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My Analysis of the Presidential Campaign Web Sites

AZ Central asked me to provide an analysis of the presidential campaign web sites. Here is the unedited analysis I provided to them. It's a bit off-the-cuff because they had a tight deadline, but it's still thorough, engaging and oh-so insightful. (Please note, this analysis and this blog do not represent the viewpoints of my employer, and are not reviewed nor endorsed by my employer.)

JOHN MCCAIN (R) - A striking, dramatic black-and-white. The only color on the homepage is McCain's face. Video on the homepage is a positive. Video is the BIG thing thing online right now, and we'll continue to be as the PC and TV slowly but steadily merge. What's more, the videos on McCain's site can be saved to Digg and/or del.icio.us - 2 of the largest social bookmarking site - that's a good thing, but I doubt the "canned" videos are compelling enough to get a significant amount of attention from those sites. You can build "your own" McCain page/site with relevant issues and other semi-customized information. That's fine - Gore did it 7 years ago and this approach doesn't seem that much different. The main content area on McCain's homepage features a "Why McCain" link, a Donate link and a selection of videos. A search feature is hidden in the lower-right hand corner - the web equivalent of "Baltic Avenue." Translation: the campaign wants to control your interaction with the site and their candidate. After a few minutes on McCain's site, the black-and-white started making me depressed - probably not how the campaign wants site visitors to feel, yet it is an inevitability. The world isn't black-and-white anymore, and neither should your website be. Is the b-n-w reflect McCain's world view? Also, where is the RSS feed?

HILLARY CLINTON (D) - Ahh, color. That alone made me feel better upon visiting Clinton's site. The main content area of the homepage features videos, contribution links and an "Action Center." And, the Action Center allows you to view events within X miles of your zip code. One point for Hillary. Why do I care about events in Montana? Let me instantly and easily customize my experience at your site and you're making points with me. There's a link where I can organize my own event for Hillary - more personalization, more localization...more voters. Hillary's site also contains an RSS feed - a must in the 2008 campaign. Hillary and her team also have an active blog with comments allowed - that is huge.

RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R) - Rudy's homepage features the obligatory contribution links but also allows folks to sign-up their support right from the homepage - a smart strategy that will definitely yield lots of sign-ups (read 'names & addresses'). Rudy News is also upfront on the homepage and features an RSS feed - nice.  The campaign is clearly banking on some of Rudy's inherit like-ability in the wake of his deft handling of the 9/11 attacks in NYC. Rudy's site is an "exploratory committee" site so the content isn't as deep or well-developed, but early signs from this campaign show that they are web-savvy and will use the medium to effectively promote their candidate, connect supporters and sway undecideds.

BARACK OBAMA (D) - BarackTV, MyBarackObama and other issue-related content is feature on Obama's homepage. The links are large, the color is tasteful and the presentation is exceptionally well-done. The MyBarack section definitely is one of the best attempts at customization and usage of the "social web" among the presidential candidates. The Donate button is prominent but it doesn't hog-up prime real-estate or take away from more useful content, a nice change. Barack's team is also blogging and an RSS feed is offered, although it is hard-to-find. Comments are allowed - a good sign that the Obama team "gets it" when it comes to the web.

MITT ROMNEY (R) - Romney presents way too many choices on his homepage. There's so much there, where do I start? That being said, MittTV, the Featured Stories section and TeamMitt are all easily accessible, engaging and very well done. Also, Romney's site is the only site with an En Espanol link prominently displayed - good call. RSS is available from the homepage. Contribution's are obviously accepted but the links aren't nearly as in-your-face as the other candidates - a welcome reprieve. But, where's the blog?

JOHN EDWARDS (D) - The darling of the "web2.0" crowd, Edwards site is very well done and is the only candidate using a "landing page" that allows you to quickly and easily sign-up to stay informed of campaign activities before moving on to the full Edwards site. This is a proven web technique that businesses use every day, and it is a very effective way to get people signed-up. Edwards main content area on the home page features video (seeing a theme here?), a strong Action Center and additional links to other stories and issue information. The Edwards blog is the best of the bunch with feeds, comments and user-submitted posts - finally, someone understanding the concept of "You" being named Time's Person of the Year. The blog section is a true community and good sign of what the Edwards campaign is focusing on. Yes, they did recently get in a spot of trouble for a few "rogue bloggers" but the Edwards team completely gets it, is openly involving the community and is attracting lots of visitors, online attention and buzz. Edwards is even in Second Life - could these guys be too web-savvy?

Edwards' site is definitely the most innovative and contains the most substance, community and deep content.

Surprisingly, I think McCain's site may be the worst due it's lack of  true customization and depressing black-and-white template. Black-and-white can (and should) be used effectively - McCain's team has overdone it.

Rudy's is the most boring, but that's probably due to its Exploratory Committee nature. I suspect it will be built up much more in the coming months.

I do tip my hat (but certainly not my support!) to Romney for the En Espanol feature. Where the heck are the other candidates on this?

