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October 28, 2005
Weblog design mistakes
Jakob Nielson has posted "Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes". Valuable for anyone currently or soon to be blogging. I currently violate two of the ten (4 & 7).
I will start to work on #4 by saying I first saw this list on BlogWrite for CEOs, as opposed to I saw it here.
Posted by kpoor at 11:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Change is good, fear is not
Since I often find myself talking new technologies with clients and colleagues, and often get a lot of resistance to change, both in using new tools and changing habits, this piece from gapingvoid resonated with me from both the client side and the professional side.
Posted by kpoor at 11:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 20, 2005
Don't Ignore the Intangibles
Click the link below to read an article (PDF) our CEO, Scott Chaikin, recently had published in Boardroom Briefing, a publication of Directors & Boards magazine. The article addresses how important the discussion of intangible assets, which can make up 50 percent or more of a company's value, is when communicating financials.
Posted by kpoor at 04:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 18, 2005
Free, easy to use Wiki
Like most new technologies, I've found that the best way to introduce wikis to my colleagues is to just use them. I recently discovered Writeboard, which is an extremely easy to use wiki. Its free and takes about 2 minutes to get up and running. I'm working on a proposal with a coworker and Writeboard has proven to be a useful collaborative tool. The ability to look at previous versions is particularly helpful.
While wiki is still a term that I think some shy away from as "a new technology that I don't have time to learn", by just sending a link to a writeboard they can start using it before they even know they are using a wiki. Mission accomplished.
Posted by kpoor at 08:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 12, 2005
Yahoo Adds Blogs to News Site
As reported on Forbes.com, Yahoo has decided to add blogs to the news section of its Web site. I think this is huge. Yahoo putting blog coverage along side the coverage of tradition media outlets and journalists is a giant step forward in validating the news content created by bloggers and bringing it to the mainstream. I'm sure this will fuel the argument about most bloggers not being "real" journalists - but I look at it more from an access point of view. Readers of a particular news story will have access to more content, more points of view and more levels of coverage from which to shape their opinion. This is a good thing. As Yahoo's General Manager put it "Yahoo wants to fuse professional journalism with so-called citizen journalism to provide a fuller spectrum of content to its members".
I first saw this story at Beyond PR.
Posted by kpoor at 03:11 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 07, 2005
Using Wikis for PR
Mike Manual at Media Guerrilla has and excellent repurposed post on how and why wikis can be put to use by PR firms. I've been playing with a few of the wiki services such as JotSpot and EditMe in preparation of introducing the tool to my colleagues.
Mike lays out the pain points in a typical PR workflow process that can be eliminated by using wiki technology. As he describes them:
Versionitis – When too many people make too many changes to one email attachment and you’re left wondering “which one is the latest?”
Email Exhaustion – When the sheer volume of email in your inbox exhausts your capacity as a mortal to effectively read and/or reply to important messages in a timely manner.
Consistent Inconsistency – When the members of your team are dependent on consistent access to info via inconsistent methods (e.g., email, IM, file servers, etc.). Also see versionitis.
He also discussed the less than easy process of getting colleagues to adopt the technology, providers of wikis and when to possibly use one.
With regards to the workflow process, I'm sure most companies run into these same problems and could improve efficiencies by using wikis internally. Those within organizations that introduce the technology may one day be considered heroes.
Posted by kpoor at 04:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
October 05, 2005
Top 10 Web Mistakes
Thought this was worth pointing out as I am still often amazed at the number of Web sites that incorporate poor, aggravating design and functionality elements. Usability pro Jakob Nielsen has listed the Top 10 Web Mistakes of 2005. If you are responsible for Web development at any level, these are great points to remember. Functionality is king.
First saw this list at Adverblog.
Posted by kpoor at 10:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
