March 8th, 2012
Posted by Mimi Wilfong

Easter Egg, noun

  1. An egg given to children at Easter, usually a chocolate egg or a hen’s egg with its shell painted.
  2. A message, graphic, sound effect or other behavior emitted by a program in response to some undocumented set of commands or keystrokes, intended as a joke or to display program credits.

Let’s talk about definition number 2. As it says, an Easter egg can take on one of many forms, but for our purposes today, we’ll talk about Easter eggs in the shape of “cool” things that some websites have been programmed to do, if you know how to ask. Oftentimes, these Easter eggs seem to have no purpose, offer no real value-add to the website and would leave a good, number-crunching businessperson wondering who made the decision to spend the time and money to develop the Easter egg. We’ll explore that thought further, but first, to fully understand Easter eggs, check out some of these (really cool) examples.

Google

Google is commonly known for its holiday doodles and other Easter eggs. For example, in December, when a user typed “let it snow” in the search box, snow flurries would begin to appear on screen. Google also sets up appropriate pranks: Last April Fool’s Day, they “released” Google Motion. Check out the video at https://mail.google.com/mail/help/motion.html.

Try some of these other Google eggs (you may need to turn off instant results in Google Search preferences):

  • Type “askew” in search.

  • Type “Google gravity” in the search box, then click I’m Feeling Lucky (and wiggle your mouse).

  • Type “Where is Chuck Norris” in the search box, then click I’m Feeling Lucky.

  • On the BuzzFeed.com home page, use the Konami code* (arrows: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A) to see what happens. http://www.buzzfeed.com/

Why?

So why would a brand or a company, with a limited budget, whose goal is to maximize profit, spend the money to make these little Easter eggs? They don’t drive sales. Google isn’t going to sell another ad unit based on its ability to help you find Chuck Norris. No one is going to be able to order a Mini Cooper if the website text is reversed. And the BiebFeed isn’t going to help BuzzFeed gain corporate partners.

It just doesn’t make much sense that they would spend the time, money and effort required to create little amusing distractions…does it?

The key here is that by creating the Easter eggs, by showing a little quirkiness and personality, the brands are connecting with people. When brands connect with people, they foster brand loyalty. Here at Click Here, we talk about brand affiliation in the context of “what club do you join when you become associated with our brand?” When brands connect with people by creating Easter eggs, the people who know about them become part of the “cool” club.

They’re on the inside.

In the know.

Pickin’ up what the brand is puttin’ down.

Those aware of the eggs know a little secret about the brand that not everyone knows, and just knowing that secret strengthens the relationship they have with the brand. Have you ever talked to someone who knows about In-N-Out Burger’s secret menu? Those people are brand evangelists – and they wear their “I know something you don’t know” badge proudly. They became that way because In-N-Out let them in on something that not many people knew about – just like online Easter eggs.

But building brand affiliation and personality is obviously more involved than building secrets. Brand personalities are just like people’s, in that their idiosyncrasy and uniqueness naturally speak to some people more than others. Some personalities make you believe the brand is an authority, is responsible and always makes the right choices. Others you connect with because you appreciate how much like you they are: they make mistakes, they have fun and they’re just real. Brands with these human personalities tend to quickly and easily connect with people. Trendwatching recently released a report about Flawsome brands – how some brands are embracing their quirks and in doing so, generating customer loyalty. Domino’s made the brand more human by pointing out its failings, and then allowed people to make a human “We all have flaws, bro, I’ll give you a second chance. And by the way, let’s be friends” connection.

Be Irrelevant to Maintain Relevancy

So what does this all mean? Consumers are more and more aware that personality and profit can be compatible. And with every business that succeeds while being reasonable, helpful, fun or human, consumers become increasingly more disenchanted by traditional, boring, impersonal brands. So in a sense, brands are doing things that are irrelevant to the business practice (like Easter eggs) to remain relevant in an environment where people are constantly scrutinizing brands, trusting them less and have more options than ever before.

*What’s the Konami code? It’s a cheat code that was originally designed for the Nintendo Entertainment System. If you didn’t know that, pat yourself on the back for being normal.

January 6th, 2012
Posted by Scott Luther

In 2011, we saw major growth in tools for individual expression on the Web. No, this is not a post about the power of the so-called Mommy bloggers. This year, the democratization of media on the Internet focused on a new medium as content creators gravitated toward a more visual, more impactful medium than the typical blog format.

And it should not be surprising. The math has long been worked out:

One picture = 1,000 words

If we take this old adage about the worth of a picture as true, Instagram users definitely have a lot to say. With 15 million users having uploaded over 400 million photos in the year since the service’s launch, we’ve saved ourselves quite a bit of reading in 2011. It is also important to note that these users are solely posting from iOS devices through the Instagram network and on Twitter. We can expect these numbers are poised to grow even more rapidly with an expansion to Android devices and with Facebook instant-upload capabilities expected soon.

