SharedBook: On Demand

Getting Under the Hood of Your Web Site

Most designers think: "If I design it, they will come." Not so fast. A good Web site design is like a good car design: Looks impressive sitting on driveway, but without the proper mechanics and engineering under the hood, all you have is an expensive piece of scrap metal on your hands. Same goes for Web site design. Being a well-rounded designer does not consist of you solely mastering photo selection and type, you must be able to discuss your design with your coder — how they both interact is paramount. Without proper coding, your site may never be found by a single user, potential client or ranked by the likes of Google.

I am constantly referring to the experience of SharedBook's coders, Gokce Akyurek and John Paul Lorenti, on new and existing projects. Whether you are working with HTML, PHP, XML or a MySQL database, being able to talk intelligently with a front or back end developer about limitations and potential roadblocks, will not only save you time in the long run, but help you produce that much more robust and error free site. OK, no site is completely error free, but a designer can dream.

Think of your coder as your Web site mechanic, peeking under the hood of your site, making sure all the bells and whistles you created are actually going to work.They usually reside in the back room, low lighting, somewhere among the IT staff. No worries, they are here to help.

The art of being patient

“The three Ps of success: Passion, Persistence and Patience” – Doug Bronson

If you’ve read my previous blog posts you’ve probably noticed how passionate I am about two things: SharedBook and Sports, especially cycling. As an experienced high tech manager and long distance runner and triathlete, persistence is also one quality I learned to master. Today, I want to discuss the 3^rd P: Patience.

We are living in a fast moving world. Suddenly everyone wants something, and wants it fast. We enter a website and if it doesn’t respond within 2 seconds, we lose our patience and leave. And the same goes for real life as well: we want results and we want them now.

The dark side of overnight success stories

High tech industry is crazy. We’ve all heard about those amazing one night success stories: startup companies that were sold for millions within a matter of months. And suddenly everyone expects this for every startup company…

Here at SharedBook we work differently. Yossie, our founder and experienced entrepreneur, kept on telling us from day one that it is going to be a long journey, and there are no shortcuts. Step by step, constantly checking yourself, learning the market and listening to its feedback, changing course accordingly and you will reach your ultimate goal. In fact Yossie sometimes laughs and says that those overnight success stories are one of the worst things to happen to this industry; since no one has patience anymore – we all expect overnight success.

If you want to ride fast, you need to learn to ride slowly

In sports – the same rule applies as well, you must have patience. Once you’ve set your goal, you need to start planning your entire season accordingly. The first stage is building a strong, robust aerobic base, which is why this period is called the base period. Base period requires a lot of patience: you need to ride long and slow. I don’t mind going long, but going slow is a different story. Cyclists and road cyclists specifically are addicted to speed. Going slow is almost against our nature – especially when you are training with people who are in a different stage of their season (i.e. allowed to ride fast). It can be nerve-wracking, it can be lonely, and you can even feel left out watching your friends riding fast while you are left behind.

Suddenly I have to keep reminding myself the importance of being patient. The importance of working hard, moving forward slowly but surely. I have to remind myself the importance of doing things right, without skipping any stages. And it is difficult for me, it almost feels against my nature, but I am learning. J

“He that can have patience can have what he will” – Benjamin Franklin

Commitment Issues

In my blog entry a few weeks ago I wrote about Abandonment Issues.  The pun was too much for me to pass up.  And so, too, is this one.

One of the first surprises I ever encountered during focus group testing was what we termed fear of commitment.  It was an interview reviewing the benefits of an online club and our interest was in determining the right set of perks.  We thought we’d ask if they prefer “double point promotions” as opposed to “discount offers”.  We wanted to see if the branding was right and if it had the right connotation.  Instead what we heard was – “I’d prefer not to join a club like that”.

We were floored.  Not join?  “But it’s free!” we countered. 

No change. 

Ok, we suggested, “How about we give you points AND discounts.  Two, count them, TWO perks!”

Eventually, he acquiesced.  But it was clear he was just feeling a pity for our desperation.  We all laughed and made a note to ensure the phrase “It’s Free!” appeared in all banner advertising for the club.

I’ve never forgotten that interview and what might be behind it.  Surely we didn’t find the only person in the world who didn’t want to join something.

Perhaps he was a fan of the old saying I learned from a Woody Allen movie (not sure which one) – “I don’t ever want to belong to a club that would have someone like me as a member”.  The joke is self-deprecating – but the application to online membership is not.

As you are browsing through websites and come upon one that pushes you so hard to “Join NOW!!”, it is a normal human reaction to wonder “what’s in it for them”?  When you think about it:

• They don’t know you from any other average user
• They seem to want your business – even though they don’t know if you have a bank account or not
• They only want to acknowledge why it’s good for you and never say outright how it’s good for them

I’ve come to the conclusion that the number one barricade to online membership is distrust.  Overcoming that is not only the promise not to charge hidden fees, but also to give clear opt-out choices for the inevitable email that will come with it.   Of course this is all predicated on having a good reputation or partnership.

Once you get past distrust, you have to ensure there is a clear benefit.  In my original naïve offer of “points” and “discounts”, I’d neglected to understand the amount of effort for the user.  It’s a bigger commitment than I had thought.

Now I consider it to be like I just met someone at a party.  We both have similar interests (at least for the moment) and enjoyed a bit of time together.  Now it’s time to ask for:

• Username  - almost like asking your new friend “please make up a nickname that I can call you by from now on”
• Password – “lets establish a secret word that only the two of us know – and promise you’ll NEVER forget it”
• Gender – “well I just want to be sure I don’t call you Sir when I’m supposed to call you Ma’am later”

Just like meeting someone new, you’d only give these out if you were sure that they were needed and that you were going to get something out of the deal.

After it is all said and done, there will be many people who simply won’t join.  The distrust will be too high, or the benefits will not be enough.  The main goal is to ensure that you haven’t asked more than you need and that you will respect the users choice not to commit to your website.