As you may or may not be aware, Vimeo just recently launched a redesign to their home page, with some new emphases on Vimeo up-sells like Vimeo Plus. This new look and site strategy makes great business-sense for Vimeo; but it begs the question (and always has): Does Vimeo make sense for your business? Default Answer: No. [...]]]>

As you may or may not be aware, Vimeo just recently launched a redesign to their home page, with some new emphases on Vimeo up-sells like Vimeo Plus. This new look and site strategy makes great business-sense for Vimeo; but it begs the question (and always has): Does Vimeo make sense for your business?

Default Answer: No.

One thing to understand about Vimeo is that it’s not made for you, business person(s). Vimeo is different from YouTube in that it’s focus is on video quality, both in terms of content and in cinematography. Vimeo is not for commercial use. It’s purpose is to show causes, education and art.

Vimeo started out as an HD alternative to YouTube. It introduced online HD streaming before YouTube was able to handle it. That got a whole crowd of people on board. Also — its player, when embedded on someone’s site, looked a lot cleaner and better. YouTube’s caught up now on both counts, but Vimeo established a culture of: “Our videos are better.”

Because of this, Vimeo’s videos tend to focus more as a “Flickr for video-lovers.” When people want to watch music videos or laugh at kittens, they go to YouTube. With Vimeo, people come to learn or be inspired.

But, I Thought Vimeo Could Help My Business!

Ahhhh! Well, there is good news. Vimeo could be an invaluable resource for your business. The trick is to put out video content that isn’t among the status quo. Here are few things you can do to make Vimeo a valuable marketing arm for your business:

1. Make the topics of the videos something educational.
• GOOD IDEA: A summary video of a session from one of your webinars or conferences.
• BAD IDEA: An advertisement for one of your upcoming webinars or conferences.
2. The Vimeo community likes more refined video experiences, so it helps to have multi-camera videos when possible, with some work in the editing room.
• For most small-mid-sized businesses, simple video editing tools are fine (like iMovie). Though it’s important to gain some footwork in the field. Low-cost editors, like Final Cut Express, are preferred if you have the chops to put in the time to learn how to use them well.
• Create some bumper music and a banner for the beginning and end of your videos. Here’s an example of a video  of me at a Pecha Kucha night in Greenville a while back: http://vimeo.com/13921846
3. Make sure you tag all videos carefully so that they’ll be considered related too each other, and people who view your videos can more easily find other videos that you have.
4. Most Vimeo videos are made available for download (since they’re for non-commercial use). This is a great way to get your Vimeo channel some exposure to those who otherwise might not visit. You can give url’s to the video directly where they can download it on that page. This is especially valuable for any educational/seminar-type content you release onto it.

Remember, Vimeo’s got a fantastic player and phenomenal and dedicated community. You’re welcome to engage them; but you must do so on their terms. Vimeo’s community doesn’t want commercials. They want inspiration and education. Deliver that, and you’ll become a valuable resource in a thriving niche community.

Let me tell you a story. There once were four small businesses in Greenville: They all did business locally, and also had web sites that helped their businesses. Cathy’s Cupcakes showed samples of her work, with a link to use a generic order form and purchase cupcakes with Paypal, Sam’s Supplies had a full e-commerce [...]]]>

Let me tell you a story.

There once were four small businesses in Greenville:

They all did business locally, and also had web sites that helped their businesses. Cathy’s Cupcakes showed samples of her work, with a link to use a generic order form and purchase cupcakes with Paypal, Sam’s Supplies had a full e-commerce set-up, and Tommy’s T-Shirts linked up to an Etsy store, while Wally’s Websites hosts these three sites. Things were going great for all of them!

Then one day, Cathy’s Cupcakes puts up a new recipe: Lovely Coffee® Cupcakes. She even tells people how to make them, which includes using Lovely Coffee® coffee and tells people where in Greenville to go buy some. The cupcakes were a smash! People begin to “Like” Cathy’s Facebook page and re-posting her web site on Pinterest. Cathy was taking off! A month later, somebody at Lovely Coffee® decided that Cathy was violating the Lovely Coffee® property. They didn’t email Cathy and request she take the cupcake recipe down. They didn’t call her. No, Cathy received a letter in the mail telling her she needed to remove any mention of Lovely Coffee® on her web site, since they’re cupcakes, and Cathy sells cupcakes. She stands to profit off of the Lovely Coffee® brand. Cathy didn’t know what to do. Cathy was shocked to see a court order five days later, demanding she take down her entire web site until the matter with Lovely Coffee® is resolved, or she may face years in jail. Sound kind of harsh? Oh, it gets better.

