|| Return to On The Road... ||
July 19, 1996
San Diego
Dear Web:
Teaching the Web is tricky, but when the students get it, they get it. And in San Diego, they often get it. The audiences in this town are a mix of young entrepreneurs and successful business people, savvy about online services and wanting to know what the Web will do for them.
Often I have to adapt my approach for the whole audience, so everyone gets that piece of understanding or information that will help them succeed. I want to know that each person had the opportunity to get their piece of this Web pie. But such expectations can lead to disappointment; like any teacher, you do your best to teach all involved.
To say today was inspiring is an understatement. I had businesses wanting to go online, with people approaching me with their individual ideas. A health products site found a competitor online with a bunch of order forms; they can set up a sales process and blow away the competition. A husband and wife selling a book on how to win at craps found that each page should develop the expertise in the eyes of the visitor. A sales letter, a page explaining his background as a dealer and how he shares his secrets, an excerpt from the book itself, and an order form are the first steps.
Conceiving of a Web site means understanding that it is a storefront. The home page is the front door that needs to be opened. In the real world, if you created a front door for a business that took 5 minutes to open, most people would walk away. Same thing online; graphics can inhibit the customer from visiting and exploring what the business has to offer.
It is so difficult to make people understand why pretty pictures don't make up a Web site. Not this audience though, they took the idea to its limit. What made me so inspired after this session? A question from a woman in the back row, asking me how you decide what pictures are needed and will enhance the experience, as well as what text to provide.
She wasn't asking me to predict the future of Java, or VRML; she wasn't asking for my ideas of what the Web might become with cable modems. She wanted to know the heart, the design of a Web site, and how we merge graphics with text. I don't have the answer for her; that's part of the process.
But the fact that she understood the process enough to question is what inspires me. You may think this is simple, but believe me, look around the Web. Few people are asking such intelligent questions. These are the seeds of a good Web site.
In San Diego, many good seeds were planted but even more importantly, I found many people who are willing to spend the time to till that soil, water the seeds, and bring them to fruit by helping them grow. Patience and attention to design, to a sales process, wins out online. This audience knows the score.