50 Things You Don’t Need in 2014

As 2013 draws to a close, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some well-loved things that suddenly find themselves obsolete in our fast-changing world.

I can’t pretend this is a comprehensive list of all-things-obsolete, but coming up with fifty was far easier than I first expected!

What did I miss?

Myth-busting: Calls-to-action Must Be Above The Fold

The longer you work in any specialist field the more susceptible you become to placing trust in tried-and-tested rules and principles.

Take the well-known fact that content placed on a website above the fold (that is in the top portion of the screen,  visible to all when the page loads) performs better than stuff below the fold. Everybody  knows that, right? Yes, but it’s not entirely true.

What used to work in the days of PCs and Internet Explorer sometimes doesn’t apply in the era of tablets, smartphones and personalised apps. Today’s web users are well-versed in scrolling up and down pages; it’s a completely natural gesture on a touchscreen device and nearly every modern mouse features a handy scrolling wheel or touchpad.

But beyond the technology changes, savvy surfers simply no longer behave as predictably as in the past. What many would consider a textbook position to put a call-to-action, high on the page, above the fold, may sometimes deliver substantially better results if placed lower down the page or after additional information to motivate a click has appeared first.

To understand this you need to appreciate the context of the decision you are asking your site visitors to take. If the buying decision is complex or needs to be carefully considered, today’s surfers are extremely tolerant of supporting information like comparison charts, videos and customer references. And so it really doesn’t matter where the final call-to-action sits, as long as the right amount of supporting information can be accessed easily and quickly to enable a decision to be made. Requiring a visitors to make a few downwards swipes or to hunt briefly for the buying button is no longer automatically a barrier to success. In UI design context is king…

Add to this the added complexity that comes from people viewing pages on a multitude of different screens and devices, anything from a 2 inch phone to an 84inch 3D TV, and the rich variety of delivery platforms from internet browsers to niche applications, and you have the perfect recipe for some very confused, sore-brained web designers.

One solution now in widespread use is to feature small, floating content boxes that remain on screen and slide as the reader scrolls through the page. These moving panels can ensure key navigation components or calls to action remain easily accessible. But they also carry a distraction overhead so test them carefully to verify that the navigation benefits outweigh any attention interference they may create.

As I explained in a recent post, the facilities we have for testing different design hypotheses are better than ever. Simply ramming a primary call-to-action down your visitors’ throats as soon as they land on your site may not give the best results today. Of course, your call-to-action needs to be visible, distinctive and worded to elicit action, but never assume there’s only one best place for it to live. That’s old school thinking, a dangerous path to tread in a world of constant change,

So have some fun, think differently and explore some alternatives. With a little intelligent testing and creativity you could open up a whole new world of engagement in our scroll-happy world!

Cut-To-The-Chase Help When You Need It

I’m occasionally asked if it’s possible to book a short consulting session with me to collect some quick answers or get help tackling urgent issues. This has always been difficult to arrange in the past but I’m pleased to announce a new way for you to get personal, cut-to-the-chase help from me over the phone.

You can request a call with me now using link below. The online Clarity.fm service allows you to select time periods when you’d like our call to take place and will charge you only for the time we spend together, billed by the minute. I can’t promise to always be available right away, but I’ll do my best to help at a time that suits us both.

Click here to find out more: https://clarity.fm/#/allisterf.

And please let me know your thoughts on how I can improve this new service.

The Recession-Busting Vending Machine

Are you depressed about the world’s economic woes?

Well, here’s a vending machine that puts a novel spin on bad news.

Spotted at the recently opened Open Data Institute in London UK, this vending machine has been reprogrammed to automatically dispense free snacks every time recession-related terms make the headlines on the BBC News RSS feed.

So now even bad news could be good news for you, if you happen to passing the machine at the right moment. Ingenious!

Snack fans are politely requested to form an orderly queue when the Chancellor makes his next announcement.

Find out more about Sir Tim Berners-Lee and Prof Nigel Shadbolt’s ODI and some interesting free lecture events at http://www.theodi.org/.

Thanks to Kathryn for giving me a tour, and some recession-busting crisps!

A Day Made of Glass 2 – Unpacked

Corning makes glass, but not just any old glass, the type of glass we see on screens and displays all around us these days.

I really admired their February 2011 ‘A Day Made of Glass’ video which instantly positioned Corning as a thought leader whose glass you would be happy to find in any device you own.

One year on and Corning is back with a new video, this time with a presenter to guide you through a vision of the future where screens, and the life-enhancing information they hold, will be everywhere.

Watch and be amazed.

New Digital Marketing Podcast: “The Frost Personality Continuum”

I regularly listen to The Digital Marketing podcast by Target Internet on my commute to and from work, and recently recorded a guest interview for them which has been released today.

You can download the MP3 of this podcast from here: The Frost Personality Continuum

I recommend: subscribe to The Digital Marketing podcasts if you’re interested in staying abreast of new developments in digital marketing. Daniel Rowles and Ciaran Rogers share a wealth of knowledge in every episode. Sadly, the most recent episode mostly features me talking nonsense. You can subscribe via iTunes, Zune or other popular podcasting platforms. The RSS feed is  here.

Please share your feedback in the comments below and let me know of any similar podcasts that you’d recommend for your fellow digital marketers.