Websight?

People are getting Flash happy...way too Flash happy. I fully appreciate the UI benefits of Flash programming and am all for it. However, too many websites are getting cluttered with stuff. Whether it's news updates, concert tour information, or RSS feeds, many websites are becoming hard to navigate cluttered. I'm having trouble navigating through all the hubbub. CNN.com does a good job with "BREAKING NEWS" but everything else is so annoying. You have to search what you are looking for opposed to have it cleverly presented to you. I assume at every large company there is specific person in charge of maintaining the website, and that person is gets nervous when seeing empty space. I understand how addicting it can become to fill all empty spaces with 'stuff' but after a while it all becomes a blur. Does anyone remember why Google.com became so popular? I do. I remember hearing that it was a better search engine and that it didn't have anything on the web page. To be honest, I was never disappointed with my Yahoo! searching experience , but I was intrigued by the Zen style Google homepage. I know that I was able to convince myself to switch based on 'quality' but I assure you that was not the case. The general populous will credit Google's superior algorithm for searching, but they're lying to themselves. It's the aesthetics of Google. Google was very clever with iGoogle, as it came into effect far after many people has switched. Google won because Google was cool. They changed their little logo everyday like a Simpsons intro, and it worked. Although the acronym gets too much airtime in recent years, KISS (keep it simple stupid) is a great policy. It's time that websites merged design and content into an 'easy to navigate' experience. For now, I'll just continue sifting.

Why local ads have to look like local ads

The other day I was watching TV and noticed a local commercial with extremely high production values. I was really confused. It looked like a national ad, felt like a national ad, made me laugh like a national ad, but it was for a local business. I didn't know how to feel. To me, this local business was unreal. How can a local business brand themselves as a local business while their commercials look professional? They can't! I never thought this would happen, but I finally understood why local commercials have to be aesthetically low budget. I always hated local ads because they were so cheap and lame, but now I get it. I understand why they use 1990's looking video/graphics, and why the jingles are so pathetic...because that's what local ads are. Local ads, by definition, are more than just local businesses advertising themselves; it's local businesses branding themselves as LOCAL BUSINESSES. I never fully appreciated the beauty of local ads. Everyone across the country has their own " Bob the Mattress Guy" "Mario the Baker" and "Billy the Used Car King." These local businessmen and women are pseudo celebrities. I really would distinguish between "Loretta the Real Estate Guru" and any other casual passerby. Local ads bring people back in to the real world and far away from the beautiful Maui 'Cialis' sunsets. As corny as they may be, local ads help me appreciate where I'm currently living. There will be a time where the technology becomes cheap enough that local ads will step up their aesthetic and production values, but for right now, I'm liking them just the way they are.

Have you ever seen a website completely naked?

The title of this blog comes from an inexplicable feeling I get when I see a website without any ads. In case you are unaware, there are plug-ins and 3rd party software that strip a website of their ads. Software such as Greasemonkey performs this task. A year or two ago my "super-tech" friend turned me onto some ad removing software, whether it was Greasemonkey or not I cannot recall, but I tried it immediately and was quite impressed. NYTimes.com, Facebook.com and ESPN.com were all stripped naked! I knew that this miracle potion was supposed to "make my day," but I found it to be lonely. I have become so accustomed to surfing the web with ads, that their absence didn't sit well with me. I never disclosed to him that I reverted to my "old way" of surfing, but I did. Within a day or two, I removed the software/plug-in and went back to the pedestrian method of Internet perusal. Recently, I've stumbled across a Firefox plug-in called Stylish v. 0.5.3. Supposedly, it allows you to restyle the page so you don't have to "suffer" the way I did a couple years prior. I'll give it a try soon and see if it alleviates the lonesome feeling of surfing without ads.

It's clear that people enjoy looking at familiar things. Whether it's their computer's desktop icon arrangement, or the picture frames on their dresser, everyone likes things a certain way. I'm not used to seeing an 'ad less' website. I felt left out when the ads were gone. Although I rarely am interested in the featured product, I like knowing that I am privy to and current on all that is advertised. I don't want to miss the chance that a new Subaru WRX STi or Slingbox ad might be featured. I somehow consider an ad to be the 3rd cousin once removed of 'real news.' Maybe, we the consumers, are subconsciously hoping to stumble across the next great "must have" item of the year. Maybe not.

Why GM Cadi-lacks Cool

In case you haven't seen the new 'swanky' Cadillac TV spots let me provide a critical summary. The commercial opens with some person driving and speaking to the non-existent audience/passenger. The soliloquy's try way too hard to be cool, sexy and sarcastic. "In today's luxury game, the question isn't whether or not your car has available features like a 40 gig hard drive...or pop-up navigation etc..." Then, with a down shift and copy like "when you turn your car on, does it return the favor?" the commercial 'kicks in' the ill fitting, over dramatized hard rock music and drives all the way to the cheese factory. (Probably in 3rd gear) The reason this ad is so unbelivably lame is because it appeals to no one. In an attempt to appeal to too many dems, it falls incredibly short. I read an article explaining how Cadillac's new campaign was heavily rooted in market research. This may be true but read the endless list of demographics this ad hopes to reach are...• Loyalists – those who already own Cadillac’s • Boomers – the group turning 60 who really don’t like Cadillac • Alphas’ – tech types who search for information • Hot Moms – not your prototypical soccer mom • Move Ups -- young adults without preconceived ideas. I understand all the listed demographics are highly sought after, but you cannot use the same ad on 'Alphas' as you do on 'Hot Moms' and 'Boomers.' BABY BOOMERS and ALPHAS in the same 30 seconds???? That is an utter paradox. In their attempt to be 'hip' Cadillac really misses the mark. The ad needs a 'hip replacement' along with their boomer demographic. I am not sure where they are steering the brand, but I know it's the wrong direction.

