Comwerks will be partnering with EMA to deliver an across-the-board web strategy for its target audience who consist of the general public and energy industry players.

“EMA has a bigger role to play in Energy Innovation & Conservation. We will use social media to reach out and engage the younger generation” said Neeraj Sundarajoo, Account Director of Comwerks Interactive.

The Yearbook, which includes lots of interesting statistics from a number of reputed sources, should be an eyeopener for anyone still sceptical of online media. The key message the Yearbook communicates is that ‘connections have triumphed over interruptions’, a statement reflecting the growing importance of social media.

For those interested in reading the state of digital marketing in the various markets in Asia, download the electronic version of the Yearbook.

This project win is specially gratifying as we now have the opportunity to execute the recommendations we had made as part of an an extensive usability study for the organization earlier this year. As our creative director, Keith puts it, “The reach of PA is extremely large, touching almost all Singaporeans. We’re exceptionally excited to help reinforce this connection with the new website.”

Our approach to the new website will be to combine a fresh look with a variety of new, interesting content and more interactive features and transactional tools. The focus will be to help users be aware of and conveniently enjoy the wide array of activities and services offered by PA. “We will leverage the latest interactive media tools to deliver engaging and rich content and a quality web experience to PA’s target audience,” says Keith.

Designers tend to succumb to the temptation of overuse of such implementation technologies, just because they can or it looks special and cool. Sure, it is ok to create websites like that, but in the process, many often lose focus of the objective of the website in their rush and obsession to pimp their Java script.

Minimalism in web design is the current craze today. While it is not exactly a new concept in the area of design in general, it has taken the Internet world by storm. The core principle that governs this concept would simply be:

Minimalism = Less Clutter = Less Distractions = More time focusing on what is important

http://www.problogdesign.com/blog-usability/minimalism-is-just-designer-speak-for-laziness/

However, it is not entirely uncommon to find designers who are just simply being ‘lazy’, cobbling together a simple website and declaring it ‘minimalist’. Such websites are a dime a dozen all over the Internet. Yet, it is impossible to define what minimalism is and what is not. In the end, web designers have to remember that a minimalist website would have to be simple, yet be able to achieve the objectives of the website. It has to be functional yet aesthetically pleasing in a simple, unobtrusive manner, intuitive, elegant and user friendly. Less would then be more.

Here are 40 examples of some of the web’s outstanding minimalist designs.

http://sixrevisions.com/design-showcase-inspiration/40-beautiful-examples-of-minimalism-in-web-design/

In the brief pen sketch/ tribute to him by Chris Anderson of The Long Tail fame, Anderson writes, “As a generation grows up online, the tools of persuasion will have to be as measurable as the medium. Google does it with clicks and links, and Lindstrom does it with neurons and blood flow. Somewhere between the eye and the mouse finger is the secret to selling.” 

We couldn’t agree more; which is why we spend an awful lot of time on what should appear where & how in the web design interfaces we create. Afterall, the goal is to create influential web experiences.

 

Fair enough. Afterall, it is the client’s prerogative to determine what they want to communicate to their target audience, and to a great extent, how (though as web strategists focused on the complete user experience we invariably have some inputs). What surprised me though was how little attention was paid to what their audience needed/ wanted.

A solid content strategy has to find the balance between ‘push and pull’, which of course depends on who you are and the intended audience is. For example, this balance will be completely different for, say, the publisher of an information portal and a government website.

By all means, use content that pushes out your agenda and communicate what you want your audience to absorb. The key thing here is to ensure this ‘push’ is done in a manner that is effective and appeals to that audience.

At the same time, ensure that enough thought is given to creating content based on user needs and expectations that will pull them in.  This requires a deep understanding of the audience; we cannot over-emphasise how important it is to get this early and right in the project lifecyle. It may mean a bit of front-loading of investment in the web strategy, but as we have seen time and again, it is well worth it.

Ahh…Pure bliss! Fantasy or Fact?

One of our recent tender submissions required us to include a section on how we’d manage a project effectively. The client wanted to hear what we’d learnt from our past projects and what practical measures we could put in place to steer a project from budget and time overruns.

We’re all familiar with the standard project management stuff, but as with most things, sometimes we just need a little reminder or refresher. Well, I thought it’d be useful to share this information, and get any comments from you on your own experiences. Note: I’m just gonna copy and paste it here. So please pardon the slightly more formal-sounding tone.

1.    Identify risks early and set realistic timelines - The kickstart meeting is the most important meeting for the project. In this meeting, we, together with the client, will review all possible risks associated with the project and propose appropriate mitigations. Running through the timeline and ensuring the availability of relevant personnel during the approval dates is also essential.

2.    Set clear expectations and define project scope - More often than not, one of the main reasons for project failures is that the client’s expectations are not in sync with the development team. To prevent this, a thorough walkthrough of the project deliverables and scope is done at the project kickstart meeting. Sometimes, depending on how web savvy a client is, a quick lesson on how the Internet is different from other traditional mediums may be required.

3.    Understand the client DNA - Not every client is the same. Each has its own style of working and corporate culture. Identifying the key decision makers/influencers and understanding their profiles at the beginning can help prevent possible clashes during the project.

4.    Ensure Technology compatibility - All technology requirements (server, database, web technology, etc) must be crystal clear and frozen during the requirements gathering stage. This is crucial for projects that require web development as certain types of applications (e.g. CMS) work optimally on selected platforms.

5.    Hold regular project review meetings - Meeting the client regularly to review the project status (either face-to-face or telecon) is a proven practice to ensure that timelines do not slip and follow-up actions are completed.