Remember Sam’s Supplies? Yep, that guy. Well, to supplement Sam’s e-commerce site, he lets other local businesses do advertising on his store’s pages. One of those advertisers is Cathy. Much to Sam’s surprise, he received a court order, too, instructing him that he must remove Cathy’s advertising from his web site. He is warned that his domain registrar, GoDaddy, has received an order telling them that they will be liable if they do not shut down his domain. So unless he quickly ditches Cathy’s advertising, his site will go down and he will be looking at jailtime as well — jailtime just as severe as Cathy’s. Think this story can’t get worse? Oh, it does.

Next we have Wally’s Websites. Wally hosts Cathy’s web site. He has just received a court order stating that Cathy’s site has a violation of SOPA. He can voluntarily shut Cathy’s site down now. If he does so, he doesn’t need to worry; Cathy can’t sue him over it. But, if he does not immediately take her site down from the web, his DNS services will be forfeiture and ALL of the web sites he hosts will go down. Wally hosts sites for over 100 small and medium-sized businesses in Greenville! And, yep, Wally will face jailtime. But wait … this craziness is about to hit insanity-level:

Now, you might be thinking, “That’s impossible! There’s no way sites like Facebook, or Twitter, or Flickr or YouTube or anybody else can keep up with that!” And you’d be right. They can’t.

We’ve come to Tommy’s T-Shirts. Poor Tommy’s T-Shirts. Tommy actually doesn’t even know about Cathy’s Lovely Coffee® Cupcakes. But he’s about to get in BIG trouble, because he’s done business with Cathy. You see, a little over a year ago, Tommy made some custom t-shirts for Cathy’s employees. He’s selling extras of the shirt on Etsy, and he has a link back to Cathy’s web site. Because Tommy is linking to Cathy’s web site and her web site has the Lovely Coffee® Cupcakes on them, Tommy has received a court order telling him to take the link down and the product off of his page, or his site will go down. Tommy does this; but then finds out he hasn’t done enough.

You see, Cathy “likes” Tommy’s Tommy’s T-Shirts Facebook page. This is a big no-no. Because that means you can click on Cathy’s profile from Tommy’s T-Shirts’ Facebook page, and that will lead you to a link to Cathy’s Cupcakes official Facebook page, which has a picture of the Lovely Coffee® Cupcakes, and advertises that Cathy sells cupcakes, which the user can then infer that they might be able to buy some of the Lovely Coffee® Cupcakes from Cathy. So Tommy must be sure he blocks Cathy from his official Facebook page, so there’s no link back to Cathy’s Cupcakes. Oh yeah … and he needs to make sure he blocks anyone else who also likes Cathy’s Cupcakes page. And in case you think this is being unfair to the little guy — fear not: Facebook will be receiving a similar court order to make sure that Cathy’s Cupcakes Facebook page is taken down, along with any and all mentions and links to it.

On the surface, SOPA is a very well-intentioned bill. It’s meant to stop online piracy. The problem is this bill is created and sponsored by people who haven’t the slightest clue how the user-generated Internet works.

Now, you might be thinking, “That’s impossible! There’s no way sites like Facebook, or Twitter, or Flickr or YouTube or anybody else can keep up with that!” And you’d be right. They can’t. Which is why early predictions already think that SOPA could be the end of some of these sites, with Flickr likely being the first to go.

Think I’m painting some scare-tactic-laden horror story for you? Nope. The hypothetical story above was created using specifically spelled out points in sections 101–106 in the SOPA bill being taken up by Congress right now. I’m guessing you’ve heard of SOPA. And you’ve heard it’s bad; but you probably didn’t realize how bad.

On the surface, SOPA is a very well-intentioned bill. It’s meant to stop online piracy … and hipsters and teenagers aside, who wouldn’t want that? The problem is — and I say this not intending to dive into politics — this bill is created and sponsored by people who haven’t the slightest clue how the user-generated Internet works. For example, Lamar S. Smith introduced the bill to the House floor in October. Good for him. Lamar S. Smith has a Facebook page, a YouTube channel and a UStream channel. If SOPA is signed into law, Lamar S. Smith will immediately be in violation of federal law, because he will be participating in three web sites that will have numerous copyright infringement cases facing it. He’ll be forced to shut down his pages on Facebook, YouTube, and UStream. If he declines, saying “That’s overboard. I shouldn’t have to take my page down because some nut in Kentucky is putting up ABC video clips on UStream, porting them to YouTube, and then linking them on Facebook!” — well, then the courts will have no choice but to take down his official House of Representatives page, because that’s linked from and to his Facebook page that’s on the same URL as a million pages and content items violating new laws defined in SOPA. Oh, and they’ll also have to take down the official house.gov site as well, since that links to Lamar Smith’s official .gov page, which links to Facebook, which will face countless copyright infringement cases.