These snapshots are visual diaries that chronicle not only the events and sights that a user experiences, but emotions as well. The addition of filters after the picture has been taken allows the photographer the ability to infuse emotion and storytelling in a way that was previously only available to dedicated hobbyists. While many will lament the lack of craft that ready-made filters facilitate, the democratization of this ability will only serve to broaden the appreciation of the professional photographers who are elevating the medium.

But Instagram is only one example of a service that is taking advantage of this visual blogging trend; many others have attempted to catch the lightning in a bottle that makes Instagram so popular, both in mobile and on the Web. Within the mobile space, we have seen high-profile services like Foodspotting, Hipstamatic, Color and Path flood the social consciousness and make the act of picture-taking a social event once again.

Of these services, one that has shown particular merit in combining location-based sharing with this visual journaling is Path. The mobile social network is a companion app that registers location, music choices, musings, collaborators and photographs from the lives of its users. Limited to your 50 closest connections, this social service aims to create deeper connections and more honest sharing within networks.

Online, platforms like Tumblr and Pinterest have exploded in popularity because of their ease of use and ability to easily give others an inside look into our world. Compared to traditional blogs like WordPress or Blogger.com, Tumblr has gained significant ground over the past year in terms of unique visitors, visits and page views. Although trailing the more established blogging platforms in terms of total visitors, Tumblr users show more engagement with the content and view a significantly higher number of pages while on the site.  Finally, while WordPress.com and Blogger.com have remained stagnant or declined, Tumblr continues to climb.

Likewise, Pinterest has rapidly grown in popularity among certain online groups, generating 6 million unique visitors in November despite an invite-only restriction. For a more in-depth examination of Pinterest, check out these profiles by Sarah Voges and Darlene Lo.

Both the simplicity of sharing and the emphasis on the user’s creativity are essential to these services’ adoption. Pinterest features dead-simple usability to create visual bookmarks for projects, inspiration and the ability to share boards with others. Tumblr is similarly designed for simplicity in getting started, choosing readily from free or premium templates to design your blog, and again in practice. Users are able to share text, images, videos and music through a streamlined editor, or find and consume blogs created by others through personalized streams. However, with less emphasis on long-form text posts, the creativity of the blogger is free to shine, leading to as many different Tumblr streams as can be managed.

Many factors have contributed to the rising popularity of these visual blogging services; among them, simplicity and self-expression are very important. But at a higher level, the idea that social networks are aligning to connect people with similar interests or passions in new ways has enormous implications for how brands can engage through social media. Rather than traditional message boards, forums or “fan sites,” there is now a broader range of interests being followed across the Web. As we move into 2012, we can expect to see visual blogging continue to grow in popularity, both in mobile and the Web, and we can also expect to see services start to leverage the vast amount of content that is created through this trend to “humanize” the web experience in new ways.

November 7th, 2011
Posted by Scott Luther

A major trend is emerging, and because its implications have an impact on a wide variety of industries it is generating a lot of buzz. Since the subtleties can get a little hazy in the excitement, let’s explore the emergence of gamification in the world of marketing. First, to be clear, gamification does not imply a contest, sweepstakes, chance to win or other offers to get fans interacting with your brand. Nor is this practice about the rise of social gaming or branded games. Gamification is about developing consumer experiences that play on innate human drivers to spark a deeper connection to a cause or brand.

At first glance, marketers sometimes hear the term and think about a common element of games – winning – without considering that the most memorable experiences come from games that are about playing rather than winning. So let’s take a deeper look into how adding an element of play into your thinking can turn a person’s momentary interest into a greater opportunity for your brand.

Level One: The Basics

Wikipedia gives a definition to help us focus on the true nature of gamification: “the use of game mechanics or game dynamics in a website, campaign, service or application in order to solve problems and engage audiences.”

Instead of creating a consumer experience based on a slim chance of winning, gamification focuses on basic social motivations to get people to interact with your brand. How is this so effective? The magic lies in the human desire to compete, to learn and overcome, and to be recognized for demonstrating our skill.

By crafting a rich experience – one that offers both depth and breadth – you are able to make the experience the driver for your campaign, and the value that fans will get will not be determined by the tangible reward at the end of the road.

Level Two: Prepare for Battle

There are many forms of gamification, some of which do not have levels and rely only on the creativity that others recognize in you. For example, Internet memes, which take on a life of their own, are partially driven by the desire to “one-up” the previous iterations.

Some common game elements that can be built into campaigns include:

  • Progressions – Activities earn a user points or similar currency to track growth.
  • Countdowns – Fans must complete tasks within a certain time frame or by a predetermined time.
  • Challenges – Users are given tasks to complete, usually progressing to become increasingly difficult.
  • Exploration – Appeal to fan’s desire to experience new things.
  • Group Play – Building tasks that require multiple users to be successfully completed.

