October 14, 2009
Ever Been on a Blog That Was Laid Out Like Las Vegas
ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 8:52 am
A Navigational Crap Shoot
I’m leaving today for BlogWorldExpo in Las Vegas. The convention is a treat of Blog and New Media conversations, exhibits, and information. I look forward to catching up with old friends, getting some work done, and making some new things happen.
What dread is what it takes to navigate that city.
In Las Vegas, the shortest distance between two points is never a straight line. They’ve purposefully made it that way. I’m frustrated, beat up, and lose time whenever I try to find anyone or anything that isn’t the nearest casino. A round trip from the front desk to a hotel room easily can steal about 20 minutes.
Las Vegas is like a blog filled with shiny things that distract and divert people. Ever been on a blog or website like that?
Las Vegas doesn’t want me to be in my hotel room.
Some blogs don’t want me to read them.
- When I arrive and have to close an ad before I can see anything, that blog doesn’t really want me to read it.
- When I click to a new page and I’m asked to subscribe or buy, that blog doesn’t really want me to read it.
- When the header or sidebar is filled with flash to pull my eyes away from the text, that blog doesn’t want me to read it.
- When the colors vibrate with a hot red on a bright blue background, that blog doesn’t want me to read it.
- When the fonts scream at me like a carnival barker, that blog doesn’t want me to read it.
- When I can’t find the search box to get where I want to go, I really know then that …
When we have all of the time in the world to get where we’re going diversions can be interesting and wonderful. But it’s not often that the luxury of time is with us. Make it easy for folks to find what they came for and they’re like to come back again to find the next thing.
Unless you want them to be lost in your casino.
Ever been on a blog like Las Vegas?
Hope to see you at BlogWorldExpo!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
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8 Comments to “Ever Been on a Blog That Was Laid Out Like Las Vegas”




Aaron Hockley said
Las Vegas is the PERFECT analogy for those sorts of blogs. Another item for your list would be when you land on a blog and loud music starts playing without warning and without any easy way to stop it.
See you in Vegas!
Jay S. Fleischman said
Most of those blogs are put up for a reason other than foster conversation. They exist as lead generation devices only, put up by people who have been told that “blogging is the best thing for SEO.” Those bloggers aren’t doing it for interaction, they’re doing it to suck in more business only.
Lots of marketers look at blogging and social media as another tool for their old-school techniques. Rather than learn the new platforms and adapt their approaches to suit them, they seek to turn everything into another broadcast medium.
Witness the well-known (in my field, anyway) marketer who uses a string of fake Twitter accounts that exist solely to retweet his updates, has comments closed on his blog, and uses LinkedIn to send out spam blasts.
See the professional who uses Twitter only to broadcast, “Need help? Call me!” over and over again … and never updates with any other status messages.
The concept of blogs and social media as interactive platforms is foreign to the majority of businesses and professionals. Why? Because they simply don’t have the capacity to see the world without the blinders they’ve had on since the day they first opened up shop.
In the long run, it’s Darwinian. Those who adapt will thrive, whereas those who fail to do so will die off. That is a long process, but the sun is setting as we speak.
Enjoy Vegas - I’m sad I won’t be there this year.
Delaney Kirk said
Thanks for the phone interview today, Liz. I really appreciate your insights into using social media to market digital products for the book chapter I’m writing! I’ll let you know when it’s published.
Tony Lawrence said
Ayup. And it’s big companies that are often the worst offenders with pop-unders and those horribly annoying mouse-over pop-ups.
I hate ‘em. hate ‘em, hate ‘em.
But they don’t care, right? ‘Cuz they are Big and Important and I *need* them.
Maybe not…
--Deb said
Love, Love, Love this post. I’m more a quiet day by a window kind of girl–all those flashing lights and crowds make me queasy (grin)–whether it’s a website or real life!
Aimee Giese said
Oh you speak the truth.
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