6.    Track and consolidate all actionable items – After every meeting, we upload and update the list of actionable items to a Google Docs spreadsheet. Once an item is closed, its status will be updated online. This provides a clear overview of all outstanding items and prevents them from getting “lost”.

7.    Assign tasks to individuals, not to departments or groups – This prevents any miscommunication on which party is supposed to deliver what.

8.    Emphasize importance and impact of signoffs – At every approval stage, the client will be briefed about the significance and impact of the signoffs. Changes, however minor, will undoubtedly impact the project time and costs.

9.    Allocate plenty of time for content creation/collation – Often overlooked, content is the key to any website development. Always establish the content owners and impose content freeze dates to avoid project delays.

Address the Issues

We asked Singaporeans how the government could better serve the people from the online perspective and here is a summary of what they said:

1.    First, please get the basics right!
2.    The website it not relevant to me.
3.    I want to know more about you and the people behind the organization
4.    I want to connect with more people like me.
5.    I want to get involved and play a part.

“How to” Blogs

From the above, we can see that there definitely is scope for social and new media tools to solve all of the above and we have come up with a range of different strategies. And if you look at points (4) and (5) above, we can see that there are real communities connected to each government agency and their websites can play a key role in fostering and engaging in a conversations with these communities.

For now, I would like to explore a very simple and very workable strategy and that is to use blogs to improve service delivery and usage of online government services. This can solve points (1), (2) and in a limited way, (3). I guess you can call them “how to” blogs.

Gov Gab: The U.S. Government Blog

A great example of something along these lines would be Gov Gab blog. Here’s an excerpt of what they are about:

“In our daily jobs, we encounter a staggering amount of U.S. government information and services that can benefit your life. From saving money and visiting National Parks to finding out about government auctions and the latest recalls, we want to bring these resources to you in a new way—through our blog.”
Source: http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/page/bios

As far as I understand it (please correct me if I am wrong), their blog helps people around the government maze to help deal with their day-to-day issues. The example below gives tips about how to “bank safely” during these troubled times:
•    It talks about and links to the 2008 Stabilization Act
•    It advises people on what to do when a bank fails (linking to the FDIC website)
•    It provides tips on how to choose a new bank (linking to the consumeraction.gov website)

Content Strategy – Anything That Is Current!

There’s one constant that almost every government website needs to be able to cope with: There is always something new to handle! New issues, requests, problem, question, can come up because of economic changes, policy updates, seasonal factors (e.g. tax filing month), things happening in another part of the world, changes in tastes, technology, health scares (e.g. SARs)…you name it.

So there is great scope for new content (aka new and relevant blog posts). If you belong to a government agency, just check out the current hot items in your:
•    Customer support logs
•    Website keyword searches
•    Customer feedback data, surveys etc

For example, from our own continuous learning programs, we’re noticing a LOT of questions coming in about the “enhanced baby bonus”. Information about this topic alone can span different government agency websites. As long as there is someone in the government keeping their finger on the pulse, a typical blog post about the baby bonus can be quickly created and it can link to the different websites that deal with this same issue but in a different way.

I think it’s an approach worth exploring for the Singapore government.

Nat Geo is probably one of the world’s largest creators and publishers of nature-related content. Covering a spectrum of topics from prehistoric creatures to the construction of modern wonders of the world, and having its own channels and magazines, they must have accumulated a wealth of information throughout these years. Coupled that with having to deal with a wide range of visitor profiles (preschoolers, educators, researchers, coach potatoes, just to name a few), revamping the website must have been one helluva mammoth task. And just to add to that, Nat Geo is one of my favourite cable channels too

Well. I just thought I’d share 3 nice features that I like about the site.

Design Consistency

Despite having probably 1000s of webpages and multiple subject matter microsites, they have managed to achieve consistency of webpage layout and design throughout all of them. From the main homepage to the Green Guide microsite, you develop a sense of comfort as you journey through the pages.  Gradually, you build familiarity with the website and navigation becomes a breeze. The web designers have also allowed the “personality” of each section to permeate subtlety. Notice the background design that appears before it loads. Very nice touch indeed!

The National Geographic website homepage


The Green Guide website homepage

Personalized background design for each microsite or section

Neat little navigation/search tools

In the “Animals” section, there is a nifty search tool on the right of the page. It allows visitors to find animals in an alphabetical order, or by providing keywords in the search bar. Like all good search tools these days, it displays matching results as you type in your keywords. Move your mouse over each name and a little thumbnail of the animal appears. Now, that is what I call a great use of real estate that promotes great surfing efficiency!

Nifty search tool tucked in the top corner

Search list of animals alphabetically

Search by keyword. Thumbnail of animal appears upon mouseover!

Sample views for E-newsletters

Despite the popularity of content syndication tools such as RSS and widgets, e-newsletters are still pretty much part of any organization’s e-marketing arsenal. As a website, you want your visitors to subscribe to your newsletters. Not only does it provide a means of site updated, its can also be a source of revenue by sticking   banner ads in them.  However, we’ve all gone through the process of signing up for enewsletters that we found had little value later on. Some of us take the time to unsubscribe, while others (like me) choose to delete on first sight or block them subsequently. In other words, people are getting jaded from such subscriptions.

Nat Geo has added a small, but smart touch to its signup forms. It provides users to view a sample of their past e-newsletters. This way, users get to see upfront what they will be receiving in their mailboxes, and can make an informed decision on whether they wanna subscribe to it. It would be interesting to find out the impact of introducing such links, such as how it affects the subscription, open and clickthrough rates. (As I write this article, I noticed that Cnet.com has also implemented something similar however Discovery Channel has not.)

View sample of the enewsletter before subscribing