UNonline

Few truly international organizations have the global reach and recognition of the United Nations, and even fewer have such a strong online presence. Granted, you'd expect the UN to have a big presence online because they have the resources to do so, but the extent of their presence is impressive, nonetheless.

First, the website. Though it is visually unremarkable, it was apparently designed to be flexible across multiple cultures, as there are different versions of the site in at least six different languages, each with essentially the same look/layout. Based on the content on the UN's homepage, it appears as though most visitors to the site go there looking for the latest UN news. The page features a stream of the latest press release and headlines, as well as links to other press sources.

Where the UN really excels online, though, is social media. Yes, the UN is on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, Google+, Pinterest, and Tumblr, but they aren't just there, they're everywhere there. It has 8 separate Facebook profiles and 15 different Twitter accounts. *Please note that these are the English language social media profiles. There are varying numbers of profiles for other languages, and certain languages only have a presence on Facebook and Twitter. But even with a limited presence in foreign languages, it still adds to the total online presence with dozens of total social media profiles and millions of combined followers/fans.

From my personal experience with the companies I've represented, we've always encouraged organizations to keep one profile for an entire brand. This is for a number reasons - consistent messaging, you can't poach or stratify your own followers with only one profile, it's easier to manage - but in this case, it makes sense. The UN is a massive organization that is involved in a number of global initiatives. Not everyone that is passionate about arms treaties will feel the same about world hunger, for example.

With only one YouTube channel, which is very active, this appears to be the unifying presence between the rest. Its content crosses all of the others, while also championing Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as global ambassador of good will. 

Regardless of the size of an organization or the depth of its pockets to fund marketing initiatives such as a social media team, it still takes the time and effort to do it well. Many large organizations quite frankly suck at it, while some small ones are killing it. The UN's approach may not be perfect, but it is impressive, not to mention engaging.

eMarket Paper: Online Dating Sites

The Internet has changed so much since its creation, from the way people consume news, shop for a new home, or find a good roasted chicken recipe. But perhaps more significant than the way the Internet has changed the way people find and interact with information has been the way it has changed how people interact with each other. The Internet has redefined the word relationship, with regards to both what it means to be in a relationship and what it takes to begin the relationship. The online dating industry has experienced tremendous growth in the past decade and has revolutionized the dating industry as a whole.

            What was once thought of as taboo, or even sketchy (i.e. Craigslist Casual Encounters), has evolved into the norm for meeting new people. In fact, roughly one in five relationships globally now begin online (Thomas, 2012). In regions where Internet access is more ubiquitous, the numbers are even higher. In a recent study conducted in the UK, for example, nearly 50% of people polled knew at least one person whose relationship began online (McClellan, 2013).

            The online dating market is continuously growing. According to a 2006 report by Pew Internet, one in ten Internet users have used an online dating site, which equated to roughly 16 million users worldwide (Pew Internet, 2006). If the percentage of Internet users that also use online dating sites remained at roughly 10%, based on statistics discussed in this class that state that as of June 2012, there were 2.4 billion Internet users worldwide, that would equate to 240 million online dating customers worldwide (Internet World Stats, 2012). In the UK alone, usage in September 2012 jumped a staggering 22% from the same month the year prior, with more than 5.7 million people in UK visiting online dating sites during the month (comScore, 2012).

            Users of online dating sites represent individuals of all ages, with varying intentions. Some users are looking for a soul mate, while others are not looking for anything more than online companionship. Millennials, who are so often associated with instant gratification needs, tend to carry this stereotype with them to online dating sites. In fact, nearly half of users in this age group admitted to using online dating sites with sexual intent, compared to 38% of 35-54 year olds and 20% in the 55+ group (McClellan, 2013). Millennials are also more likely to be in online-only relationships, with almost 20% believing that an online relationship is just as meaningful as an in-person relationship (Digital Dating, 2012).

            Millennials represent a demographic with tremendous growth potential, as they have grown up with technology and beyond being comfortable using it; it is integrated into their lives (Anatole, 2013). This audience believes it is socially acceptable to ask someone on a date via text message, and relationships are never official until they are “Facebook Official.”