2D Barcodes: So much potential

Potential is the word I use to describe the 2D Barcode, physical world hyperlinking, burgeoning industry. It really makes sense. Just the idea that you can buy, or learn more about whatever you want with the click of a cellphone button is so swanky and futuristic. People in Japan have been scanning 2D Barcodes for years now, and relatively no one has in the US. It's not that hard to believe because the US has a reputation for lagging a little behind in cellphone technology, but I am surprised no one has launched a really tremendous campaign using 2D Barcodes. Recently, Scanbuy and Sprint teamed up, placing Scanbuy's EZcode's in both Billboard and Car & Driver Magazine. This is definitely a big step in the right direction and hopefully the PR follow-up will continue to fuel discussions. However, I think something bigger is needed, something so big that Jay Leno, SNL, and every YouTube wannabe spoofs it. There needs to be a big celebrity endorsement. Whether it's a direct promotion e.g. (Jay-Z does a 30 second spot) or something more product placement-esque where Brett Michaels buys his contestants' flowers through a "Joe's Flower Shop" 2D Barcode tag on Rock of Love. There are so many impulsive purchasers in the world that can't wait to find another avenue to spend money. Even if the promotions are "over the top" just getting people talking about this technology will help adoption and usage. However, banking on "adequate carrier support" might be more a dream than reality.

Microsoft "Can Can" Shop Rite style

For those who have yet to hear, Microsoft will soon be at a Shop Rite near you. Microsoft's new venture with MediaCart Holdings Inc. will allow customers to make shopping lists at their homes and then upload them to a screen on the shopping cart. But that's just the beginning. Not only will the shopping list populate on the screen, but you can pay as you place the items in the cart. After scanning and paying for the items they are "checked off" on the list. And you thought that was enough technology for one trip to the grocery store, right? They also have a location based coupon system that can present coupons for the items in your vicinity. I wonder if this Jetson-esque shopping style will soon be the statues quo. I appreciate the benefits of this system, and would definitely give it a try, but I'm not like most people. I'm an early adapter. I would take the time to go online, make my shopping list at Shoprite.com, enter my user information, and then swipe my card on the cart screen. The exercise of simply describing the process scares people. I am not sure whether there is going to be an enormous backlash against this kind of technology. I wager no. It seems that these companies pushing their "life efficiency" technologies think the world will soon be a Visa credit card commercial. Everyone dances, shops and swipes their credit cards like they're in a Fatboy Slim video. Amidst all the "Big Brother" gadgets that accompany this system, there is one HUGE benefit, no checkout. If people could casually stroll out of a Shoprite without waiting in a line to unload, pay, and package their groceries, they'd do it. This is why Wal-Mart's testing of RFID tags on items makes perfect sense. Until the internet/technology generation becomes the "Grocery store demographic" this technology will fizzle. I know it's coming, I just don't know when it will be accepted.

Banner Ads: Only for the already informed

Banner ads, or any internet ads, never seem to stop me. Considering I spend a sizable amount of time surfing the web, reading articles, shopping, etc... I never notice or even consider clicking on an ad. Since 1997, the year I started exploring the internet, I can count the amount of ads that I've actually clicked on two hands. The only, and rare occasion that I have clicked on an ad is when I am well versed on the featured item and I want to learn more. Most the time, I find the ads are appropriate given the article I am reading, but never appeal to me. Also, just like billboards, they only work when they are simple. I consider most ads to be too busy. They have excessive copy and graphics, and my eyes ignore them altogether.
Hands down, the most obnoxious and abhorrent ads are the pop-ups that float over the page, obscuring my vision. On principle, I will never follow these ads. I am less offended by the 5-10 second ads that pop up before loading your desired page, because they have a quick "Skip this Advertisement" button. Being someone who is a fan of gadgets, I clearly remember clicking on a Slingbox ad. Although I've been using one for over a year, the ad was so aesthetically pleasing and promoted a NEWER Slingbox, I had to investigate further.
So...how do we get people to click on more internet ads? One, treat them as billboards. Since we are still in the nascent stages of internet advertising, we are trying to use every special effect and trick available to draw people's eyes towards the ad rather than making it easy on the eyes. I know from speaking to friends, we all try so hard to ignore them that our line of sight is extremely narrow. Two, if there is going to be movement within the ad, let it be a simple transition from one "billboard" to another, like the backstop ads at a Baseball stadium. Lastly, never forget that the consumer is not on the internet to be barraged by ads. Most people don't like to be accosted by salespeople when they shop in real stores, why would they want it on the internet?