In his article Web manager: Top tasks versus tiny tasks McGovern explains pragmatically how all tiny tasks that are filling up web services are directly leading problems. The performance is poor if supertasks won’t be taken seriously. These are tasks that are the most essential ones.

According to McGovern too many tiny tasks (extra pages, links, other elements) have their negative impact on search results (too many pages to be indexed), get users confused (extra links in navigation) and add clutter on the homepage.

As McGovern tells, this kind of model of maintenance is not wise at all.  It simply just “reduce customer satisfaction, sales, efficiency and productivity…”

How would you help Belgian Railways?

In this light revamping Web Site of Belgian Railways is no doubt an unsuccessful project (they seemed to tweak their visual image couple weeks ago).

Instead of re-thinking their main function (getting schedules) their Route Planner is still confusing.

What buttons would you remove in order to make this at least a bit easier to use?

I suppose a typical a user wants certainly get to know easily, what might be the next train from A to B ?

Free tools don't mean that one can implement campaings without making efforts and budget.

The power of effective Web communications lies in the content. As Steve Jobs proved yesterday, “old ways” of communicating are very impressive.

What a technique. No videos or distracting elements of any kinds of animations or what so ever that seems to be trendy nowadays.

1. Maybe it was a PR-person, who got across the idea that Steve has something to say.
2. Then this message was transmitted via Twitter and other social media tools by the people
3. As a result, there was a pure text and extremely printable version on Apple’s site. An announcement of Mr. Jobs.

I am sure the majority of people who are interesting in the development of Web read through this message carefully.

All those 4 pages of the Thoughs on Flash.

Personally, I have been a bit suspicious about the status of Nokia. Somehow the biggest player in its field has lost its innovativeness despite of all efforts made. Apple and others have been more convincing setting up new directions.

However, when a big say something, it leaves marks in the environment.

The mass production and Nokia’s fine-trimmed the production chain are changing, finally, the direction of the entire market.

After the release of models Nokia C3, if you can get a good smartphone under 100 euro. It’s not much. Almost everybody can afford and have an access to Internet.

What does lower price of smartphones mean?

I forecast that plenty of good issues are emerging when the levels of smartphone prices will dive into the reasonable levels.

1. More mobile versions of web services will be seen.
2. The simplified web experience is a key for success.

In Finland there has been a tendency to offer mobile versions of different kind of desktop versions for a long time.

E.g. Reittiopas (a route map in the capital of Helsnki) has been transformed into a robust pocket version for different mobile platforms.

Many complex web services like amazon.com have been reducing their functionalities and easened the ordering work-flow in order to offer a robust and appealing mobile web experience.

The limitations of technology (smaller screens, slower connections keeps web design firms up focusing on the essentials.

Goodbye chaos

In terms of The Web Communication Theory this is promising. Goodbye chaos, the huge amount of text, flickering visuality etc…

Welcome simplified and purposeful web (mobile) services that really can help people around the world.

Nowadays it¨s important to keep the Web Presence in the order. The purposefully running Web Service is an essential “business card”.

It is true to say, the Web Service is the first door that will be opened, whether you are selling products or selling your ideas.

Benefit from the broader perspectives of Web Communications Specialist or similar

It’s not the same how the Web Service is maintained and developed.

During my career on the Internet business, I have become confident the idea of multi-dimensionality.

In the organization or communications team one person must be capable and have a strong understanding of all complex issues related to communications on the Internet.

Who else could cost-effectively, for instance, than a Web Communications Specialist:

• translate the mission and the vision into the language of Web Communications
• be able to communicate with the external web agencies and technical providers, even the IT department
• train and guide the end-users to get the best of online communications tools when interacting with the target groups.

I argue that it is only a Web Communications Specialist or similar generalist as Paul Boag has named it, can be successful in these kind of operations.

It is the broader perspectives that matters.

Writing for the Web is a parallel between the journalism. The inverted pyramid, main points highlighted with compelling headlines etc. work on the Internet.

There are plenty of reasons, why to think through seriously journalistic principle. In this article I emphasize two of them, a human factor and search engines.