Interesting but possbily irrelevant sidenote: Clinton, McCain and Edwards all use a favicon on their site. Rudy, Barack and Mitt do not. Does a favicon indicate a top-contender whereas a "no favicon site" indicates a lesser candidate? I doubt it, but if McCain, Clinton or Edwards is our next president, well, you heard it here first.

AZCentral.com Biz Blogs Good, Not Great

AZCentral.com recently unveiled a bunch of new business-oriented blogs covering topics like real estate, biotech, entrepreneurs and personal finance. The authors seem promising and the content should be fairly high quality. However, these business blogs share the same problem as all AZCentral blogs - they are hard to find, you can't subscribe to individual blogs (no RSS feeds) and no TrackBacks. Its not quite 3 strikes and you're out, but AZCentral.com, with all of the resources at their disposal, is definitely behind in the count.

Big Business Bloggers

Blogging isn't just for small businesses anymore. A growing number of corporate CEOs are realizing the benefit and value of blogging. It keeps them connected to their customers, colleagues at all levels, the media and the public in general. These are key contacts which otherwise would probably not be made, and certainly not sustained. Plus, the blog posts are increasingly sincere, revealing and insightful. After all, if the CEO is taking the time to blog, he better not be cranking out puff pieces that sound like they came from the PR department.

Gus, King of...Blogs?

Gus, King of Dogs is a small business on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. This is Gus's first summer in business and it wasn't exactly a gang-busters summer. Gus serves all kinds of delicious hot dogs, the perfect beach and boardwalk food. The dogs have colorful, famous names like The Snoopy, The Benji and my favorite, The Lassie, an all beef hot dog with grilled onions and melted cheddar cheese. I ate at least 3 Lassies during my week-long stay at the shore. And, of course, I dragged friends and family members there to gnosh on the tasty dogs several times. I am a Gus convert.

Unfortunately, Gus has a problem. His location. Gus is, technically speaking, on the boardwalk. But, his dog shack is set back about 30 yards or so from the main, heavily-trafficked portion of the boardwalk. Gus leases the bottom floor of the famous Flanders Hotel, and while Gus is the King of Dogs, he is definitely not King of Location. You pretty much have to know Gus is there in order to go visit him. If you were unaware of his business - and this being his first year, everyone is unaware of his business - you may never go there. Food stands proliferate on the boardwalk and Gus gets lost in the mix, especially because on the boardwalk, out of sight means you don't exist.

So, let's review. We have a wonderful business serving a quality niche product (foot-longs are everywhere, Gus serves gourmet hot dogs) in the not-quite-so-perfect setting. His business is poorly located and suffers from very light traffic. Gus needs to do some general awareness marketing, develop a little customer loyalty and turn loyal customers into hot dog evangelists. Gus needs to let people know he's there, he's serving incredible hot dog's and he wants you to come see him next time you're in Ocean City. Gus needs to blog.

Gus needs to more deeply connect with customers that walk through the door, like me. I was there at least 3 times with several different people over the course of the week. The same woman waited on me every time. But, she never figured out, cared or acknowledged that I was a Gus fanatic and I was evangelizing for them during my vacation. I'm a big fan and I'll be back next summer (if Gus is still there), but I'd love to keep on new menu items, Gus news and other interesting items during the long winter while I dream of next summer's vacation. I (the customer) want to stay connected to Gus, and his hot dogs. Gus needs to blog.

Other people love Gus too. While I was enjoying a hot dog one day, a woman came in raving about the hot dogs and the name of the business (her brother's name is Gus). She promptly bought a few dogs and a t-shirt. Then, she left. The staff, including the manager, made no attempt to keep in touch with the woman whatsoever. If her brother ever strolls in it will be completely of his own volition. Gus is not breeding return traffic and loyal customers. Gus needs to blog.

Keep in mind that if Gus was selling hot dogs like Kohr Brothers was selling frozen custard, there would be no need for this post. Gus would not need a blog. But, for a fledgling small business, slightly off-the-beaten-path that caters to a loyal niche audience - yes, Gus, this means you - a blog is an effective way to reach new targets (plenty of New Yorkers vacationing in Ocean City, NJ), keep loyal customers returning every summer (like me) and grow your empire so that you will be known not only as the King of Dogs, but also as the King of Blogs.

CreativeYouthTheatre.org 2.0

Creative Youth Theatre, based in Phoenix, AZ, is dedicated to quality performing arts for children of all ages. They have an extraordinarily talented staff, a genuine love of the theatre and a dedication to kids. Unfortunately, their Web site wasn't representing the successful theatre or telling the story about the wonderful opportunity for local children that the theatre held. But they were (and are) committed to changing that. Enter Small Biz Blog Wiz stage left.

After spending time on the theatre's old site (pictured below) and speaking with the founder, it was established that a more robust, dynamic site was in order. The new site needed to effectively communicate the message of the theatre, engage their intended audience and support the ongoing work and mission of the theatre.

