Recently, I implementated the Serendipity blog for a client. Seems like a robust, versatile piece of software: easy to install, easy to skin and lots of add-ons.

Almost every client I talk to wants the ability to make edits to their site without having to pay a developer. This sounds great and with all the content management products, blog software, portal frameworks advertised the technology is cheaper, more available and simpler to use than ever before.

Just like building a house, creating a web site takes craft. It takes more than tools. There are a lot of lay people that have tools, but can’t build a house and there are a lot of companies with content management systems (CMS) that can’t manage a web site.

Too many times I have seen a group of talented folks build a beautiful site and within a year it is an embarrassment because of CMS abuse. Wacky type, garish colors, poor formatting destroy the integrity of the design. This is a loose-loose situation: the client looses the value of good information architecture and design for which they paid, the visitor doesn’t get the experience they deserve and the shop that put their soul into the site doesn’t get to see the benefits of their hard work realized.

Many shops use the manta “Just give the client what they want.” Those shops are only in it for money and have the wrong approach. It is our job as web professionals to guide and educate clients through the process of planning and developing a web site. By conducting diligent analysis of business needs, stakeholders, and resources the best solution is revealed. Sometimes it involves a CMS and sometimes not.

When deciding on a CMS, here are some important considerations:

• How often will the content actually be updated? And will the cost of the CMS outweigh the cost of hiring a developer to make updates.
  
• What future considerations are there for site additions and how can the CMS be modified to include new content and new functionality?
  
• Does the client need to change the navigation structure of the site or just edit specific sections?
  
• Who will be managing the site and what is their time constraints, and skill level in copywriting, and graphic design. Yes, graphic design is not only graphics; it is text formatting and typography.
  
• What is the client’s workflow regarding publishing content? Is there proofing? Is there an approval process? How is this communicated?
  
• What types of content will need to need to be managed: news releases, images, charts, downloadable documents and user permissions?
  
• What format is the above material in before it gets published to the web? How does the conversion to web ready files, data or info handled?
  
• Are there any other technologies or systems which the CMS must interact?

Obviously, these are just a few concerns, but the idea is - get the big picture. Having control is appealing, but can the client handle it? Help them realize the work and effort involved. They will be happier in the long run and you will be too.

One of my favorite new marketing gurus is Joseph Jaffe. He recently published the Manifesto for Experimentation on ChangeThis. This paper reinforces the concept of "now media" and stresses the importance of changing how advertising is approached and looking forward not backward.

A colleague of mine, Jeff Stein, has coined a new term, “now media”. The web is often referred to as new media and I guess it’s new compared to how long print and broadcast have been in use, but it’s over ten years old and it ain’t that new anymore.

As with any new medium, adoption and use change rapidly in the early stages of its lifespan and the web has certainly been true to that premise. Practices that were effective five years ago are no longer viable. Presentation of information has changed drastically. Capability has grown tenfold. The most incredible fact is, how rapidly the web has been incorporated into everyday life, much faster than radio or television ever was.

The web is truly now media:

• Wireless broadband – there is even technology to turn your car into a moving hotspot
• Telephone technology is infused with web technology - Blackberry
• Print and TV graphics have been tremendously impacted
• Billions of dollars for other media budgets have been ported to the web
• Billions of dollars of commerce transact on the web
• Information is shared far more rapidly than ever before - virality
• The world has become a smaller place
• Kids are online before they can read
• Businesses use the web as their primary point of customer contact
• Enterprise application development is moving rapidly to a web-based infrastructure

Society’s use of the web changes monthly. Advertising and marketing agencies are slow to keep up and often find themselves fighting trends, not embracing and contributing to them.

Being a web professional requires “an ear to the ground.” We need to know what’s going on, what’s working and what’s not. This is why smaller, agile shops can react and reposition their practices to stay current and offer the best solutions to their clients. It’s too easy to be insulated from the “front lines” in a large agency or in a corporate environment.

“Now” IS now. It’s not Web 2.0. It’s not tried and true. No one person or company is leading the way – at least not for long. It’s not the same today as it will be tomorrow. There is little equity in past performance. Those that are looking to the past for answers will soon be lost. There is little reward without risk. Everyday is a new challenge.

People love chocolate. Some even experience a kind of high from it and recently I witnessed the same phenomenon with good design.

We were in a client meeting. The first part of the meeting was technical requirements for a web site – important, but hardly exiting (except to me). We accomplished our goals and things went well. Everyone was serious and business-like.

The second half of the meeting was the presentation of several logos we created for a new identity for the company. The show started and by the time the third example was displayed everyone’s demeanor had totally changed. Gone were furled brows and looks of concern. A great dialog was happening. People shared personal anecdotes that related to the work they were seeing. By the time the last logotype was shown everyone was smiling and chatty. People were energized by design. Design communicated and resonated with everyone in the room, even those of us that had previously seen the work.

