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WebWord Weblog Posting Posting Date: October 27, 2002 Celebrating Holidays and Special Occasions on Websites (useit.com) -- "There are two main reasons for websites to recognize holidays and special events, and both reasons fall under the same general category: To respect users as human beings, rather than simply as "eyeballs" or a source of e-commerce transactions. Commemorating special events is a way for websites to connect to users and be seen as welcoming environments, rather than places focused solely on money grubbing."
Reader Comments...
What % of the cut does WebWord get from these referrals? If nothing, why does it persist with linking to a sales message? Discuss WebWord's credibility in promoting Useit.com. Posted by: on October 27, 2002 03:27 PM
[BEGIN SARCASM] WebWord gets a huge cut, something like 95%! That is why we all drive BMW's and live on the West Side. Oh, we are ridin' high on NN/Group money. Oh yes, we are livin' large, my friend.
[END SARCASM] Whatever.
Um, maybe. Then again, maybe not. Soon after Jack made his request, I brought up Jack's posting on WebWord. I listened to the community and I made some decisions. I left "Jack's" posting but since it was probably not the "real" Jack, I removed the identify of the poster, but kept the posting. Seems like a reasonable compromise. What next? Well, we can certainly listen to the (anonymous!) poster above and discuss WebWord's credibility in "promoting" Useit.com. (Uh, since when is a link automatically a promotion?) Go ahead, attack me, that's a fine idea. Or, we can talk about my credibility in general. I have no problem with that. Bring it on. I'll do my best to answer your questions and address the issues. The choice is yours...
If WebWord and John are seen as promoters of NNGroup reports then I suggest you (anonymouse) read some of the previous postings on Webword: Email Newsletters Pick Up Where Websites Leave Off 30th Sep 2002 As for this(report teaser) article, I would be interested in the international problems with 'Holidays'. In the UK we are bombarded with Coke adverts at Chrismas (or Xmas for us atheists) stating 'Holidays are coming... Holidays are coming...'. Xmas is not 'The Holidays' in the UK. Many religious holidays can cause offence in certain countries and often highlight the parochial (unconscious perhaps) views of the site publisher. I would like to see some sites promoting alternate celebrations like "Peterloo Day", or "Don't Attack Iraq Day". My main criticism of John would be this: I want to buy some WebWord reports rather than spend my cash on NNGroup stuff. And for a bit of light entertainment here are some 'Freudian URLs' from useit.com and nngroup.com : Point Of Interest: I will be attending the NNGroup Intranet Usability Tutorial in London on 13th November. Will any other webworders be there? I'll be the one registered under 'usabilitymustdie.com' (I hope the name fits on my badge, as there was no length restriction on the input field on the registration form). I will be in the hotel in the evening of the 12th and will be going to see Michael Moore on the 13th. Please Note: I get £250 pounds for every person I can drag along to this 'Tutorial'. So if you are going please mention that I mentioned this attraction on WebWord, which made you decide to attend. Posted by: Mac on October 28, 2002 06:05 AM
Is this how people are treated here? Ask a question and get persecuted. How childish. Posted by: Another Anonymous on October 28, 2002 08:48 AM
The first anonymous poster was a bit over zealous, but... hello? Usability gurus strive to understand users. So why do they have such a hard time building communities? Use a registration system and the other tools needed to properly run a community. There are responsibilities inherent in such an endeavor as this one. Posted by: Kent Sievers on October 28, 2002 10:32 AM
At the end of the day how much can you say about posting holiday content on your site - 65 pages of what? Posted by: JB on October 28, 2002 01:49 PM
Completely off topic, but writing Xmas isn't necessarily an atheistic thing to do at all. Posted by: Santa Claus on October 28, 2002 02:12 PM
Kent wrote: "Use a registration system and the other tools needed to properly run a community." 1. Considering that I pay for all expenses and invest many hours of time each week, this is tough. Yet, I agree with you Kent! 2. I definitely think that I need a more robust content management system. However, that will take even more of my time and money. *sigh* -- Another Anonymous wrote: "Is this how people are treated here? Ask a question and get persecuted. How childish." I discount your comment, almost completely. Sorry, but the question was somewhat hostile: "If nothing, why does it persist with linking to a sales message?" That is just bait from a troll. The fact I am even writing anything about this is a waste. Final note: Are people really persecuting the Anonymous poster? I don't think so... Posted by: John S. Rhodes on October 28, 2002 02:21 PM