Naturally, at the top of the list for the new site was a blog. The theatre is very prolific and their is a steady stream of news, events and great content readily available. But a blog was not enough to present everything to the audience that the theatre needed to convey. The needed complete, on-site photo galleries, stand-alone pages for the production and the ability to add and edit pages across multiple users. We decided on the SquareSpace system to revamp the site and deliver a richer experience for theatre supporters.

The result can be seen in the two screen-shots below - the first is a picture of the old site, the second is a picture of the new site.

OLD SITE

NEW SITE

Bright, airy colors and plenty of white space gave the page a lighter, joyful look-and-feel and allowed for content to be placed front-and-center. That will allow site visitors - theatre supporters, cast members and many others - to easily access what they are looking for in a fun but non-distractive environment - a site that focuses on the content yet reflects the true essence of Creative Youth Theatre.

Check out the new Creative Youth Theatre web site and let me know what you think.

eBay Blogs Connect Buyers & Sellers

Internet auction giant eBay has unveiled a blog service for their customers. People connecting to people is the essence of eBay - this is a great way to establish, nurture and strengthen those connections. Every small business should be closely considering how they can use eBay to sell more widgets.

eBay will host an online workshop for new bloggers. This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about how eBay blogs work, integrating them with your auction listings and growing your business using eBay blogs.

Link: EBay Launches Wiki and Blog Sites

"...a blog service and a Wiki makes a lot of sense for eBay, given the large number of eBay member that participate it the company's community forums."

A Quick Guide to Reading Blogs

What blogs do you read? You ARE reading blogs in your industry or market, right? If so, great. If not, you need keep up with your niche. Either way, this quick guide will get you acquainted with the leading tools for organizing, reading and sharing your favorite blog subscriptions.

There are basically 3 ways to read blogs via an RSS feed which you subscribe to:

1. Newsreader software installed on your desktop - The first option is software that you download and install on your computer. When you want to read your blogs, just fire up the program and you're set.These software packages typically accentuate speed and usability. They do one thing and they do it well. Desktop readers are a good option if you always read blogs from the same machine. If you read blog feeds on multiple machines then a desktop-only solution is not a good fit This group represents the first generation of feed readers. Currently, desktop newsreaders are losing market-share to web-based readers.
Desktop Newsreaders: FeedDemon, RSS Bandit, Newzcrawler

2. Web-based newsreader - You register at a site, log-in and read your blogs. These sites are are centered almost exclusively on blog-reading and blog-searching. The best of these services are well organized, easy-and-enjoyable-to-use and extremely reliable. Because these sites are meant only as blog-reading tools, it is easy to manage and organize a large-number of changing feeds. If you're reading just a few blogs (say, less than 12) than a personal portal may be a better option for you.
Web-based Newsreaders: Bloglines, Newsgator, FeedLounge


3. Web-based personal portal page - Growing in popularity, the "personal portal" pages are customizable pages that can display blog feeds in addition to email, photos, file storage and other modules. Functions and features can be quickly added, modified or deleted. The benefit of this new crop of personalized pages is the additional content that can loaded into the portal. Ebay auctions, to-do lists, bookmarks and email are just a few examples of the type of content, in addition to blogs, that can be added to personalized portal pages. Because the feed reader is not front-and-center (reading RSS feeds is simply integrated with the other features), it may be short on advanced newsreader functions. Also, it can be difficult to manage a large number of feeds in personal portal. However, for keeping a few feeds and lots of other useful content nearby, the new generation of personal portals are a good choice.
Web-based Personal Portal Pages: Netvibes, Pageflakes, Google Personalized Page

I recommend Web-based readers (category #2 above) for reading blogs. Because the web-based readers do just one thing, they tend to do it well. These newsreaders are the best choice for small business owners. Read your feeds anywhere; your subscriptions can be neatly and easily organized and maintaining a large, active reading list is simple, not headache-inducing or overly technical.

Is Your Business Web Site Any Good?

Business Week offers a great tip for business Web sites: make them shine! You can't afford ho-hum employees and you definitely can't afford a ho-hum Web site. Make it interesting, keep it updated and always measure your results.

Link: Today's Tip - BusinessWeek Online

"Similar to valued employees, a good site is a strategic investment that can provide great returns when deployed effectively."

Ask for the Order on Your Blog

Good small business owners know the importance of asking for the order. The same holds true for your web site or blog. Tell visitors what you want them to do and they are more likely to do it - plain and simple.

Link: Crafting a Persuasive "Call to Action" on Your Site

"After your headline, your call to action is the most important element on your website. It should stand out from the rest of your copy and be easy for visitors to find. To draw attention to it, use bolding, a larger font size, a different color--whatever best suits the style of your site."

Is Your Blog Ready for More Visitors

As more people access to the internet via broadband connections, more time will be spent online, more interaction and discussions will occur and, of course, more money will be spent. Is your small business blog in position to take advantage of this coming tidal wave of visitors ? If you're not sure then contact me.

Link: USATODAY.com - Middle class goes broadband as price falls

"Broadband adoption increased 59% from March last year to March 2006 among U.S. households with incomes between $30,000 and $50,000, according to a survey to be released Monday by the Pew Internet and American Life Project."