[mp3]http://wordandmouth.com/audio/span_180909.mp3[/mp3]
Well folks, if we are to believe the hype/surveys (judge for yourself which of the words separated by a slash are the most plausible) then web users are becoming even less focused on the job in hand.
Broadband and loud babies have evidently been working in cahoots, for the tolerance point for surfers waiting for web pages to load is down to just two seconds.
Two seconds. That’s not even enough time for Usain Bolt to run across America. I can’t even drink a pint that fast. But long enough for this little guy to get bored…
Let’s forget for a moment the whys that have driven us to be such fickle and ignorant consumers. Let’s instead focus on what we can do to meet our customer’s expectations.
Stop trying to be clever. Ask anyone who has met me and you’ll know I’m the world’s biggest hater of Flash. I don’t have an argument against it; I don’t need one.
I met an optician the other day and he said Flash is great when you want to showcase a catalogue of products. I disagree. Javascript works just as well (but may need a click rather than a twitch of the mouse) and the code required is minute.
I use this example purely to demonstrate that Flash, even among its supporters, is barely even being used for its raison d’etre - dynamic and interactive animation – any more.
Flash started bugging me when its biggest supporters started using it on those intro screens. I Clicked to Skip. Every time.
Flash labours load times. Get rid of it unless you’re a farty creative type who needs to showcase his Flash skills. In which case drum your fingers waiting for the phone to ring because any rational soul will be looking to romance the customer with meaningful content.
That’s where we’re at right now. Meaningful content. It’s the stuff that gets you up the search rankings. Gets you noticed.
I delivered a speech today about Word And Mouth. About the fact we produce creative communications that build profitable relationships for SMEs. We do. And included in the work is producing the kind of content that’d make your hard-nosed sister weep tears of joy or pain, depending on your objective.
We’ll reinforce the content with a follow-up business blog to keep the emotions flowing. And we can bring down the house with some podcast radio featuring mouths and sounds of your choice.
If you don’t truly understand the validity of a simple, clean and uncluttered webspace for your business, take a look at the outpourings of one Jakob Nielsen. Quite aside from the ramifications of his tongue-twisting name I swear we could be separated at birth.
Just check him out. It’ll make you think. And once you’ve had a nice think, get down the pub. It’s Friday.
Enjoy your weekend!
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