I witnessed the power of good design. The next time someone doubts the importance or value of design, this is a story I will tell. Design is important. It may not be quantifiable all the time, subjective things rarely are, but its importance is undisputable.

This over-the-top, educational Flash piece should win an award. It's funny, accurate and informational.

2e Creative created a cute little Flash piece to showcase their creativeness for the Holiday Season. Nice work, but to be in tune with the times they should have made a video and put it on YouTube.

It's difficult to be creative.

Every agency is trying to reach their client’s audience in a new way. One way is tapping into the organic communication that evolves from web communities and Zipatoni is no different.

Zipatoni tried and failed with their latest “viral” escapade, “All I want for Xmas is a PSP.” I credit them for trying to do something new. The risk was high and I hope they realized that, but the effort fell short.

Any agency experimenting with new marketing will fail more than succeed. However, one thing that is sure to fail, is being a fake. Honesty rules and advertising agencies must realize this is the only way to get through to today’s over-exposed, anti-ad culture. One has to give to get and a shill will be exposed and ostracized immediately from the sensitive, but powerful websphere and subsequent marketplace.

The rath of gamers and proponents of new marketing has been ugly. Just Google or search Technorati for countless rants against Zip and Sony.

Some say any publicity is good publicity, but if it costs Zip their client and Sony thousands of dollars in damage control this may not be the case. I guess the proof is PSP sales figures.

The PSP fake blog offline as of writing this, but here’s one example of the response from the public. Merry Christmas Mr. Creative Director.

Although I have not thoroughly explored it yet, MailChimp seems to be a promising email distribution service worth a look.

The concept of Barely Sufficient in web development and project management was first introduced to me as part of Agile methodologies. When learning about Agile, a practitioner of waterfall methodologies, like myself, often thinks Agile means reckless development without planning and documentation – do,do,do; redo; then do some more. But the real message Agile preaches is not to do too much planning or documenting because things change rapidly during the lifecycle of a project. Only do what is Barely Sufficient regarding planning and documenting and the real progress is made by actually writing code.

Time spent on documentation is essential regardless of the methodology. It requires careful thought to write something that others will read and use as information for development. This exercise exposes gaps in requirements and can help uncover problems ahead. It is also used to communicate to stakeholders their needs will be addressed. The amount of time spent on documentation is directly proportional to the type of audience for which it is intended and the size of the project. Technical folks probably require more details than management. Marketing folks are probably more interested in content and design than the technical under-workings of a site. Write only what is needed to move the project to the next step. Then at a later time add more as needed. It will probably be more accurate than if it was written when less was known.

Barely sufficient can also be applied to how much programming is required. It is wise to write only enough code to meet the requirements. Then, if there are changes, less rework is needed. The trick is knowing the exact requirements and goals, making sure they’re correct by effectively communicating with the stakeholders and communicating them properly to the team for execution - easier said than done.

The bottom line: efficiency is time and money. Barely Sufficient goes a long way in keeping unnecessary work out of the project saving resources for things that matter.

Web 2.0 logos from TechCrunch. See any similarlities?

While at STLUX06 last week Nathan Verrill gave a thought provoking presentation on intuitive vs. learned behavior. Intuitive behavior is the natural ability to accomplish tasks without any training or prior experience, while learned behavior is the ability to accomplish tasks with training or prior experience.

Most folks think for something to have a high degree of usability, it must be intuitive. Cars that operate similarly and application interface menus that all begin with File, Edit, View… are easiliy understood, but can they be called intuitive? They're learned. Simple, but still learned. The practice of providing a predictable user experience is considered intuitive, perhaps wrongly, and is suited for certain situations where practicality is desired, but it’s boring.

Some web design projects call for good usability plus something extra that provides a memorable user experience - some excitement. In order to provide this type of experience standards must be pushed. This is fine as long as what is designed is easily learned. Whether it’s navigation menus, forms or rich media interaction, people are intrigued by a challenge -- as long as it isn’t too difficult. Once the “secret” is grasped, the user is off and running -- again, a learned behavior.

Not relying on user intuition and counting on learned behavior expands boundaries and keeps web sites interesting and evolving. If we did just the same ol’ thing all the time, sites would surely be usable, but the web wouldn’t be nearly as interesting.

I like the St. Louis RCGA. They make a huge effort to do a lot of positive things for the City, but they have issues, especially with marketing. Their new campaign to promote St. Louis on a national level comes with a new identity.

This is weak. I hope it was cheap, but it doesn't sound like it...

From archcitypundit.com

The St. Louis ads will begin running in mid-April.marking the first time the slogan and logo will appear before a large national audience. The local marketing campaign is part of a larger, $20 million economic development program that’s being led by the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association.The five-year program was crafted amid concerns that St. Louis has trailed the nation in job growth over the last 30 years. The plan is being funded with public and private dollars…

The RCGA also has a new web site. It's better than the old one, but what's with the site search at the bottom of the page - that's real handy.