“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
When we make the decision to serve humanity, whether it be a singular effort as an individual or through a concentrated effort through an organization or company, the trickle down effects are positive and contagious. View it as a pay it forward system. Technology both solves and creates complex problems around the globe, and if done with care, can be harnessed for the greater good. read more
As Internet connectivity continues to become more readily available, lower priced, and more accessible, think wireless and mobile device, Internet users expectations have grown.
Internet users expect web pages to load twice as fast in 2009 as they did in 2006. User expectations have changed significantly in just three years.
Here are some of the findings from the study:
47% expect a web page to load in two seconds or less.
40% will abandon a web page if it takes more than three seconds to load.
52% of online shoppers claim that quick page loads are important for their loyalty to a site.
14% will start shopping at a different site if page loads are slow, 23% will stop shopping or even walk away from their computer.
64% of shoppers who are dissatisfied with their site visit will go somewhere else to shop next time.
Although this study focused on ecommerce sites, the findings should be relevant to any site owner regardless of the type of site since the results clearly show how big an effect slow load times can have on user behavior.
In the old study from 2006, people got restless if an ecommerce site took more than four seconds to load. In the 2009 study, people got restless if an ecommerce site took more than two seconds to load
More Insight
This is useful information and leaves room to ponder best practice ways and perhaps even innovative ways to architect higher performing web sites and apps. Sometimes it can be as simple as tweaking the performance of a server, leveraging the power and scalability of cloud computing, or even as complex as modifying the back end code of a web application to respond better. Either way, the benefit of meeting the demands, which can often equate to needs, is an important part of an organizations perception by customer, client and competitors.
Today marks the 40th Birthday of the Internet. On September 2, 1969, two computers successfully passed data through a 15-foot gray cable in a lab at the University of California. By the end of that year three other universities, Stanford Research Institute, UC Santa Barbara and the University of Utah, had joined the ARPANET network and the Internet, albeit in its early form, was born.
With the progress made so far, everyone is eager to see, and be a part of, what the next generation of communication and computing will be like.
As part of a continued commitment to providing professional services for notable Software as a Service solutions, we are planning on hosting a webinar on Google Apps and wanted to get your feedback first. This will help give a feel for what you could benefit from, and help tailor the presentation and information to appropriately address your needs.
Please take a few moments to fill out the below embedded form! Thanks much and looking forward to a successful webinar on Google Apps! To get your taste buds whetted, watch the video overview below the embedded form.
Originally when I thought of this question, it seemed quaint, possibly silly, maybe even unimportant. But realizing how much as I use, benefit and subscribe to web feeds, I figured why not come up with a short list of the traits of a loyal, and happy feed subscriber.
Ideal Web Feed Subscriber
Would an ideal subscriber have some or all of the following traits?
(Assuming you provide a full text feed) Clicks the link to view the original post on your website even though they read it in their feed reader anyway
Subscribes to your feed in multiple feed readers
Syndicates your feed by placing it in a feed display widget on their blog/website
Gaining an Ideal Web Feed Subscriber
Provide useful content (and often if appropriate)
Provide full text feeds (no excuses to do otherwise unless you want to be stingy)
Ofter simple ways to subscribe and consider offering a widget of your own, or use another service to do so easily (iGoogle, Netvibes, Bloglines)
Make iPhone app or Facebook app that provides a feed (good for further engagement)
These are a few humble ideas; that I plan to implement further and experiment across various websites that I create and manage.
Parting thought: Services like Twitter, completely change the game on this. (For example, I follow @TechCrunch on Twitter, but do not subscribe to the RSS feed. Mostly as an experiment to see how often I’m drawn to TechCrunch.com via Twitter as opposed through a feed reader.)
You know the feeling. When you get an invoice in the mail from one of your service providers, you wonder as you are opening it, what is really inside of that little plastic window?
An invoice that I receive regularly contains a simple, but brief communication blurb that says “We appreciate customers like you who pay on time. Your account is in good standing.” While this gives me the added reassurance that I am staying on the ball and making sure they get their money on time, there is another element within the statement.
Having been a customer for over 5 years, I can recall that the first invoice statement I received from them had the same phrase on it. While it is possible that the wording could have been modified, that isn’t important, and would likely go unnoticed.
The overall theme is that customers, clients, friends, and family like two things: consistency and reassurance. A consistent message, whether through a mission or value statement, speaks volumes. Reassurance, not the type to coax a scared animal out of a corner, but rather the undeniable truth of the matter, presented with a useful fact.
Try it. Put it in to practice. Be more genuine, show an added measure of transparency, and put value in someones, or an organizations day.
As Internet connectivity continues to become more readily available, lower priced, and more accessible, think wireless and mobile device, Internet users expectations have grown.