This all sounds completely mental, right? It sure does. And it’s completely real. This is why we at Worthwhile, and many other web-related companies stand firmly against SOPA and ask that you would stand with us. Hear are some things you can do about it:

1) Sign the Petition. The one on whitehouse.gov has been shut down for now (aha! Progress!); but this one from American Censorship is sort of the leader now.

2) Contact your Senator and Representative and demand that they vote against SOPA. For those in Greenville, SC, that would be these guys:

3) Read the bill and spread the word. There’s a lot of ignorance about this bill, which fronts as something protecting IP, but goes through unrealistic lengths to do it and destroys the web as we know it. The only way you can truly know what’s going on is to read the bill and then start informed conversations with your friends, family, and colleagues.

The Worthwhile family stands firmly against piracy, and would love to see laws enacted to protect IP’s …

… but SOPA ain’t it.

If this practical and hypothetical approach isn’t for you, no worries. Here are some other articles that can break down SOPA for you:

What is SOPA?

How SOPA would affect you: FAQ

There is nothing to say about Steve Jobs that hasn’t already been said. I’m not a Steve Jobs expert. About as close as I’ve ever gotten to the man was reading the Fake Steve blog. And though I’ve never had a conversation with Steve Jobs, never sat all the way through one of his 80 [...]]]>

There is nothing to say about Steve Jobs that hasn’t already been said.

I’m not a Steve Jobs expert. About as close as I’ve ever gotten to the man was reading the Fake Steve blog. And though I’ve never had a conversation with Steve Jobs, never sat all the way through one of his 80 minute announcements, and rarely ever read articles concerning him, he did leave a fairly lasting impression on my life. Though I can’t say “Steve Jobs inspired me to _________,” his impact on my life is measureless.

The evidence of such a profound movement came last night, as I left a mid-week worship service with my family. We all went out for ice cream. While out and about, I checked Facebook on my iPhone — and was immediately struck with the news that Steve Jobs had passed away. Later that night, upon arriving home, I checked some items on my Macbook, and saw on Drudge Report the news of Steve Jobs’ passing, along with all the relevant links from media outlets. I wanted to read the news my way, though. So I got my daughters into bed, cleaned up the house, got ready for bed myself, and slid between the sheets. Then I pulled out my iPad and began searching through stories of Steve Jobs on Flipboard. I read of his legacy and influence — of his innovative genius. And while I would agree he was all those great things, I believe his legacy is even more profound when looked at on a smaller scale.

10 years from now, I’ll be helping my daughter study for a history test. And we’ll get to the place in the book on Steve Jobs. She’ll know it was only a few years ago, and she’ll ask me if I knew him and if he was as great as the books really say he was. I’ll tell her I’m not entirely sure — history can stretch and convolute many things as it shapes itself. But I’ll also be sure to mention that on the night Steve died, I read about his death on my phone, my tablet, and my computer.

All devices created by Steve Jobs for you and me.

Facebook has once again made waves with a new (and controversial) feature that allows third parties access to users addresses and phone numbers. Naturally, the world ended with this announcement: Users complained, Twitter erupted, and boycotts were planned. Even congressmen chimed in. My take? Time to shut up. Let’s just get the record straight on a [...]]]>

Facebook has once again made waves with a new (and controversial) feature that allows third parties access to users addresses and phone numbers. Naturally, the world ended with this announcement: Users complained, Twitter erupted, and boycotts were planned. Even congressmen chimed in. My take? Time to shut up.

Let’s just get the record straight on a couple things about Facebook and privacy, shall we?

Facebook isn’t “giving” anything away. You are.

