Is Google making us Stupid? NO

By Dan Levengood, Senior Product Specialist

There is an article in the latest issue of The Atlantic titled, “Is Google Makings us Stupid?”  It’s an excellent read.   The article points out various ways Google is changing how we learn, read, research and digest information.  Good stuff.  However, I think they give Google too much credit.

It’s All About the Experience, Baby

By Heather Rast, Interactive Experience Manager

I love getting my hair done.  Yes, that’s a “girl” thing to say, but hey. 

The salon I frequent is kind of out of my way.  And I have to book my stylist on a rolling four-month basis; lest I lose my spot to The Woman Who Dares Be On The Same Schedule As Me (is she crazy?  I get very cranky those last few days before my appointment).

The reason I’m sharing this is simple.  Despite inconveniences and requirements of extra effort, I still love the place.  You might call me loyal (I’ve gone there exclusively for years).  You might even say I have affinity (I can’t imagine going anywhere else.  I give my stylist small gifts at Christmas to thank her for managing my vanity).  And I’m certainly a steward - I was just telling a gal the other day that I knew someone who could fix that Cheap Cuts disaster of hers.  And get this - they recently had to switch my appointment - twice! - because of some training.  Hey, no problem.  I love these guys.  No bother.

Inside the Mind of the Cancer Patient

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & Corporate Evangelist

I’m blogging from the NACCDO-PAN Conference (a meeting of cancer institute marketing, PR and development professionals) in a session by Amy Siegler, Managing Director at The Advisory Board Company, Inside the Mind of the Cancer Patient.

Moving beyond the homepage

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & Corporate Evangelist

Do you spend too much time and attention on your homepage?

I hear the backlash: ”No, it’s not possible to spend too much time on the homepage! It’s the single most visited page on the site! I’m fielding half a dozen requests for homepage space at this very moment…”

True, the homepage is the focal point of the Web site, the front door, the first impression that we try to make. But “try” is the operative word here. While we are meticulously fussing over the entryway, the door, the curb appeal, hordes of people are hopping the fence, crawling through a second story window and seeing the mess that we’ve heaped in the bedroom.

Will it Play in Peoria?

By Tracy Trettin, Marketing Manager

In a recent Webiscope blog post, our client Katrina Griffin, Web coordinator at Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, asked “Do you think it would be worth it to do a [marketing] campaign on features of the Web site?” Her question was submitted only two weeks before her Web site became the talk of the town.

Fulfilling the Promise of Content Pages

By David Sturtz, Information Architect

I’m at the 2008 Information Architecture Summit where I attended a great session titled “Content Page Design Best Practices,” presented by Luke Wroblewski, Senior Principal for Product Ideation & Design at Yahoo!

I’ve tried to quickly summarize Luke’s points here, and provide some actions you can take today to improve the UX for visitors to your content pages.

Using the Web to Increase Market Share

By Linda Barnes, VP - Strategic Services

One of the great benefits of my job is that I get to attend several conferences each year - talking with and learning from some of the best in the industry. Yesterday I sat in a presentation that asked how we as marketing professionals can move potential patients through the buyer decision process more efficiently and effectively. Because Geonetric’s focus is on the Internet, I found myself thinking specifically about how a hospital’s Web initiatives can help with that goal.