Category Archives: Internet

Web surfers see only what they want

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Certainly no surprise to anyone that designs or (in my case) maintains websites. A few specifics from recent study by Jakob Nielsen’s Nielsen Norman Group:

  • Individuals read Web pages in an “F” pattern. They’re more inclined to read longer sentences at the top of a page and less and less as they scroll down. That makes the first two words of a sentence very important.
  • Surfers connect well with images of people looking directly at them. It helps if the person in the photo is attractive, but not too good-looking. Photos of people who are clearly professional models are a turnoff.
  • People respond to pictures that provide useful information, not just decoration.

And my favorite: When there is less on a page, users read more.

Nielsen: 68% of active US Net users have broadband at home

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“Nielsen//NetRatings… announced today that the number of active broadband users from home increased 28% year-over-year, from 74.3 million in February 2005 to 95.5 million in February 2006. Broadband composition among the U.S. active online population has seen vigorous growth during the past three years, increasing at least ten percentage points annually and hitting an all-time high of 68% for active Internet users in February 2006.” [via RAIN]

Faster, cheaper net access

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In June of 2002 I finally got DSL service. For two years prior to that I paid $100 a month for an ISDN line (128kbps). That’s just Internet, mind you… local and long distance extra. Pricy, but the alternative was dial-up. I’m currently paying $65 a month for 3 meg DSL access.

Today a nice young man at Sprint upgraded me to 5 meg DSL service for $40 per month. In a perfect world, someone from Sprint would have called or emailed something along the lines of, “Mr. Mays, as a long-time Sprint customer, we wanted to let you know you can get improved services for less money. Shall we sign you up?” But I’m not complaining. I’m thrilled I lived to see this day.

Online dating service for farmers

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FarmersonlyCity folks just don’t get it! That’s the tagline for FarmersOnly.com, the online dating service for “sincere, down-to-earth people who respect and chesrish the rural lifestyle.” It’s the brainchild of Jerry Miller and the site appears to be red-hot. Getting lots of MSM coverage.

I spoke briefly with Jerry this afternoon. Andrew McCrea did an interview with Jerry (AUDIO: 4 min MP3) and he wanted to take a listen. How good is his idea? He’s been contacted by the producers of American Idol in connection with a new reality show they’re developing that sounds like “Who Wants to Marry A Farmer?” They want to tap Jerry’s database. I do NOT doubt the folks behind American Idol.

This is what I love about the web. There are lots of online dating services and match-makers but Jerry saw an unfilled niche and ran with it.

Rural broadband on the rise

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“Rural Americans are less likely to log on to the internet at home with high-speed internet connections than people living in other parts of the country. By the end of 2005, 24% of adult rural Americans went online at home with high-speed internet connections compared with 39% of adults in urban and suburban areas.”

— Pew Internet & American Life Project of high-speed Internet access in rural America

New look for Learfield.com

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Andy and I have been working…or not working…or thinking about working on a new look for the Learfield corporate website for most of a year. And tonight we “relaunched.” Tomorrow a few hundred people will start calling and emailing to tell me they can’t find something on the company intranet or that they think the new look sucks. Or both. But that’s all part of the drill. The site is three years old and way past dew for a make-over. The new design has lots of white space and has a nice, open feel about it.

Learfield.comI’m reminded of the early days (1996?) when we put up the first FrontPage monstrosities. Nobody gave a second thought to websites back then so it didn’t matter if they looked like shit. Or maybe we just hadn’t seen enough good sites to recognize bad ones. No more. Increasingly, the worlds first impression of your company is the website and it better look good, have some useful content and be well organized. It is a never ending struggle. But it’s time for a cold Bud.

Selling radio spots online

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Broadcast sales execs are still upbeat about the future. Sort of. From an informal Banc of America Securities survey of 46 GSMs and other sales execs at the recent Radio Advertising Bureau meeting:

  • Nearly one-quarter of respondents indicate that they already use online services . . . to sell available airtime,and another 30% plan to use such services in the future.
  • The new worry is the iPod and the Internet radio, not satellite radio. 26% think Internet radio is a bigger threat than satellite radio. That’s up from 10% of respondents a year ago.

From Billboard Radio Monitor [via RAIN]

Five hours a week listening to radio

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“Online users spend as much time surfing the web as they do watching TV, and they spend far more time at it than they spend with other media, says a new study from Jupiter Research. The report was based on a survey of just under 3,000 regular online users, defined as people who go online at least once a month from home, work or school. It found that on average online users are now spending about 14 hours a week surfing the internet, which is equal to the amount of time that they spend watching TV. By comparison, on average each week they spend one hour reading magazines, two hours perusing newspapers and five hours tuning into the radio. In fact, they spend more time online than they do with all those other media combined.” [Heidi Dawley, Media Life]

Sounds like 30 minutes of radio listening (on average) on the way to and from work each weekday. Compared to a couple of hours online every day.