If you’re like most people in the world, you’ve probably heard about Facebook giving user data away; maybe you’ve even responded with indignation like a lot of people. What you probably didn’t do is that same thing everybody else didn’t do, and that’s read the changes that Facebook was actually making. Example, here are some headlines about the story I’m writing about:

• Facebook is Going to Relaunch Giving Away Phone and Addresses
• Facebook to Give Away Your Home Address Phone Numbers to External Sites
• Facebook Gives Apps Your Phone Number And Address, No Opt Out

Now, you probably could read those headlines, skim the respective articles and go, “I hate you, Facebook!” But before you do — fret not. Others have done it for you, like these fine people on YouTube:

• Lamarr asks, “Why do they need my number?!”
• Matt complains that it’s a “quiet announcement.”
• Super Massive Atheist tells you how it is…

Here’s the thing: they’re all full of it. (Side Rant: Anybody else tired of people trying to be the first to whine about Facebook changes, and make names for themselves? Good. Glad I’m not the only one.) Here’s the reality of the situation:

1. You never have to put your phone number or real address in when signing up for Facebook. Your number never has to be on there. You can message it to your friends if you want.

2. Your stuff is never given to app developers and third parties by default. Ever. You must always, always choose to have your information shared, and it clearly tells you which parts of your information will be shared. At any point, you can say, “no.” and that information is not shared. Please note: There will be some apps that, in turn, won’t let you use their app. Why? Because it’s probably got a text messaging or geo-locating component that makes the app useless if you won’t let them touch your phone.

Before any of your information is shared, this screen appears. Read it. If you choose to click “Allow” without reading, it’s not Facebook’s fault.

3. You are giving your stuff to the app for the right to use that app. Facebook isn’t giving anything to anybody. It’s frustrating to hear people blame Facebook because their stuff is being given away, when they’re the ones to give it away. This is like going to Yellowbook, and saying, “Hi! Yellowbook! I’m going to give you my contact info — but please, don’t share it with anybody unless I tell you to.” You then meet Yellowbook’s cool new social feature (Redbook?) and say, “Hey, Redbook! I want to hang out with you!” Redbook then asks you for the contact info that Yellowbook has been secretly storing. You say, “SURE!” and then look over to Yellowbook and go — “I told you never to share that!” Yeah, it’s that silly.

Facebook doesn’t charge you. That doesn’t make it free.

Information is the currency.

If you were paying $15/month for “Facebook+” and then they started filling your page with ads … you would have a right to complain. But Facebook doesn’t charge you to connect with friends, share your photos, videos, and thoughts. It’s a social networking tool that’s provided to you for zero set up or subscription fees. But please understand, this doesn’t make it free:

1) Facebook is meant to be profitable. They have a veritable ton of storage space and data transfer to pay for. They have a huge team of designers and developers. They have to pay for these things, and ultimately, yes — they want to make money, too.

2) Facebook aims to be the best network around. In order for this to happen, they want devs to create the best apps. There are a lot of opportunities when cell phone numbers and addresses are available. (See the Battle: Los Angeles app for a good example of a game using Facebook Places on your cell phone.) If Facebook didn’t allow this info to be used in apps, it would get left in the dust. For you to join in these cool experiences may not require a dime, but it might require your cell phone number.

Bottom Line:

Facebook isn’t a right to use, nor is it truly free. Your account can be suspended or deleted at any time. It may cost you some personal information. (Again, please note that you’re the one handing that information over. It’s not being taken from you.) Let’s all get on the same page and understand what Facebook is and is not trying to do.

You’ll be the wiser for it.

A singular, focused call to action is the most influential component of any given web page. At its core, the call to action is what drives a page or site from informative to engaging. There’s so much that goes into creating a good call to action. From clarity of language to design of the button/link [...]]]>

A singular, focused call to action is the most influential component of any given web page. At its core, the call to action is what drives a page or site from informative to engaging. There’s so much that goes into creating a good call to action. From clarity of language to design of the button/link and the content around it, there are a number of elements that need to be given consideration for a call to action to be successful.

When trying to decide on a call to action (hereafter known as CTA) on your site, the first good rule to live by is:

Focus on a Primary Action

There are a variety of reasons a user comes to a particular site. A common mistake is to offer a number of CTAs: at least one for each of these reasons. Unfortunately, that’s like throwing spaghetti at a wall and  seeing what sticks. You might cover a number of reasons through a variety of CTAs, but if there’s too much on the page competing for the users’ attention, you’ve lost the effectiveness you were looking for.

With so many calls to action on the page (including the menu items), there’s no clear course of action for the user.

With a single, primary call to action, this site immediately communicates to the user what his goal for the site should be.

