Web-Design Expert Says Clarity Is Key

Overall, I am inclined to agree with the piece below. This expert is beginning to understand the power of citizen media.

Jakob Nielsen is a Web-design guru who has spent years advising companies about how to create attractive and easy-to-use Web sites. Lately, he has been thinking about other ways that companies reach out to customers, like blogs, RSS news feeds, newsletters and more.

WSJ: You hear a lot these days about RSS news feeds, which is the software technology behind blogs. What do you think of them?

Mr. Nielsen: People who are in the field often use the term ‘RSS’ [Really Simple Syndication] to refer to ‘news feeds’ because that’s the name of the technology. But in one of our studies, 82% of those we surveyed did not know what RSS meant. It’s not something that the general public knows about. So if you are targeting business executives, or even if you are doing something for the general public, they are not likely to understand that particular term. Even if they are actually using the technology. So one of the real strong recommendations is to stop calling it ‘RSS’ and start calling it ‘news feeds,’ because that explains what it does…. Source: startupjournal.com