It’s a human nature of searching meaningful clues

As you know from your own experiences, we tend to scan webpages in a hurry. What the headline and subheadings will tell? Are they relevant links?

We have a very short attention span and desire to get main points quickly.

Provided that it’s a quality written content that triggers us stop. If we consider it as a valuable, a change reading through, printing out, sharing or downloading the article/content is higher.

Messy and chaotic content distracts and drive us away within the seconds.

Journalism, inverted pyramid and SEO

Search engines welcome the structured (semantically) and well-written and concise content.

Spiders that used to crawl and index the content of web services from the top to the bottom focus on mainly headlines, descriptions, subheadings and keywords.

It’s the relevance and technical accessibility, what matters in the case of search engines.

On the other hand the inverted pyramid means that the main points has been structurally displayed the first. Readers can easily read headlines and first paragraphs and understand the main point of the article.

That’s why the content and SEO go together hand in hand. Both are trying to make sense and get clues of usefulness of the content.

Some tips for web-editing texts

When you are web-editing and shortening the text, the following points tips might be handy.

It’s worth remembering that the simpler content, more work must be done.

Like a journalist, as web-editor you could do the following:

• Sketching. Take a piece of paper and sketch out your thoughts. Try to find 2-3 points by keeping your audience in your mind.
• Drafting. Write down the 1st version without worrying about how the text flows.
• Revising. Now is time to revise and get the second opinion on draft. Concentrate on the structure and grammar by simplifying text into small readable chunks.
• Publishing.  When the text has been finished, it’s easier to use headlines, summaries and main keywords for optimizing it for search engines.

Use downloadable PDFs/documents

If you must deliver detailed articles on the Internet, provide e.g. downloadable PDFs. They are easier to print out.

For a Finn I could provide a better solution. What is more it is good for environment. Using salt on the roads causes problems for instance the ground water sources.

Perhaps I should write directly to Monsieur Serge Kubla. He is in charge of the all issues as a bourgmestre in the municipality of Waterloo, where I live.

“Dear Mr. Kubla, I am writing to you in response of the currents actions in our community. Could you think of using tractors instead of the salt when dealing with the security of winter transportation here in Waterloo?

As a Finn, I can wholeheartedly recommend you making a call to Finland and ask for e.g. Valtra’s Mr. Raimo Tiihonen in Suolahti to send you an offer. Finnish-made Valtra-tractors are absolutely fabulous and great to remove snow on the roads.”

It is hard to grasp the main purpose if the layout is filled with a number of illustrations and flickering advertisements. Less could be more effective in the long run.

The visuality as one of those five pillars of successful Web Services and therefore must be taken seriously. It materializes the vision of Web Service. All those elements – navigations, headlines, texts, links, backgrounds are the factors of visuality.

Because of its role stating the purpose of Web Service it is not the same, who the visual outlook has been arranged. What kind of message of your product and service do you want to convey? Messy? Clean? Purposelful?

The truth is that within a fraction of seconds the visuality of your Web Site provides some hints of your overall existence. Are you a trustworthy partner? Can I benefit from your services? Do I really understand what are you offering?

Minimalism highlights the essentials

One of the key benefits of minimalism in visuality is that it enables visitors/users to understand the main focal points immediately. Think of Google´s frontpage as an example of simplistic user interface.

Just a logo in the centre, search query box below it and a few buttons and links. Nothing more. And how powerful it is.

They have designed a service that is simply respecting your visitor and helping them to succeed. In that case finding a relevant information.

It was one of those moments when you didn´t think carefully. After jogging it was my turn to load our washing machine.

Maybe I was exhausted somehow. Without noticing the existence of my tiny green iPod Shuffle (older version) in the back pocket and its earplugs (Sennheiser) I was putting dirty laundry into the machine. And turned on it.

I was shocked after washing. The grimace was extraordinary. Naturally, several bad words were yelled.

Quickly unzipping the pocket of my black jogging trousers and there it was – the earphones wrapped up around the green and marvellous buddy.

You should have seen my happy face after turning the power on. Even the temperature of 60 Celsius and 1200 rpm – iPod was in perfect working order. And still is.

Thank you Steve (Jobs) and your wonderful team in California. I admire your desire to make gadgets that really work!