The problem is not audience goals, but site goals. There’s a reason your site exists — what is it? Is it so users will buy something from you? Is it so they’ll contact you? Is it so they’ll be inspired? Make your goal the basis for what you tell users to do on your site. Your content should be user-centric, not self-centric, but the CTA should almost always come back to what you want them to do. Once you’ve got that settled, make that the primary CTA on the page. Don’t bury it. If you lay out your content and think the main CTA makes better sense at the bottom of the page then odds are you need to rethink your content.

This site makes the mistake of waiting until the very bottom to communicate the CTAs. There’s way too much content for the user to sift through before getting there.

This page is a great example of a site that needs to put its CTA button below some content, so it introduces the CTA in the header of the content, making clear to the user what they’re supposed to do on the page.

Finally, there’s nothing wrong with giving people more than one CTA on a page. It’s vital, though, that each CTA has its own space to stand out and that there’s a logical prioritization of them.

Though this site has multiple CTAs, each is spaced out and the primary CTA is clear.

The only time CTAs should be seen in close proximity with each other is when they’re interrelated, such as varying reasons or methods to contact the site owner (with the CTA still as contact).

Though two CTAs exist side by side on this site, they share the same basic action, making it logical to sit parallel to one another on the page.

So when sketching out ideas for what the CTAs should be on your site, remember the first simple rule: Keep the focus on a single, primary action that you want your users to do when visiting your site.

The results will speak for themselves.

Facebook’s on a roll. Sure, Twitter gave it a bit of a scare about two years ago, but *sigh* that’s done with. Part of Facebook’s beauty is its refusal to rest on its laurels. They have a fully dedicated design team actively working to improve its usability and structure. You can get your fill of [...]]]>

Facebook’s on a roll. Sure, Twitter gave it a bit of a scare about two years ago, but *sigh* that’s done with.

Part of Facebook’s beauty is its refusal to rest on its laurels. They have a fully dedicated design team actively working to improve its usability and structure. You can get your fill of Facebook Design here. Gone are the days when people were frustrated with “their Facebook” changing interfaces on them. The foundation has been set for sturdy growth and a dearth of new, expandable features.

Speaking of those expandable features — Facebook is now loaded. And by loaded, I mean that if you’ll just step away from Mafia Wars and Cafe World for a second, you’ll see there are great little additions to your Facebook interface that you likely didn’t even know existed. I thought I’d throw up a few highlights for you:

Friendship Viewer

One of the most uber-sweet elements Facebook’s brought to the table recently is their Friendship Viewer. It presents the ability to view relationships between friends as seen through Facebook. On a single page, you can view pictures friends are tagged in together, comments on each other’s walls, similar “Like“s and more.

You can access the friendship viewer one of two ways:

1. On your friend’s page, you can view your friendship with them under their left vertical navigation.
2. Also on the page, you can view their friendship with other people using the action menu under relevant posts on the wall.

Along with the aforementioned features, there are tons of other things you can do on the friendship viewer page, just some of which is highlighted below.

Download in High Resolution

Here’s a nifty feature most people have no idea is available to them. If someone uploads a large photo, it’s available for you to view in its original size. In the bottom photo nav, you have the ability to download in high resolution. It’s not something you’ll use often, but  particularly with good friends or family members, it’s a valuable feature. Keep this one in your back pocket.

Quick Event Creation

Another great feature that most eyes cross past is the ability to easily create new events. One of Facebook’s beautiful enhancements over the last year has been the steady improvement of its events/calendar feature. Now, it’s easier than ever to add an event.

In your events feed in the top right of your Facebook home page, there exists the ability to immediately create an event…

Simply start typing an event title in the “What Are You Planning?” section, and Voila!, your event feed turns into a simple event creator. In just seconds you can create a meet-up for after hours or announce a birthday plans. You’re welcome to go deeper under “add details,” but you certainly don’t have to.

Most people avoid “Events” because they think it is something exclusively for organizations. The reality is anyone can create an event in a minute and begin inviting friends right away.

Live Feed Customization

I’ve talked to a number of people who are confused by Facebook’s selection of what’s put in their live feed. Admittedly, it’s Facebook’s best guess as what goes there, and sometimes you’re getting things you’re not that interested in (or worse, you’re missing out on things you would like to see). What these people usually aren’t aware of is Facebook’s Live Feed customization features.

To customize your live feed simply scroll down to the bottom of your page. Parallel to “Older Posts” is “Edit Options.”

Once you select this, a modal box will appear that will give you just the options you’re looking for:

• Add friends manually to your Live Feed
• Block friends manually from your Live Feed (I mean, seriously, how many times do you need to see what their Farmville status is?)
• Adjust how many friends show up in your feed.