The second major component of successfully adding a gaming element to your next campaign is to focus on the actions that are most valuable to connecting your brand with your fans, and devise a recognition system that rewards these behaviors accordingly. Some common tactics include:

  • Progress bars
  • Public leaderboards
  • “Insider” access or control
  • Badges
  • Online currency or goods

Level Three: Game Dynamics in Action

Many charitable organizations have added elements of game mechanics to their philanthropic efforts. One great example of this in action is The Salvation Army Online Kettle Drive. Donors can register their own kettle and compete with others, with the top earners being recognized via a public leaderboard.

Another, as pointed out in Nate Arnold’s post on tackling big ideas, is FreeRice.com’s effort to solve world hunger. FreeRice challenges users to answer increasingly difficult questions, with each correct answer earning free rice for the United Nation’s World Food Programme.

Games have long been a method for making learning moments more engaging, and many current services are leveraging this digitally. One that has caught my eye is Code Academy, an online service teaching non-programmers the basic building blocks of JavaScript.

But learning and exploration are not the only ways in which brands can utilize gamification. The focus of gamification should be twofold: provide a fun and easy way for new converts to discover the many facets of your brand, but also give raving fans an outlet to delve more deeply into the brand.

Gamification could change the nature of being an ambassador for a brand, from being a huge fan to the hugest fan. Fans of the NHL’s L.A. Kings now have a way to measure their digital fandom. Could this someday serve as a level of validation, a proof point to throw out in a sports bar debate? Or does the debate itself shift to the Web, with positions validated by an online leaderboard?

Level Four: Final Showdown

Despite its status as a marketing buzzword du jour, gamification’s basis in consumer behavior gives smart brands an opportunity to capture the attention of their fans in a fun and exciting new way. By focusing on the journey, this tactic can be employed in a wide variety of situations, driving success for objectives from engagement and awareness all the way to purchase.

September 29th, 2011
Posted by Scott Luther

It’s coming. The end is near – 2012 is upon us and we are about to fall into chaos. No, I am not talking about Harold Camping’s Rapture or the Mayans’ apocalyptic grandstanding. I am talking about the end of the “dot-com’s” benevolent reign over top-level domains (TLD), and the coming hurricane of web addresses that brands are about to unleash on the Internet. Hopefully, you caught Amanda Plewes’ excellent piece on the .xxx domain and its impact for brands, but in 2012 the Internet will see a much larger shift in web properties, as organizations will be able to operate independent top-level domains. Soon, navigating the Web will change from the “dot-com” era to the “dot-anything” era.

So, What Is Changing?

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a multistakeholder nonprofit group tasked with policing the Internet’s naming system, will soon be accepting applications from organizations wishing to operate a distinct generic top-level domain (gTLD). This means that starting this January, brands will now have the opportunity to acquire the rights to a .brand address, such as store.homedepot or dealers.ram.

ICANN anticipates four types of gTLDs being approved:

  • Community – Service-industry consortiums, trade groups or other organizations that establish credibility for association members within that domain (for example, .bank or .nonprofit).
  • Brand – Brands are expected to register .brand or .slogan top-level domains to strengthen their position in online channels.
  • Geographic – Hosted for local areas such as .chicago or .nyc and represent a significant opportunity for local or regional businesses to increase their visibility within a specific area.
  • Generic Terms – These will be introduced similar to existing TLDs such as .com or .net to open competition for short, memorable URLs.

Analysts predict that despite the high costs associated with applying for and operating a gTLD, as many as several hundred organizations will be successful in launching new gTLDs. Operating a top-level domain is very different than registering a domain name within an existing TLD, as the operator is actively managing a piece of Internet architecture rather than a destination. This influx of new gTLDs will not affect the technical structure of the Web, but may alter the way users navigate, impacting the online experience from email to search and the mobile Web.

Will I Have to Learn the Web All Over Again?

The immediate consumer reaction to the expansion of top-level domains will likely be confusion, reluctance or indifference. Depending on which organizations and locations are successful in launching a new gTLD, this change may not affect the day-to-day usage of the Web for most users. Advanced web users will likely be able to adjust to the new naming convention with minimal disruption. But, for Internet users less comfortable with the Web, this change is likely to have a substantial impact and require an investment by the brand to educate customers on the new web navigation.

The main impact of introducing new gTLDs for users is the addition of new reference points for their online browsing. Within the current naming architecture, brand identifiers have been possible primarily through subdomains. New gTLDs will present users with more information via the URL and result in more reference points for users. New gTLDs open up the prospect of an easily navigable, more trustworthy online experience should enough applicants be successful in launching new domains. Organizations registering a second-level domain on a community gTLD receive an explicit mark of approval, geographic top-level domains ensure relevancy and focus for sites within their domains, and dedicated brand domains build trust that what the user is experiencing is from that company.