            One recent negative effect of dating sites aimed at the instant gratification demographic has been a shift in expectations of what a date actually is. Users just a few older than this audience can have very different expectations and may be left disappointed when a date that was thought to be one-on-one dinner turns out to be a group date with several of the millennials friends (Williams, 2013). Conversations are replaced with text messages and where one user may be seeking a relationship, the other may only be interested in one date before moving on to the next user.

            The market has grown so much that a need for niche dating sites has emerged. While major players in the industry like eHarmony boast a user base of 20 million, their catch-all approach may not appeal to individuals with specific lifestyle choices (Kurtzleben, 2013). Today, there are online dating sites targeted specifically towards varying religious backgrounds, diets, ethnicity, and occupation, among others. As the target audience becomes more specific, the demographics can change. For example, users of the niche Geek 2 Geek tend to be far younger than users of ChristianMingle.com (Alexa.com, 2013).

            As previously discussed, the large sites like eHarmony, OkCupid, and Match.com, all have much larger user bases than the niche players. However, from a website usability perspective, they all share the same immediate turnoff: in order to view profiles of other users, you must become a registered user. While making some level of content accessible only for registered users is an essential marketing tool for building a customer list and attracting repeat visitors, prospective users researching dating sites might be turned off by the amount of data needed simply to browse (Steiner, 2010). For eHarmony, that also means going through the site’s rather rigorous personality profile first to see if you even qualify to meet their user standards. While each site benefits from a strong brand, clever name, and attractive layout, the commitment required of the user simply to browse can be a deterrent.

            The niche players, likely trying to grow their user base, do not typically share these requirements. Two such niche sites are the previously mentioned Geek 2 Geek, the “best place on the net to meet geeks,” and Veggie Romance, a dating site for vegetarians and vegans. Geek 2 Geek claims a user base of 350,000, while Veggie Romance has just 5,000 members (Kurtzleben, 2013); (Thomas, 2012). The audience for Geek 2 Geek is predominantly males between the ages of 18-34. Most have at least some college education and no children (Alexa, 2013). Veggie Romance, meanwhile, is used primarily by women who make up 70% of the active users, though the U.S. user demographics are more evenly split (Thomas, 2012); (Quantcast, 2013).

            From a content perspective, Geek 2 Geek is inconsistent at best. For a site that targets people who presumably spend an above average amount of time online, its layout and design is lacking. The site's purpose is clear and mission is clearly stated and easy to locate, but the site’s appearance is behind its competitors. First and foremost, the company’s contact information is not readily available, which goes against most design rules (Steiner, 2010). Rather than listing the actual company contact information, the page simply has a contact form, so the user must then wait for a reply. The About Us page is little more than running text, more closely resembling a mediocre blog than an effective website. The presence of annoying banner ads on its homepage gives users the impression that the company lacks professionalism. Also, the advertisements do not align with the site’s mission. The presence of ads for oil changes and automotive dealers seems very out of place on a dating site.  

            The color scheme is another weak point. The bulk of the website is white, often with too much empty white space, with one orange banner across the top. If used correctly, whitespace can strengthen a site’s appearance, but Geek 2 Geek’s issues are a combination of too much whitespace along with poor content alignment (Henry, 2012); (Boudreaux, 2012). It is fine to have colors bleed off the page, but it is not good when the same happens with text and advertisements. The bright orange banner is enough to catch one’s attention, but the minimal contrast may not be able to keep it. The site also lacks graphics, which is an interesting choice for an interactive site. Geek 2 Geek relies on its user profiles to make up the bulk of the site’s images, making administrative pages where no profiles exist rather bland.

            However, for all of Geek 2 Geek’s problems with aesthetics, it has some redeeming qualities. Most importantly, visitors to the site and prospective members can easily browse active user profiles without have to register for an account. The site is easily navigable and within seconds, a prospective geek can be searching for a new mate after entering his or her own basic personal information. The site also encourages users to be honest and unique in their own profiles. For example, on eHarmony you can probably find thousands of users who claim to enjoy long walks on the beach, but on Geek 2 Geek, you can find a “teacher who likes trivia and slaying dragons” or an “arch-villain in search of nemesis.” In other words, the site allows users to be honest about themselves to their prospective geek-mate.