This feature alone can help you have a more streamlined and enjoyable Facebook experience.

Hidden Chat Status

The Chat feature is simultaneously one of the biggest blessings and curses of Facebook. There are times when you want to use it, and there are other times when someone totally random wants to suddenly “catch up.” This usually happens at a time of least convenience. Fret not, dear Facebook users, there is hope.

Shockingly, many people I know who complain about getting “hit” by someone on Chat have no idea that they can easily hide their status. Simply open your Chat list in the bottom right and select “Options” in the top nav of the list.

Once the Options open, you’ll be able to appear Offline. Ahhhhhhh! Peace at last! Of course, other options exist you may not be aware of, including the ability to open Facebook Chat in a new window. This allows you to leave Facebook and still be able to chat up your friends — if that’s your thing.

_________________________________________

These are just some of the treasures I like to take advantage of that I’m finding few people know about. But surely this isn’t it. What “secrets” of Facebook do you know that makes your experience better? Do share!

Goals are powerful. Sports championships are won because a few people come together under a common goal. World wars have been fought because one person was intent on accomplishing his goal. A single goal can rally an entire culture under its banner and take its members forward. We saw that in the election of 2008. But [...]]]>

Goals are powerful. Sports championships are won because a few people come together under a common goal. World wars have been fought because one person was intent on accomplishing his goal. A single goal can rally an entire culture under its banner and take its members forward. We saw that in the election of 2008. But not all goals are created equal. It would seem there are far more failures than successes, and those that do see success vary greatly in their measure. There is one thing you can have confidence in: No matter how risky your goal is, it’s better than not having one.

Many web sites today are built with no real, tangible goals in mind. There are several reasons for this:

• The goal is too vague to implement. (Example: I want my site to stand out in peoples minds.)
• The goal is unrealistic. (Example: I want to start an e-commerce store that sells 10,000 shirts in the first six months.)
• The goal is a reaction to your competitor. (Example: I like what they do. I want my site to do that, too.)

Along with these, another factor in most sites’ weak goals is that they’re never thought through to the Objective stage. For a web site to accomplish goals, it needs objectives — the “how” to the goals’ “what.” In many cases, there should be multiple objectives for a single goal. Think of them as multiple strands winding together to form a tight rope. You’re going to need that rope to pull your goal along.

Pull, Don’t Push

If you push, you’ll end up off a cliff and not know it until it’s too late.

Getting objectives behind your goals is essential. To illustrate this, think of your goal as one large stone block that you’re trying to push up a muddy hill. No matter what, it’s hard. Further, the block is huge, and when you’re pushing, you can’t see ahead. You don’t know where you’re going or what’s just ahead of you; you can only look back and see the mess you’ve made while the stone block and your feet slop through the mess of a ground.

Now, add objectives — and the game is changed. With each objective, you’ve created strands of a rope that you can tie around your goal. Now, instead of pushing your goal (stone block) up the hill, you’re pulling it. You have full control of its direction. You can see the way forward more clearly. If one of your objectives ceases to work, you’ll notice it pretty quickly (a strand breaking in the rope) and can do something about it. Perhaps your goal (again, stone block) is too big for your objectives to manage (the rope can’t take the weight). Now, you’re in a position to do something about it, like create a smaller, more manageable goal or create more solid objectives. Either way — it sure beats pushing your goal up the hill blindly, not realizing that you haven’t gone anywhere.

The reality, though, is that most goals — even if they’re a little vague and a little too high in expectations — can be reined in and accomplished with the proper objectives behind them.

How to Create the “How”

So hopefully you see “Goals with Objectives = Good, Goals without Objectives = Bad.” But how do you create objectives? A few simple rules to live by:

1. If the goal is measurable, have the objectives support it. (Example: Goal — Have 1,000 visitors a month. Objective #1 — Have site updated three times a week with new content. Objective #2 — Tie in to contest on Facebook. Objective #3 — Share site with one new group on LinkedIn each week.)
2. Objectives should be stated in a way where anyone can come in to the conversation and better understand your goal. (Example: Goal — Use the web to establish my brand within the punk culture. Objective #1 — Create a design that resonates with punk using vivid colors and sloppy patterns. Objective #2 — Make the content brief and visceral, focus instead of photography and video. Objective #3 — Create dynamic content that would bring target audience back to site frequently, such as a top ten list of tricks video each week, or a share your trick on video contest.)
3. “Pie-in-the-sky” goals are okay, but support it with objectives you know you can complete. (Example: Goal - To be THE regional go-to resource in the area for questions regarding anything cancer-related. Objective #1 — Create a filtered search feature that makes it easy to locate resources by geographic area or topic. Objective #2 — Create a member database to allow for more intimate discussions on a message board and a populated wiki. Objective #3 — Establish partnerships with other local or regional resources to create an interlinking network between sites. Objective #4 — Create a plan to have dynamic content updated at least once every business day.)