As more businesses turn to the Web and e-commerce to grow their business, building trust with their customers becomes an essential step in creating a long-term relationship. If launching a gTLD can foster that trust, expect many e-commerce-focused businesses to invest in a new domain, hoping to spur online shopping holdouts to commit to a new channel.

While users may eventually have to learn a new, and possibly better, way to navigate the Web, businesses face an immediate problem with the pending expansion of TLDs – they need to decide if they will pursue a gTLD of their own or prepare for defensive action. Either way, they need to decide quickly, because 2012 is coming fast.

September 6th, 2011

Since you’re probably either still hunkering down to avoid the lingering effects of this year’s extreme August weather or basking in the glow of your summer vacation, it’s hard to muster more than lackluster holiday spirit. Regardless of your spirit, it’s never too early to begin considering an e-commerce strategy for the holidays.

All indicators predict that this year will be the biggest for e-commerce thus far. It follows a trend that sees online sales increasing from year to year and outpacing non-e-commerce growth (see chart below). The 2010 holiday season brought forth the singularly biggest day for online sales yet, topping $1 billion in online sales on Cyber Monday (the Monday after Thanksgiving).  Consumers are also beginning to do their Black Friday shopping from the comfort of their couch, frustrated by jostling through crowds and waiting in long lines, only to find that what they wanted is already sold out.

Holiday e-Commerce Growth
2010 Holiday e-Commerce

In general, e-commerce outperforms same-store sales at many chains, thanks to shoppers choosing to research products online and then using the convenience of online shopping to complete the transaction. This trend holds for both business goods and consumer goods. Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses such as Williams-Sonoma have online sales accounting for 33% of total sales, and Staples counts online as 40% of their total sales.

So how do you capitalize on this trend? You may be concerned an e-commerce presence will snipe traffic from your brick-and-mortar stores. But if you embrace both, the two venues can provide your customers the choice they demand while providing you sales traffic between the channels.

For instance, in-store pickup of products ordered online increases impulse add-on purchases in-store. Consumers who can’t find the options they want in-store can go online to order exactly what they want, ensuring that your brand gets the sale. As long as salespeople are well trained and there’s perhaps a kiosk in-store, brick-and-mortars may even be able to stock less inventory on shelves.

Simply put, ignore digital channels at the cost to your bottom line.

An article aptly titled “Online back-to-school shoppers to spend 40% more than those who only shop in stores” from July 28, 2011, offers, “Specifically, online back-to-school shoppers will spend a third more than all shoppers for shoes and school supplies, and fully 68% more for electronics and computer related goods. Like most everyone, online back-to-school shoppers have felt the economic pinch, and to that end plan to shop for sales more often, comparison shop online, find and use coupons, and buy more generic or store brands, among other money-saving strategies. Much of that research will be facilitated by smartphones and/or tablet devices that many online back-to-school shoppers already own.”

What Features Do Consumers Want in Their Online Shopping Experience?

  • Free Shipping – comScore’s postmortem of the 2010 holiday season reports that free shipping was used in more than half of all 2010 holiday e-commerce transactions, up significantly from 2009.
  • Gift Ideas – Help consumers figure out the perfect gift for a hard-to-buy-for person. See Amazon’s best-in-class gift ideas.
  • Comparison Shopping – Users want to feel that they are getting the most bang for their buck. Review Forbes’ best in class.
  • Research – Consumers want to know more about the products they’re considering. Specifications and trade write-ups help consumers understand what the professionals think, but ratings and reviews from other consumers also strongly influence purchasing decisions. In a National Retail Federation (NRF) survey, shoppers were asked about how the economy was changing their behavior: 30.7% planned to do more comparison shopping online and 12.3% planned to shop more online in general.
  • Pick Up In-Store – Consumers who have waited until the last minute to purchase gifts appreciate the convenience of shopping online, but with the option to pick it up in-store so shipping isn’t a factor.
  • Coupons – Budget-conscious consumers who are trying to save money can be driven to make a purchase, given digital coupon incentives delivered though the website, email or mobile channels. In the same NRF survey, over 36% of respondents were likely to use more coupons. According to an article in eMarketer about 2011 back-to-school shopping (a good predictor of holiday sales,) “…the internet is viewed as a valuable source for saving money. The leading reason why shoppers…planned to shop online was because they expected to find better discounts (70%), were able to research prices and products (63%) and avoid potential out-of-stock items in-store (40%).”

Create a Positive User Experience
Your user experience is the digital reflection of your brick-and-mortar; keep it friendly, stocked and easy to use.

