Many apply for the Learning Fountain award. Too bad that lately I have found fewer and fewer who deserve the award. There seems to be 2 reasons for this:
- THE CRASH - It has made may entrepreneurs too aggressive. They offer nothing but in-your-face ads. These sites are not helpful at all
- HIGH TECHNOLOGY - It has introduced special effects. Endless introductions play around with company names, logos and mottos. Cookies are used to keep track of your movements. Pop-ups pounce at you while you're trying to look at something else. None of this is inviting to the visitor. He must wait and all he receives is boasts and ads. There is nothing here useful to him
High technology is by far the greater culprit. I am not against high technology. But it should not be used merely because we have it. There must be a reason. It should be helpful to the visitor in some way.
You may compare websites to the movies. Today a movie is packed with special effects. High technology enables movie makers to do this. The result is that the special effects are great, but where is the story? The reason for going to the movies is to be presented with a great story - not special effects.
Similarly, when visiting a website, you do not want special effects but a story. In this case the story should be helpful to you, the visitor, in some way.
The visitor's viewpoint is:
"Don't talk about yourself; talk about me. Cut out the boasting and the aggressive ads. Help me with my problem."
Thankfully, I managed to award the Learning Fountain to a few websites that are helpful to visitors:
- FISHERMAN'S EXPRESS (http://www.fishermansexpress.com) -
This is an Alaska seafood restaurant which also takes orders online. It describes the seafood, the fishing and the recipes. It also helps you plan your trip to Alaska. There is little fancy technology, although some of the pictures are delightful. But after reading this seafood literature you are eager to go to Alaska and get some, or to order it online.
- LEARNING SPANISH TODAY (http://www.learnspanishtoday.com) -
This site has technology, but it is there for a purpose: to demonstrate to you how their product works and how you may use it to learn Spanish. The site has interactive demos showing objects, words and speech to define what you see. You repeat the words, phrases and sentences in Spanish. It also has interactive games and quizzes. Of course, it takes time to load each demo, but you wait because you want to accomplish a specific thing. After playing around with the demos, you will have a very good idea whether their product would help you.
- CLIENT SUCCESS (http://www.client-success.com) -
This site has 3 versions, the 'hi-fi', the 'academic' and the 'text only'. You take your pick upon entry. They do website design. This 3-level approach shows visitors that they can develop sites with any level of technology.
Don't follow the trend to more aggressive ads, more fancy technology, and more boasting. Instead, be more helpful, use technology only where needed, and think primarily of the visitor.
Tell a story - a helpful story!
