Warmest Greetings,

It's a Busy Day in the Neighborhood  

:: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 ::

A person can't be in more than one place at a time. But, I did try. The result was sheer calamity.

Firstly, to keep up with our growth, I sent out invitations to several people inviting them to join Cre8asiteForums as Moderators. So far, 3 out of 4 have responded. Two were officially welcomed yesterday:

Tim, was added to the Web Site Hospital team

Ruud, will be moderating the Tech News forum, and the Virtual Learning forum.

On top of this great news, Diane Vigil, who was a strong force in the Moderating staff at Cre8asiteForums, but left to focus on her growing business, has returned! We welcomed Diane back yesterday and in no time, she caught up on the few months worth of changes and news she'd missed during her absence. She'll be moderating in the Web Design forum and Site Planning and Preparation forum.

Incidently, in case you haven't seen it yet, Diane has launched her own blog called Developed Traffic. She's writing lately about losing the tables mind-set and relying more on CSS for design.

Since spending two solid days working (for free) at Cre8asiteForums administration stuff, I never even visited my UsabilityEffect.com web site. Sure enough, my friend Bill Slawski shoots me an email telling me it's not working. For two days it was showing a placeholder!

There was a weird DNS situation happening (long story.) In the process of fixing the problem, using an application that apparently was not fully QA'd or tested by end-users, I accidently blew away the DNS information for Cre8asite.net, the Cre8asiteForums sister web site which is a Web Resources Directory.

This caused problems with all the forums posts. You know, error messages and frustrated members. That type of fun.

A quick fix by Bill and Stock managed the post emails. Meanwhile, I was at football practice, picking up a kid from field hockey practice, feeding the family, talking to Diane on the phone, and my UE server host, and monitoring the homework sitation.

Add to that the fact that two stray kittens have chosen me to care for them (they live underneath my deck), nobody knows where the frog went that had made his home in the swimming pool, and when Diane first called me, I was sitting at the Saturn car dealership waiting for my car to be serviced.

And, so you may have wondered, where the heck are Kim's blog entries this week?


Good Reads

Managing the client: A fairy tale

     "If your project is to be of any value to the client, it must advance the client's business objectives. Knowing about the client's industry, business, and short- and long-term goals is essential to planning and executing a project that will meet the client's needs."

Do we use a 'Click here' or not?

     "I think all the old reasons against the use of "click here" are still valid: the phrase is too pushy and looks stupid on print."


Do we even bother with 'Back to Top' anymore?

     "Does anyone have any idea, opinions or information about when it is advisable to use that old 'Back to top' link on your webpages?"

DMOZ - Patience in Action

     "Out of interest why does a search in dmoz fail? But a google search show results?"

     "I know we all like to be charitable and give kudos to DMOZ for trying, but I think perhaps a more honest look at its virtues and vices is in order."

The right way to backup your PC

     "I wonder at the logic of backing up to other HD's. What if the house burns down and takes the equipment with it?"

Delving Deep Inside the Searcher's Mind by Heather Lloyd-Martin.

     "Following the "awareness" phase is the "convert" phase, characterized by users researching options and reviewing third-party testimonials. Users are also reintroduced to brands during the "convert" phase."

When I was hired to perform usability testing for the Geico web site, the first thing that struck me was that their green lizard was notably absent. The branding didn't translate from the TV ads to the web site. It does now! As a task for testing, I entered the site from a search engine. I wasn't sure I was at the correct site because I expected to see something familiar, like their mascot.

It's so often the little things...

Learning New Things

I'll be posting less often for the next few weeks while I'm getting trained in MIVA programming.

This is the thrill of blog ownership by the way. We grab your attention, earn your devotion and loyalty, we meet your parents, and start telling you what to wear, and then, like any relationship, we dump you.

Just kidding.

I'll be around.

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 9/15/2004 11:31:06 AM

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