To deliver the most impact to your busy holiday shoppers, simply maintaining an e-commerce site just isn’t enough. Usability is key.

  • Users must be able to quickly find a specific item (like using an intelligent search), but the site itself must facilitate browsing with clearly defined categories and hierarchies.
  • Upselling or cross-selling is also important, using “products like this” or “customers who bought this also bought this.”
  • Clear product images with multiple views and the ability to enlarge the image give consumers the confidence to click the buy button.
  • A detailed description of the product, including dimensions, colors and other key attributes, must be readily available.
  • Lastly, a site must instill consumer trust by displaying guarantees, return policies and accurate shipping dates.

Promotional Channels

The more touchpoints that are available to consumers, the more likely they’ll find you and purchase from you.

An important factor to a successful e-commerce holiday season is driving high traffic to your online product offerings. Money is being left on the table if you don’t consider using multiple channels to deliver the most impact to your busy holiday shoppers:

  • Mobile – Mobile couponing or QR codes to provide more detailed descriptions and/or ratings and reviews. It’s particularly helpful for on-the-go consumers to find your location.
  • Geolocating – Offer specials for check-in with Foursquare, Gowalla or Facebook Locations.
  • Facebook – Integrated shopping, sales alerts, specials, recommendations, single sign-on to reduce cart abandonment.
  • Twitter – An ideal channel for promoting sales alerts, specials, recommendations that can generate social media buzz.
  • Online – Sales, free shipping, printable/online coupons, product comparisons, consumer ratings and reviews, in-store pickup (to increase impulse purchases), adequate inventory, callouts and/or billboards.
  • Email – Hold “secret sales” or a “deal of the day” and offer other incentives for email sign-up.

Test It for Success
Unavailable or broken sites are like locking your doors on Black Friday.

By far, the single most important preparation for a successful holiday season is testing to ensure your servers and e-commerce engines can handle the huge volume. Nothing frustrates a consumer more than getting a busy server error or spending time browsing and shopping only to discover they cannot check out. All your investments and innovations for successful online holiday sales can be ruined by poor server performance. Make it a priority to ensure your technical infrastructure is in place to support the demand from your varied advertising channels.

A personal anecdote: There is a certain big-box retailer that offers fantastic Black Friday deals. I’ve been at their doors at 6 a.m. twice, shopped their sales, only to discover the slow-moving checkout line extends all the way around the store, guaranteeing a two-hour wait. I abandoned my basket the first year, and the second year, I checked the state of the impossible checkout line before even bothering to shop. I never returned to that retailer to purchase holiday gifts. Last year, I decided to try their online shop and see if I could get some of those amazing deals. Their site was incredibly slow, but I persevered, only to have my cart time out and empty at checkout. At this point, I won’t shop that retailer ever again. And yes, I tell my friends about those experiences, increasing the probability that they also will not shop that retailer during the holidays.

Remember, when your eye is on the bottom line, online and offline shopping can be complementary experiences providing great service to your consumers. Do you want happy brand advocates or vocal brand dissenters?

So while the leaves may not yet have begun to change, it’s time to plan your e-commerce strategy and spiff up your online store for the holidays. Your brick-and-mortar stores would never advance into the holiday season without adequate preparation. Your online presence should be no different.

August 30th, 2011
Posted by Alex Kenney

As with other recent large-scale events, Hurricane Irene’s trip up the East Coast this weekend caused millions of people to turn to digital to keep up to date on the situation. With no public transportation available in New York City and not even an open Starbucks around (two things previously unimaginable to most New Yorkers), social media users became even more active to occupy and entertain themselves during days of hibernation.

There was no shortage of websites to visit for hurricane information. The National Hurricane Center site and Weather.com were among the most credible, offering current advisories, satellite photos and wind speed and storm surge projections. Other sites were much more specialized, such as this interactive map from WNYC public radio, which shows evacuation zones and evacuation centers after Mayor Bloomberg ordered mandatory evacuations for more than 250,000 people in coastal and low-lying areas.

One obviously beneficial use of digital, and specifically social media, throughout the storm was that it provided a way to get quick and easy information, whether that be from friends and family or government officials. Twitter saw more than 3,000 tweets per minute by 2 p.m. on Saturday about the storm, and seven of its top ten trending topics were hurricane-related posts. Governors of both New York, Andrew Cuomo, and New Jersey, Chris Christie, used Twitter throughout the weekend to update residents on the status of the storm and promote other media appearances.

However, the flip side is that a lot of misinformation was distributed, which serves to remind us that the source of the tweet always needs to be taken into account when deciding what to believe. An image of Hurricane Irene approaching North Carolina was circulating around early Saturday morning and shared by thousands of people, only to later uncover that the image was weeks old, taken in Florida and had nothing to do with Irene. By Sunday night, the fake picture had over 315,000 views.