            While Veggie Romance may only have a fraction of the users that Geek 2 Geek has, it does have a better website, though far from perfect. For a site that targets vegetarians and vegans, it may seem fair to expect the color scheme to consist of earth tones, perhaps featuring colors associated with vegetables such as greens and reds. Instead, the site’s primary color is gray, with red highlights mixed in. Like Geek 2 Geek, Veggie Romance does not put any contact information front and center on the site (Steiner, 2010). Instead, users must find the creators’ profiles buried within the About Us page, which contain emails for each creator.

            Veggie Romance contains advertisements, but here they are consistent with the site’s mission, with ads for natural foods stores and vegan blogs, among others. The site also lacks a clear mission that sets it apart from other traditional dating sites. The mission itself focuses more on providing people a place to meet online, rather than the sites association with its target audience of vegetarians and vegans. In fact, other than the site’s name and advertisements, there is very little on the site that associates with its audience. As previously stated, if a site wants to attract repeat visitors, it must provide some form of content that appeal to their interests (Steiner, 2010). Similar to Geek 2 Geek, the majority of the graphics and images on Veggie Romance come from user’s profile pages.

            Structurally, the site looks and functions as a visitor would hope. The minimalistic approach yields fast load times and the site requires very little scrolling to view all of the content on a given page. The alignment and spacing yields a healthy balance of whitespace and content, while still keeping the site simple (Boudreaux, 2012). This approach is a plus for desktop and mobile browsing (Boudreaux, 2012). Visitors to the site can browse potential mates, but must register in order to contact any of them.

            While Veggie Romance has the superior site, Geek 2 Geek does a better job attracting its target audience because it has succeeded in creating a community of geeks, by geeks and for geeks. Content is certainly critical to a site’s success, but so is staying true to its purpose and that is what Geek 2 Geek has done. Browsing the user profiles on Veggie Romance, it is clear that the site has attracted its own target audience, but with such a lack of engaging content about the vegetarian or vegan lifestyles, the site itself appears to be little more than a medium for which the creators can sell ads. By encouraging geeks to be themselves, Geek 2 Geek has built a stronger following, despite an inferior website.

           

References

Anatole, E. (2013, February 8). Want 2 Meet Up? How Millennials Are Redefining Dating In The Digital Age. MediaPost: Engage: GenY. Retrieved from: http://www.mediapost.com

Audience Demographics for Gk2gk.com. (2013, March 30). Alexa. Retrieved from: http://www.alexa.com

Boudreaux, R. (2012, August 23). Effective design principles for web designers: Alignment. TechRepublic. Retrieved from http://www.techrepublic.com

Digital Dating And The Catfish Phenomenon. (2013, February 6). Youth Pulse. Retrieved from: http://www.ypulse.com

Geek 2 Geek. (2013, March 30). Retrieved from: http://www.gk2gk.com

Henry, J. (2012, November 13). 7 Principles of Effective Web Design for People Who Can't Code. Inbound Marketing Blog. Retrieved from: http://www.inboundmarketingagents.com

Internet Users in the World. (2012, June 30). Internet World Stats. Retrieved from: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm

Kurtzleben, D. (2013, February 11). In Online Dating, Size Doesn't Matter. US News & World Report. Retrieved from: http://www.usnews.com

Lenhart, A. & Madden, M. (2006, March 5). Online Dating. Pew Internet. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org

McClellan, S. (2013, March 1). Your Tweetin' Heart. MediaPost: The Social Graf. Retrieved from: http://www.mediapost.com

Online Dating Sites Grow By 22 Percent in the UK. (2012, November 9). comScore Data Mine. Retrieved from: http://www.comscoredatamine.com

Steiner, C. (2010, March 24). The 10 Essentials Of Any Effective Web Site. Forbes. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com

Thomas, C. (2012, February 27). The £2bn Relationship - The Business Of Online Dating. Huffington Post. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk

US Demographics: veggieromance.com (2013, March 30). Quantcast. Retrieved from: http://www.quantcast.com

Veggie Romance. (2013, March 30). Retrieved from: http://www.veggieromance.com/uk/

Williams, A. (2013, January 11). The End of Courtship? New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com

Blackberry (blog) FAIL

Now I'll admit that before I made the switch to the iPhone, I was a crackberry addict and never understood why Apple fans looked down on the rest of us. After I made the switch, I got it. In terms of usability and user experience, the Blackberry just didn't measure up against the iPhone.