Allow me to rephrase. Is it healthy for a web site operator, and presumably community builder, to respond to rude users with sarcasm and disdain? The underlying beef the first poster voiced has been voiced by many usability professionals on this and other web sites. Why not treat the question seriously instead of stooping to his/her level? Posted by: Another Anonymous on October 28, 2002 03:30 PM
On various occasions British national newspapers will have different headlines in different regions. So in England it may see 'The Scots are Racist towards the English', while the Scot edition may read 'Scots loved by every nation in Europe'. How come web sites don't present me with my personalised 'holiday' greeting? I'm still waiting for one of the bloody dot coms to wish me a happy birthday, as I've given out my date of birth (22 Nov 1965) about 84 times now, and I've never had a 'happy bithday' or even a 'sorry we forgot your birthday'. No all I get is crappy gift ideas in my Gold Box. Hmmm what have I got today. (Sound of tinfoil tearing). Oooohhhhhh, its a lovely Le Creuset Soup Pot. I don't really like soup, and I can't even cook soup (do you cook soup, or do you just heat it?). Sorry if I'm rambling today. The clocks went back yesterday, and it always turns me a bit loopy for a week or so. Re: The 'Persecution' Someone can spend 20 seconds writing a silly comment that they may regret 5 minutes later. It can take 20 minutes to compose a 'fair minded' reply that the original poster may never even bother to read. I've written silly messages and mails in my time, but I've spent a lot longer replying to other peoples silly mails and messages. I reckon that means someone owes me some answers to some silly questions. I would guess that John has acquired enough credit to play around in Google Answers for a month of Sundays. I guess what I'm saying is. We're only human for gawdsakes (well I am anyway... I think?) Posted by: Mac on October 28, 2002 03:51 PM
Allow me to rephrase. Is it healthy for a web site operator, and presumably community builder, to respond to rude users with sarcasm and disdain? The underlying beef the first poster voiced has been voiced by many usability professionals on this and other web sites. Why not treat the question seriously instead of stooping to his/her level? Good point. I apologize to you and to every other person here. I shouldn't have been a jackass; I should have dealt with the issue with a clear mind and fair tongue. Posted by: John S. Rhodes on October 28, 2002 03:59 PM
John, you can respond to the issue with a clear mind and a fair tongue, and that's nice. But I don't think you should be slammed for a sarcastic response, because if someone came into my office and suddenly demanded to know what sort of royalty I got for linking to another website from our corporate site, I think my first response would not be clear-minded and fair. I think it would be to call security. What this vaguely sarcastic paragraph is saying is that perhaps if the poster had been clear-minded and fair himself, it would have elicited the same sort of response. Posted by: Lydia on October 28, 2002 09:01 PM
Mac and I are just 8 days apart? (I'm Nov. 30) Woweee! (Of course, we're also ten years apart, but that's another matter.) What annoys me is that Amazon knows I live in India, but persists with showing me things like the KitchenAid KP2671XBU Professional 6-Quart Stand Mixer, Cobalt Blue, which they know can't be shipped to India. Actually, I'd like Amazon to offer, say, free shipping on any purchases made on a birthday. Now that would make some people happy. Posted by: MadMan on October 29, 2002 01:08 AM
As a child, my brothers and I used to go to the saturday morning picture show, where we would see the latest Flash Gordon episode (They never got out of the kock-a-doodey car!) with three hundred other tots. Towards the end of the show, the zoo keeper (or compere as the poor sod was known) would stand on the stage (while being pelted with boiled sweets) and give gifts out to the kids who had had birthdays that week. In one year my brothers and I had twelve birthdays between the five of us. Now why don't some web sites do something like that? Posted by: Mac on October 29, 2002 03:35 AM
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