But overall, the trend is that people are increasingly turning to social media when facing potential or current disasters. A survey by the American Red Cross reported that 18% of Americans use Facebook to get information about emergencies, and 24% would use social tools to tell others that they’re safe. Not unlike their expectations of brands and advertisers, 80% expect emergency responders to monitor social sites, and more than one-third expect help to arrive within one hour of posting a need to a social media site. And for those lucky enough to have avoided serious damage from the storm, social media also became a channel to express relief – and in true New York fashion, that relief was often articulated through humorous sarcasm.

And where were advertisers through all this? Some brands that had a natural fit within the conversation inserted their voice nicely, where relevant, through social media. As people flocked to the nearest retailer for flashlights, generators and water, The Home Depot connected with consumers in many ways, including providing a how-to guide for homeowners preparing for the hurricane. Walmart linked to a checklist of items consumers should have on hand via Twitter, and Lowe’s distributed a press release so all store managers were prepared to field any media inquiries and interviews to provide tips and demonstrations on hurricane prep and recovery. Other brands that did not have as seamless a connection posted their sympathies or tied the weather to something relevant to their brand, such as this Nike Facebook post on Monday:

All of these well-done social media efforts made me notice the brands that were not mentioning the incident, and it made me very much appreciate those who were being relevant in real time. All in all, another good case study for how social media continues to play a paramount role in large-scale events everywhere.

July 5th, 2011
Posted by Luke Lancaster

Often when we approach a new solution, clients request to emulate the features or designs of many popular or successful websites. Perhaps we, too, look to the competitive space for website inspiration where a popular site has been highly successful or well tested. In e-commerce, giants like Amazon are constantly refining and testing their marketplace to provide the best usable and successful online experience. Clients may often say “if it works for Amazon, it will work for us.” But a closer look at the issue reveals this myth can be a dangerous solution for your brand.

Many times clients ask to look to these popular sites when approaching their solutions. These are often perceived as the shining stars to mimic for instant success. And why not, these sites have proven results. With limited time and slim budgets, it is often easier to copy these designs or features in hopes of instant and satisfying results.

Copying a design at some level is always part of a design process. The imitation is the greatest form of flattery after all, right? Well, before we fall prey to the blind pitfalls of copycat designs, we must first understand the difference between inspirations and bold-faced copying.

For example, while Amazon has an amazing set of well-tested features and functionality, they do not always perform as successfully on other e-commerce websites as easily. For example, in the first month after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, Amazon got 1,805 reviews, whereas Target received only three reviews, despite both selling 2 million copies each. The same functionality garnished remarkably different results.

The book on Amazon currently has 3,634 reviews.

Copies can fail because the element copied is not that great to begin with. Other times, the design element copied may work well in the original site’s context, but may not be well suited for your site’s purposes. It must be well understood why you are implementing an element before blindly copying these elements and expecting similar success. What we may fail to realize in copying an admired feature or design is that these elements can be in various stages of evolution for the original brand’s site. They can be designed originally for a very specific solution that met the original brand’s needs. Without knowing the history of the evolution, a copy of this element may likely backfire.

The latest design to emulate is often Facebook. Their interface is constantly changing and evolving with their continual stream of feature enhancements. But at a closer look, Facebook itself is a copycat, bringing into its design elements from Twitter and Foursquare that are largely successful elsewhere. While this may work for large giants like Facebook, consider closely why copying could be a terrible solution for your brand’s online success.

With copying a design, you spend more time catching up and less time innovating design solutions. Innovation means pushing the boundaries that create a positive improvement for your users. By listening to the needs of your users, you can proactively create solutions that meet their needs instead of adding design features or functionality that are not appropriate. By understanding what your users actually need, you will begin to break down the barrier between your customers and your brand, which leads to building a trusted and positive relationship. However, copying elements blindly from other sources likely will create additional frustration for your users as these design features may not be what they need from your brand.

Just because others are doing it doesn’t mean your brand should embrace the same set of features or functionality solutions. Spend more time listening to your customers to understand their needs before you decide what best-practices elements are appropriate for their needs. Using common best-practices elements isn’t forbidden or un-creative necessarily; it just needs to have a well-thought-out need to provide a positive user experience.

Ultimately, doing simple user testing will help prove the results of your designs to ensure the elements you ultimately implement (copied or not) are successful to your target users. These results can be quickly mocked up in a wire frame or paper prototype for testing purposes and can provide you with valuable feedback. Additionally, for faster results you could even test the copied functionality on an existing website to determine how well this meets the needs of your users. Combined, this feedback can provide you with a valuable arsenal to refine your designs into successful results for your brand.

