CDL’s Twitter account, Part 2. In an earlier post , I promised I’d cover our Twitter guidelines and also provide you with some information about how the account is performing. Before I get going, let me remind any readers unfamiliar with Twitter that “following” is a Twitter term for subscribing to the brief broadcasts of information, links, and so forth that Twitter users send, called “tweets.” First up: our guidelines. When we decided that CDL’s central account would follow CDL individuals, there was some concern that we would end up with content like “I’m taking out the trash” or “I just saw the most amazing [fill-in-the-blank]” in CDL’s Twitter stream. So, we agreed that a very small number of guidelines would be useful. We read the LowriderLibrarian post about using Twitter for organizations, and we drew inspiration, if not detail, from it. Our first goal was to gain a new way to get our newsletter, CDLInfo, out into the world. Our second goal was to amplify the voices and messages of the accounts it follows.
Photos as Web Content. Summary: Users pay close attention to photos and other images that contain relevant information but ignore fluffy pictures used to "jazz up" web pages. Our eyetracking studies have documented a dramatic gap in how users approach website images: Some types of pictures are completely ignored. This is typically the case for big feel-good images that are purely decorative.Other types of pictures are treated as important content and scrutinized. Photos of products and real people (as opposed to stock photos of models) often fall into this category.
I've spent countless columns ranting against the first type of images. Sadly, many websites are still more obsessed with showing off than with getting to the point. Visual bloat continues to annoy users: even with high-speed internet connections and sub-second download times, users still prefer websites that focus on the information they want: To illustrate further, let's look at a few examples from an eyetracking study we ran earlier this year. 12 — When it comes to technology, you definitely “act your age”.
Digital Literacies for Writing in Social Media. The following is a shortened version of a talk I gave at the "Engaging the Public" symposium held at Washington & Jefferson College on Oct. 1. According to Cathy Davidson's Now You See It, 65 percent of students entering school today will have careers in fields that haven't been invented yet. While #IDontHaveFactsToBackThisUp, I'm willing to make the following prediction about writing: a full 100% of these students, at some point in their lives, will be required to use writing technologies that haven't been invented yet. Consider this: as recently as four years ago, who would have imagined that major companies would have employees whose jobs were to interact with customers on Twitter, or that someone could make a career out of writing for Facebook?
Four years before that, not only did those jobs not exist, Twitter and Facebook didn't exist, and the types of writing that they represent were only in their nascent form. Kairos of Digital Media * accessibility* searchability* persistence. How Gamification Can Make News Sites More Engaging. Gamification, the use of gameplay mechanics for non-game applications, is transforming online news into an engaging, social and fun activity.
It’s quickly becoming the next frontier in web and mobile technology. But what makes gamification successful? Simply put: motivation. By tracking readers' success, news organizations provide a sense of progress. At Mashable, we’ve incorporated gamification into Mashable Follow, our social layer and content curation tool. Activity is the core of Follow. Rewarding readers for taking these actions was an important component of Follow. Of course Follow badges are just one example of game mechanics on a news site — and here's why they work. Fostering Community As a result of the hunger for badges, readers develop a more personal and valuable community on our site. Andrew David Baron, an avid Follow user, can attest to the badges encouraging Mashable readers to comment more.
Bob Aycock, another frequent Follow user agrees. Resonating With Readers Conclusion. 17 Tips to Improve Your Online Presence. Looking for ways to make yourself stand out amidst the millions of online profiles and portfolios in the information world? Here are a few tips to amp up your profiles and suggestions for how to make stellar status updates: Profile Tips Here are some quick recommendations to improve your profiles on social networking sites. Cross-Link Profiles: Make it easy for people to find you everywhere by linking to all your other profiles on each new social network you join. Link to all your social profiles as well as your blog, your website, etc.Highlight Your Job: You’ll want to list your current and past positions so that others in your field can identify you.
