun 0806
I got a wondrous e-mail today, from a Senior VP at the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB). NFIB is a Matrix Group client and I sent him a routine e-mail. Here is what I got back:
“Please call me today. In an effort to facilitate better communication, I am not going to be communicating by email on Fridays. I look forward to meeting / speaking with you directly. Otherwise, I will respond to your email request on Monday. I encourage you to consider participating. Have a great day.”
Wow, no e-mail on Fridays. I’m not sure I can even imagine a day without e-mail. Would I have the guts to try such a thing? What would my clients and staff say? Would not responding to e-mail be liberating or would I just pay for my indulgence on Monday, when I come back to double the e-mail I have to respond to.
Has your organization implemented a similar policy? How have your members or clients responded? What do you think of the concept?
