Tuesday, March 16, 2004

The largest new force for education in China

Sometimes it's difficult to remember how powerful cartoons can be. Here's an example to put them in perspective.

There are more than 95 million children under the age of 5 in China. A Bejing publisher has been awarded the rights to bring "Noddy" to them. The cartoon character will be used to inftroduce children to language skills. See: Noddy motors into Chinese market

Monday, March 15, 2004

Things not to do to your web site, part 3

Third in the series, this one is as important as any of the others. OK, I know, that sounds like a variation of the first rule or warning I gave, that when you emphasize everything, you emphasize nothing. A slight variation of that is when you prioritize everything, nothing comes first.

Avoid being everyone else.

This one isn't the first step that you would take in putting together a business plan or marketing plan,. but it is a vital one. What is different about your company? What is unique? Can you state it in a single statement?

Interestingly, you can apply a Unique Selling Proposition (USP) to a nonprofit, information-only site, too. It's not a mission statement or a motto. What is your site's USP?

Sunday, March 14, 2004

more keywords

On Saturday, I discussed keywords a bit in the first of the things not to do to your website. I came across a good article this evening which has more good points on the subject: Seven tips for writing better keywords

Things not to do to your website, part 2

Don't hide in plain sight when you want something back from your customers.

If you want someone to share their name, address, telephone number, and credit card number, you should make that information easily available to them. Let your customers know who you are, and build a level of trust.

Credibilty is a very important part of succeeding when you want to engage in commercial activities on the web. I heartily recommend a visit to the Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility There are some great suggestions there. Keep in mind that you have a couple of purposes behind disclosing information about yourself to your potential customers. One is that you want to prove that you are trustworthy. The second is that you want to have people believe in your expertise.

This page from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox is also worth looking over: "About Us" -- Presenting Information About an Organization on Its Website