Sure, I've already talked about Blackberry's shortcomings on this blog already, but when you do more than one thing poorly, it warrants additional posts. After falling off the face of the planet and becoming irrelevant outside of certain business circles, Blackberry is trying to stage a comeback with the release of the Z10, in hopes that it can steal away some market share from Apple and Android users. The company is pouring massive marketing resources behind this product, with national broadcast and print ad campaigns, as well as online advertising in such prominent placements as the banners atop the homepage of the New York Times.

While the ad campaign makes sense, given the audience, they are failing miserably (in my opinion, at least) with the company blog. This site is everything a brand's blog shouldn't be - a text-heavy appendix to the product's user guide, rather than an engaging, experiential site. The content is bland and boastful, focusing on the company and its products, rather than the audience.

It does very little to pull people in, let alone keep them there. Yes, it does display some of the new product's more appealing ads, as well as links to other social media platforms...but the content is not what you would expect for a product that is being positioned as a game-changer.

Rather than talk about the benefits through the eyes of the company, tell stories through the eyes of the user. If this product is so great, let the blog readers see its benefits from a video diary of a person using it, not Blackberry writing 100 words about a new great app. Instead of post after post about Blackberry does this and Blackberry does that, how about a post about how End User X accomplishes this and that with the help of the Z10.

That would certainly be more appealing than "hey, we're awesome, buy our stuff" but maybe that's just me.

Internet Policy - Access

In an earlier post, I covered the issue of online piracy, which is its own online policy issue that many countries worldwide are trying to handle. Today, I'm going to focus on one issue that the US Congress and our own Ed Markey are trying to tackle, though the issue seems to end up on the backburner - highspeed access.

While this may come off as a pompous first world problem-type rant, simply getting online is no longer a luxury, but a necessity in so many industries, not to mention to succeed in school at any level (example: I'm currently writing a blog for a graduate course at Suffolk University. Can't exactly do that w/out being able to get online). Oh, and I've had 14.4 modem...and it was the pits.

Anyway, with Internet providers like Comcast and Fios controlling fees and Internet speeds, not to mention an essential duopoly on the market, Americans have pretty much been totally screwed. In 2010, the FCC finally decided to do something with the creation of the National Broadband Plan. One of the goals of the plan was to ensure that every American has access to broadband capability that is affordable. This is certainly a very lofty goal, but also a very necessary one. As a current Comcast customer, I'm very curious to know how they define "affordable." To Comcast, the word either doesn't exist, or is synonymous with bleeding customers dry, but maybe that's just me.

Another goal was to have the US lead the world in mobile innovation, with the fastest and most extensive wireless networks of any nation. At the launch of the National Broadband Plan, the US ranked 12th, according to data from Akamai. Pretty pathetic for a global super power. If the US is truly going to lead the world in innovation, it must provide its citizens with the best tools necessary, not the least of which is access to affordable highspeed internet.

So much business today is done online. We can't lead the world in much of anything when we're wasting time waiting for GoToMeeting to load because the connection is terrible. I'm highly skeptical that the FCC's plan will be a success, but at least it's something. 

Ineffective Websites

Developing an engaging, effective website is no easy task, a fact I've come to realize through this course. You need content that grabs the visitor's attention and keeps it long enough to interest the user in the brand. Organizations can live and die online, so your website must generate business for you.

The ICA Boston has a website full of fabulous, engaging content that really pulls you in. The images are spectacular and the descriptions of exhibitions are inviting. But the site has a major design flaw - the online store doesn't sell tickets for general exhibit halls admission. This is true of both the web version and the mobile site. While the ICA does sell special event tickets online, they must be losing out on potential business from people who were turned off when they couldn't make the transaction online. For brick & mortar businesses, websites should aim to drive foot traffic through your doors, but limiting transactions to in-person only is a serious misstep.

The second offender is not so much one specific website, but an entire group - those developing with Flash as the primary development environment. My reasoning for this is that Flash just doesn't work on the iPhone, so these organizations are ignoring a large percentage of the mobile market, not to mention a growing percentage of the overall online market. Sure many sites that use flash on the web have a similar but different mobile version of the site, but the experience is completely different. Take Disney World's new Fantasyland, for example. The web version is dynamic, colorful, and fun - exactly what you'd want for a site that kids will want to explore. However, the mobile version is static and kind of boring. Any kid viewing this page on an iPad is going to be pretty unimpressed, and perhaps less enthusiastic about pestering his/her parents on where spend their next family vacation.