There are a number of other rules to list, but these are enough to give you an idea. Also, for every project you face, it’s good to create a new rule, when possible, that applies specifically to that project. There are times when this just won’t seem feasible, but if nothing else it stretches your creative juices a bit.

A Few Warnings

Now that you can see how fleshed-out objectives can help you make your goals a reality, here are a few things to note.

1. If all of your goals have the same objectives listed under them (Example: Advertise on Facebook), then you haven’t thought through the goals and objectives of your project well enough.
2. If you list objectives that you are not willing to live by (Example: Update content on site via blog, press releases, case studies, etc. at least three times a week), then you should probably scratch that objective and adjust your goal.
3. Always run your goals by somebody else to make sure you’re not off-track. Not all of your goals have to be measurable, but at least some of them should be. And the ones that aren’t need very clear, specific objectives. Sometimes, you need an uninvolved second or third party to give a look-over and tell you if you are where you need to be.

Make it Count for Something

Once you have your goals and objectives established, it’s time to put them to good use. Every part of your site needs to be tied to one of your goals by accomplishing at least one of your objectives. Preferably, your high priority portions of your site should be accomplishing multiple objectives. “More” may be good for search engines, but “less” is always more for your users’ sake.

If you come to a portion of your project that you’ve really, really wanted (like a photo gallery or a custom flash experience on the home page) and it doesn’t match up with one of your goals — then cut it. DO NOT make up a new goal just to make it fit. (NOTE: This is why it is always vital to settle your goals and objectives before you go into the rest of your project process.) Of course, nothing in web development should ever be in cement. If you have a great idea, you should always be willing to change things up. But as a general rule — adding goals just to fit in something you think would be cool on the site is a bad idea.

Final Word

Your site has so much potential! It doesn’t matter if you’re a local attorney, a start-up e-commerce, a vacuum salesman, or a regional hospital; there is a lot your site can accomplish. The key to unlocking all of that potential is creating good, bold, attainable goals and defining them by manageable objectives — and then going back and forth tweaking them until you have a polished plan going forward. If you start here and stick with it, the end product won’t merely satisfy you.

It may very well thrill you.

On September 15, The Worthwhile Company has the privilege of launching quite the app for our good friends at Tech After Five. This is a post that pulls back a curtain a bit on the process of bringing it to life. There are a lot of different theories concerning mobile app development. Until quite recently, [...]]]>

On September 15, The Worthwhile Company has the privilege of launching quite the app for our good friends at Tech After Five. This is a post that pulls back a curtain a bit on the process of bringing it to life.

I’ve been waiting for the $99 Apple TV for a while now. I thought for sure we were gonna hear about it at WWDC this past June, but alas, it was not to be. It probably had something to do with the deal they were trying to strike with $.99 TV episode rentals; but whatever [...]]]>

I’ve been waiting for the $99 Apple TV for a while now. I thought for sure we were gonna hear about it at WWDC this past June, but alas, it was not to be. It probably had something to do with the deal they were trying to strike with $.99 TV episode rentals; but whatever the reason, the delay is over and the mass-market affordable Apple TV is here! … for whatever that’s worth. Honestly, I’m underwhelmed. No, that’s putting it too mildly. I’m baffled. No, wait — guffawed. I feel like this thing is set up to bomb as badly as Microsoft’s Kinect — they’re two totally different technologies with very different flaws, but both of them suffer from what seems to be hubris on the part of their makers.

To Be Fair

First off, let’s get this out of the way: Apple deserves a boatload of credit for Apple TV. Apple was the first major company to go all in with the digital distribution model. While other companies were getting credit for going “halfway,” Apple bet the farm on it—just like they did with the iPod. Kudos to them for paving the way to the future. We should thank them…

… just don’t thank them by buying the new Apple TV.