May 5th, 2011
Posted by Luke Lancaster

User interface design is constantly evolving in the digital space. As users adapt to their various online environments, so must designers and developers consider the changing landscape. “The fold” is a concept derived from newspapers, which refers to the invisible line on a web page where the user must start scrolling to see the rest of the page’s content. So in traditional media, newspapers were often delivered or displayed folded up and the area “above the fold” is the first thing the reader would see. Therefore, the most eye-catching headlines and images get the readers’ attention and draw them further into the publication.

In the digital space, depending on your monitor size, browser window or the mobile device you’re using, the fold invariably will be different. The early years of Internet design were critical to designing with the fold in mind because users were not accustomed to scrolling inherently. Often, designs were limited to the area above this fold because of user limitations for scrolling the page. Now, with trivial screen resolution statistics and varied browser window sizes, scrolling behavior has become second nature to users – no longer something to be avoided.


Various folds by Internet user browser size
Source: FoldTester.com

While users have acclimated to scrolling online, several recent studies have shown that users spend 80% of their time looking at information above the fold. So it will still be well-advised to keep the most critical messages at the top of your designs. With the emergence of so many varied screen resolutions, there is no longer a well-defined height where the fold must be met. It’s not necessary to throw out the calculations of your target audience’s fold statistics, but it doesn’t mean that you should design the entire home page or pages within this confined space. Use the insight of your fold statistics to guide your critical content within this space, but allow for continued valuable and engaging content to entice users beyond their fold.


Source: WhiteHouse.gov, Hulu.com

Source: Starbucks.com, Southwest.com

Scrolling Beats Paging

Because of users’ limited attention span, long pages can be problematic for users. Users prefer site pages that get to the point and let them accomplish their objectives quickly. So while it is recommended to design beyond the fold, consider limiting unnecessary content and keep it to manageable pages so your user is not overwhelmed.

But if you do have a long article, it is best to present it on one long page. Usability studies have shown that scrolling beats pagination, because users are inherently lazy. They prefer to simply keep going down the page to read their article, not clicking to advance the page. But be mindful that your content must be prioritized and the key enticing content must be presented above the fold.

The Information Foraging theory says that people decide whether to continue along a path (in this case, scrolling) based on the information scent. In other words, users will only scroll the page if it’s relevant and valuable to them. The key is to make sure that the scent remains. A common way to break that scent is to stop giving them the options they are looking for.

The New Fold

With so many variables for your mythical fold, it can be a frustrating exercise in futility attempting to design for a pixel-perfect solution across so many screens and devices. While users can scroll your page beyond the fold, it is important to design and plan your users’ goal or your business goals above the fold. Users will inevitably scroll the page if the layout encourages scanning and if the initially viewable information makes them believe the page is worth their time to continue discovering. It is up to you as a designer to pay off your users’ gamble by providing them valuable content to engage them further with your brand.

So fear not the fold, for they will scroll. The goal is not to force everything above the fold, but to ensure your most important content that will grab the user’s attention is within the topmost pixels. And remember: allow your content to flow down the page as it’s much easier for users to scroll down the page than to click across multiple pages. Embrace the fold and break beyond the boundaries with engaging and relevant content for your audience.

April 27th, 2011
Posted by Click Here

As a Millennial, I sometimes have to fight against the stereotypes so lovingly bestowed upon my generation. Quite often, co-workers, clients and even my not-so-far-removed Gen X friends fall into the trap of quickly writing off my age group. In not so many words, we’ve been called a lazy, mush-brained generation that believes we deserve everything live-streamed to us on our iPads while we enjoy being served Four Loko from a silver spoon. Awesome mental picture, but it’s not true!

If you’ve read anything about my generation, you know that aside from being more “plugged in” and “digitally mobile” than any other generation group, we’re also very interested in being civically involved and like to support nonprofit causes.

A recent study released by the consulting firms JGA and Achieve found that, in 2010, 93% of 3,000 Millennials surveyed donated their time or money to a nonprofit organization.

Now, that’s a cool number, and I’m glad to see that my peers are supporting good causes. However, here’s a stat I found alarming:

Eighty-five percent of those who were not involved with a nonprofit in 2010 attributed “not having enough time” to their lack of involvement.

Not apathy, but TIME! “I swear I want to help someone, Nate – but I just don’t have enough time between work and friends and watching Netflix and laying out by the pool and catching up with ‘Gossip Girl’!“ Pweef – are we really that busy, or are those Boomers actually right about us? Are we just plain lazy?

Well, fear not, you technology-rich but time-poor Millennial! Below you will find a few useful services that have combined tech + charity in some pretty cool and innovative ways. So now you can become involved with a nonprofit without having to cut down on your monthly minutes at the tanning salon. Also, there are only five examples, so you still have time tonight to cruise YouTube for Rebecca Black parodies.