Oftentimes I come across someone’s account and I’m not sure it’s the same person I met at a conference or event until I see the library or organization where they work. Status Update Tips Need some ideas for what to post about on your professional social profiles? Bold Stroke: New Font Helps Dyslexics Read [Slide Show] After years of fumbling while reading the written word, Christian Boer, a graphic designer from the Netherlands, has developed a way to help tackle his dyslexia. The 30-year-old created a font called Dyslexie that has proved to decrease the number of errors made by dyslexics while reading. The font works by tweaking the appearance of certain letters of the alphabet that dyslexics commonly misconstrue, such as "d" and "b," to make them more recognizable.
This month Boer released the font in English for U.S. users to purchase online. Boer began designing the font in 2008 while studying at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. It eventually became his graduate school project. View this article in the Dyslexie font. Boer's research could likewise have a big impact on English speakers, given the prevalence of dyslexia when reading that language, as compared with Italian, whose words are pronounced more closely to how they are spelled. The Social Media Assessment. If you’re a member of the team, or perhaps the person who handles your organization’s social media profiles, I’d bet that your morning looks a little something like so: Check in with all the social platforms, scan through comments, @’s, retweets, likes, etc. and begin the task of crafting on-point, brand related responses.
In doing so, you’re most probably also evaluating the previous day’s/week’s postings, shares, tweets, retweets, and overall spread and reach of your message. “How many RT’s did ‘bla bla bla’ receive?” , “That photo of the new office dog is off the charts!” , etc. Sound about right? These mini-assessments are without a doubt important and necessary, but in doing so, are you focusing on the micro and failing to see the macro? Manager or employee, we’ve all been through the annual and quarterly review process.
Before you even get started reviewing your performance, it’s important to gather the appropriate data. What do you want to get out of each channel? A Store With Only 3 Products And Other Cases For Simplicity. There's a jewellery store in Old Town in Zurich, Switzerland. It specializes in finely crafted rings, bracelets, and necklaces adorned with the most precious of stones. The shopfront window is huge--measuring about 15 feet wide and 4 feet deep. You'd imagine there'd be a range of dazzling wares on display, but think again. This vast shopfront area displays just one small item at any given time.
This single object of beauty is an antidote to our world of cluttered inboxes, texts, Tweets, and Facebook updates. I recently interviewed a leading executive at a major sports channel. According to a study the network had carried out, men are feeling increasingly emasculated, and exciting graphics helps reassert their masculinity. These surprising discoveries were made when the channel attempted to remove all the peripheral graphics from the screen. So: is more ... more? During the first round, the volunteers were offered a box with 30 different flavours of chocolate. Hassle Maps: The Genesis Of Demand. "I had a big late fee for Apollo 13. It was six weeks late, and I owed the video store $40. I had misplaced the cassette. I didn't want to tell my wife about it. And I said to myself, 'I'm going to compromise the integrity of my marriage over a late fee?
'"--Reed Hastings, CEO and founder of Netflix Reed Hastings' frustrations led to the creation of Netflix, one of the fast-growing businesses of the 21st century. As a dissatisfied customer himself, Hastings knew all the hassles associated with video rental stores: late fees, excessive trips to the video store, indecision, lack of titles available, etc. The executives behind some of today's most successful products and services--think Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Bloomberg--all share an ability to experience the world through the eyes and emotions of customers. Mapping your customers' hassles should be a top priority. Creating a hassle map Connecting the dots for customers [Image: Flickr user jeanbaptisteparis] Copying Other Websites During a Redesign. During my library’s last website redesign, we went through quite a few design iterations, and we still weren’t happy.
Two people in our Creative Group team (more on that in the next post) … ok, our head of marketing and the deputy director … kept sending us website examples they liked. Sites like shoe stores or clothing shops. Yes, they were beautiful websites, and nicely designed. But they weren’t really all that similar to a library website. One big difference – these attractive websites did one thing well – they sold shoes or clothes. But a library website has at least two basic needs – a site that talks , and shares useful stuff. So I started poking around, looking for websites that focus on two things: stuff, like a storefront. a “catalog” of some sort. Amazon and Zappos? We based our redesign around Apple, in these ways: Top horizontal navigation with drop down menus. A prominent link to the store. So far, it’s working out great – few complaints, lots of compliments. I want it all, but learn that I can’t have it all.