This Looks Familiar

Leave it to Apple to make their new device über-small. But no, by “familiar,” I don’t mean that the new Apple TV looks like a caveman’s hockey puck. What I mean is: Don’t I already have most, if not all of the features the $99 Apple TV is touting? Let’s see:

YouTube

• Most new HDTVs
• Over 75% of Blu-Ray players
• Your iPhone, Android, Blackberry, iPad, etc.
• Playstation 3 and Nintendo Wii

Flickr

• Pretty much any TV that offers Wi-fi
• Over 60% of Blu-Ray players
• Your iPhone, Android, Blackberry, iPad, etc.
• Are we seeing a pattern here?

Netflix

• Don’t look surprised … Any HDTV with Wifi
• Over 50%of Blu-Ray players
• iPhone and iPad
• Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360

$.99 Television Rentals

• Netflix offers a lot of these on subscription.
• Hulu+ gets the same shows, just as quickly, for a mere $8.99 a month for unlimited use.
• Only ABC and FOX are currently on board.

So, help me — where’s the advantage of this box? Let’s look at some of the other elements they tout:

Streaming Radio Channels — Do you have cable or satellite? You already have this.

iTunes Account Music Streaming — a $6 cable will easily connect your iPod, iPhone, iPad or computer to your receiver.

Video Streaming from iTunes — If you have an HDTV and Blu-Ray player in the house, you already have what you need to do this, save possibly for an adapter. Oh, and if your HDTV has wifi (in other words, if its a quality a brand and made in the last 18 months), then you can already do this.

Stream from your iPhone or iPad — This is different from streaming from your iTunes account…how? (P.S. This feature is “Coming Soon”)

Instantly rent and watch HD Movies on Demand — Who doesn’t do this? If you have cable or satellite you have pay-per-view, most now offer on-demand ppv. Have an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3? Well then you can also do this — all at comparable prices.

Enough with this Cloud Business

The biggest problem I have with the new Apple TV is its lack of storage — of any kind. Apple is forward-thinking, and I dig that; but this isn’t forward-thinking. It’s more like swerving-in-the-wrong-direction thinking. People need something tangible, especially if they’re making an investment. iTunes typically charges $19.99 to own a first-run HD movie. But when you give up that digital Jackson — where’s your movie? It’s not on a disc in your living room. It’s not even on your HDD. It’s “in the cloud” streaming to you. Of course — I can then have it downloaded onto my computer or iPad or iPhone and then once it’s downloaded I now have it on my HDD and can subsequently stream it over to my Apple TV, which makes me wonder why I’d bother renting/buying a movie from Apple TV in the first place. Maybe it’s just supposed to be my “stream” box.

Immediately after the Apple TV was announced and reporters got to ask their Q’s, Apple reps were quick to note that this is a “rental” machine. Ohhh, I get it now. It’s like my very own over-priced Redbox. That makes way more sense.

The Sum of its Parts

My good friend Alan Johnson (@CommonDream) asked me on Twitter, “Who has released a better device?” The answer is: Nobody’s released what Apple has. But what I will ultimately laugh at is how many people will buy it, ignorant of the fact that they already have all of the streaming capabilities intact with their other devices. I mean, sure there are people out there with older HDTV models, no Blu-Ray player, and no game console, but seriously ask yourself this:

Are those people really going to buy an Apple TV?

Alrighty, kiddos. Agree with me? Disagree? Let me hear it — sound off below and please … be gentle.

Yesterday, we at Worthwhile had the honor and privilege of participating in the 2010 Grow Expo here in Greenville, SC. The Grow Expo is a premier convention that celebrates growing businesses across the Upstate and provides great opportunities to network and learn. This year, we decided to up the ante at our booth, so we [...]]]>

Yesterday, we at Worthwhile had the honor and privilege of participating in the 2010 Grow Expo here in Greenville, SC. The Grow Expo is a premier convention that celebrates growing businesses across the Upstate and provides great opportunities to network and learn.

This year, we decided to up the ante at our booth, so we had a drawing to giveaway an iPad. (Not too shabby, huh?)

Well, after more than 350 entries, we are very pleased to announce that the winner of the iPad is David Hanna, principal at Hanna Consulting, Inc. Hanna Consulting has been helping businesses and non-profits create and execute strategies now for 14 years. {Congratulations, David!}

Thank you to everyone who came by our booth and participated. We met hundreds of new people and enjoyed spending the day having great, positive conversations with our fellow Upstaters. We all walked away thrilled to have met so many wonderful people. Greenville truly is a very special place where so many great people have come together to work and to grow their businesses.

Never be strangers!

You’re all welcome to our offices any time.