SwipeGood (http://swipegood.com)
Support charity while supporting your shopping addiction.

Similar to Bank of America’s “Keep the Change” functionality, SwipeGood rounds up your credit card transactions to the nearest dollar and donates the spare change to the charity of your choice. There are currently almost 500 charities supported and more are being added frequently, so you’re bound to find a cause that will be worth your nickels and dimes. And in case you’re worried that you’ll accidentally blow your budget if you’re not watching your transactions, SwipeGood offers the ability to set a monthly limit.

SocialVibe (http://www.socialvibe.com)
Good for advertisers, great for charities.


SocialVibe bills itself as the leading social media utility that connects brands and consumers for the benefit of a charitable organization. Their platform is built on a pretty simple pay-for-engagement system where you interact with a brand’s advertising for a donation to charity – then you share with your social graph. It’s a dead-simple service that you can do on your lunch break or during Tuesday morning’s conference call.

HelpAttack! (http://www.helpattack.com)
A good reason for your tweets to stop being so lame.

HelpAttack! operates under the philosophy that giving back isn’t something we should only do when disaster strikes or when your company has their annual 5K – it should be ingrained in our everyday life. For many of us, our lives are just as much online as they are offline, so HelpAttack! allows users to pledge a small donation every time they update their social network. So with every scandalous spring break picture you post on Facebook or live tweet you send during jury duty, you can actually be supporting a great cause – one small donation at a time.

charity: water’s online portal (http://www.charitywater.org or http://mycharitywater.org)
An easier way to motivate other lazy friends’ giving.

charity: water is a not-for-profit organization that sponsors clean water projects in developing countries. They are also an organization that supports grassroots involvement of its supporters to spread the word and garner donations. Their online portal makes it incredibly easy for one person to plan an event or campaign and encourage others to donate to it. Actually, just last month for my 24th birthday, I used this service to rally my friends to raise over $2,500 for a soon-to-be-built clean water project.

FreeRice.com (http://www.freerice.com)
Do something productive while you’re bored on the Internet.

You’ve probably heard of this one before since it’s been around for ages – since 2007. FreeRice is a very simple online game that asks you to define a word for the chance to donate 10 grains of rice to the UN World Food Program. The sponsors of this program allow you to flex your brain while giving food to those who desperately need it.

So there you have it – five really simple, really easy and really great ways to donate your time or money to help a good cause. So you have no more excuses for not getting involved, OK?

Now be a good Millennial and retweet this article to all your followers.

April 14th, 2011
Posted by Click Here

“Back in my day, son, we had to create all our wire frames in Visio! We had to link everything by hand if we wanted to create some kind of interactive version, or even hand-code them in static HTML…” – A 40-something information architect

Nowadays programs like Axure have made it incredibly easy to render small and medium-sized wire frame documents and interactive prototypes. While they can provide realistic, testable user experiences – there still are limitations, especially when creating a large catalog of pages or when the project has a quick turnaround time.

In Axure, the longer the list of pages, the longer the render time. One of our recent projects topped out at well over 100 pages. It took almost an hour to render a prototype. Even after all the work had been finalized and approved, the code Axure generated could not be reused by the development team. Developers still had to recreate the experience from scratch.

Generating....

Recently, I was asked to create a set of wire frames and render a prototype for a client’s blog. There were numerous revisions to the documents, and development was left with a shortened timeline. For another client, I had to build an interactive prototype based on a 150+ page site map/content matrix. Axure was just too cumbersome.

So lately I have been experimenting with a new method of prototyping – building the prototype in the actual content management system (CMS) that my team’s developer will use to render the final version of the site.

For example, a client might use WordPress as the CMS for their blog/static page site. I simply created a default, grayscale template and built the prototype using a few additional plug-ins. Even if some pages will ultimately contain more robust toolsets, the page structures, template types, site map and naming conventions are already complete. Only the presentation layer, styles and additional features or custom scripting remain.

Simple Add Pages plug-in

Above - Using the “Simple Add Pages” CMS plug-in creates an infinite amount of nested pages and corresponding navigation in one step.

I’ve found this method superior for making changes on the fly while collaborating with clients. Change page order, move pages to another section, rename entire areas – no problem. Different navigation systems can be tested on the fly and rapid iterative designs are much more, well, rapid. And again, all of the code, databases and XML data can be reused for the final version of the site.

The primary benefit – time savings for both information architecture and development. The 150+ page site that might take several weeks to create in Axure took a few days. Still, I would not recommend this solution for every project. Axure is far more nimble for prototyping more experiential sites, and the supporting specifications generator can be easily printed for client and development review.

While the CMS method of prototyping has yet to be fully vetted and tested, several of my colleagues in development are eager to collaborate with me on this type of prototyping. I’ll post updates in this blog with a client-approved example later this year.