Creating an effective website is not simply about what looks good. It must be an extension of your business, and it must offer a consistent experience across multiple platforms. Many brands get it right, but sometimes even those with the most available resources get it wrong.

Fighting Online Piracy

In some respects, one of the Internet's greatest strengths is also one of its greatest weakness - its openness. It's the perfect forum for sharing anything and everything...unfortunately, it's also the perfect forum for stealing anything and everything.

Online piracy is not a new concept, but it remains a hot topic today. While Napster made the concept mainstream (thank you, Metallica, for ruining everyone's good time), the problem today is more rampant than ever, with 57% of the world's personal computer users admitting to software piracy. Music is only one piece of the piracy pie - you can go online and illegally download entire movies or TV series in a matter of minutes, not to mention software programs ranging from Microsoft Office to auto CAD programs that have licenses that can cost in the tens of thousands.

Piracy is a global problem, not just a US problem. Many of the worst offending countries are in Asia, meaning it can be quite common for someone in China or Taiwan to blatantly steal the intellectual property of someone across the globe.

Large scale efforts to curb piracy have been futile, and even embarrassing for the organization looking to collect a debt. The RIAA turned their fight into a witch hunt, and looked foolish doing so. Previously mentioned Metallica forever changed its brand from one of the from one of the greatest metal bands of all time to another corporate cog in the machine.

Congress tried, and failed, and pass the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) that was aimed at giving law enforcement increased ability to fight online theft of IP and counterfeit products. SOPA ultimately failed because opponents felt it went too far in limiting online freedoms, the people spoke, and Congress had no choice but to back down.

For now, and probably forever, piracy continues, with billions of dollars in potential revenue lost as a result. Don't get me wrong...I feel about as bad for the RIAA as I do when I read about the next Bernie Madoff going down and having to sell off all 17 of his homes as a result...but I do think piracy can be a threat to innovation. As an emerging software company, why invest the necessary resources to create a new software platform when you know that as soon as it's on the market, it will be stolen and given away for free?

January 9, 2007

On January 9, 2007, in front of the Macworld audience at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Steve Jobs unveiled to the world a device that would forever change the Internet and how we interact with it - the iPhone. As Jobs said in his keynote, "Every once and a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything." With the iPhone, Jobs and Apple did just that.

While other manufacturers, such as RIM with the Blackberry, made the Internet portable, but it wasn't until the iPhone that we had such a device that made the Internet look and feel like the Internet. The user experience was the closest thing to browsing on a desktop, while the introduction of apps added a new level of engagement not previously available or experienced.

What the iPhone gave us was, and has grown to be, so much more than a sleek looking phone. It was an all-inclusive device - phone, camera, video camera, calendar, personal computer with email and Internet, among many other things. The iPhone made the Internet ubiquitous, without taking away from the user experience.

Today, the iPhone is the bar at which all other mobile devices are measured and you can pretty much set your watch to the new release schedule, they still sell like crazy. For me personally, when I'm not at work in front of my office computer, my web browsing products by choice go: iPhone, tablet, laptop. Despite having, by far, the smallest screensize, it still offers the best user experience.

Using the Internet

When it comes to technology, my family offers a pretty stereotypical representation of a generation gap. This is especially evident when comparing the way I use the Internet to the way my father does.

For me, the Internet is my primary source of pretty much everything. I use it to read the news, do the bulk of my banking, plan and book vacations, discover new restaurants, find each new apartment, connect with friends, colleagues, and others on social media, and pretty much everything else in everyday life. As a publicist and social media manager, I use the Internet constantly in my professional life, as well - from contacting the press to promoting the Museum online.

And then there's my father...the man who generally avoids new technology at all costs. As a recreational sailor, he'll use weather.com to check up-to-the-minute marine forecasts to make go/no-go determinations on sailing on a certain day...and that's pretty much it. It's 2013 and this man still does not have an email account and has zero desire to get one. There are certainly people out there who understand the Internet less than my father, but he's probably only a few poorly timed clicks away from going viral...