Getting acclimated into the next stage of my career could have been an excuse. A great NCAA Mens’ Basketball Tournament could be a factor. Laziness, plugging back in to the New Media matrix, remembering the blues, getting the area social events…sure. All of it could have played a part.
But in the end, the biggest reason why I haven’t been writing on my Blues Book (Hopefully) site is that my site is uglier than sh**.
The older I get, the more I realize I’m affected by ambiance: styles, color, food, the weather. I’m dehydrated most days because I choose to drink pop when I should be drinking water. I’m comfort eating while I adjust to the decreased levels of stress. I spent quite a bit of my last paycheck to make sure I get the most out of the music I hear because for the first time in 4 years, the music stirs me.
And now, I can choose to write again.
And I want people to enjoy the experience.
Much like how the feel of a book and its pages attribute to the experience of reading a book, the look and feel of a website helps contribute to how often people visit a website and whether or not they return.
It’s called User Experience. It’s commonplace in user interaction. Google SEO Webspam team leader Matt Cutts often answers that the best thing one can do to improve their SEO is to write engaging content people will want to link to. Reading Julius Caesar on a classic booklet bound and publish in 1906 is much more appealing than reading it on a sh*ty airport paperback. Even down to the musty smell. And despite oppressing state laws, the smokey, sweating haze of a blues club sets the mood and makes even weak blues playing sound that much better.
By the way, I’d let you borrow one of my classic hardbound Shakespeare booklets if you’d want – for a price.
How else does night club music work? You really think it’s the depth of artistry?
What website style makes for great user experience?
Yeah, it’s a case of “Beauty’s in the Eye of the Beholder.” It depends on interest. We’ve been having the discussion at work. Usually, a simple clean site that doesn’t upstage the content will work. If the styling, fonts, and imagery interrupt the users ability to receive the website owner’s message, than you fail yourself as much as anything.
Examples of good website user experience
- Hulu.com (content and style)
- You Tube (content over style)
- Wolfgangs Vault (navigation a little fuzzy, but the content is awesome)
- Smashing Magazine (it’s so pretty I don’t even mind the ads)
Examples of bad website user experience
- Post Tribune (here’s a hint: cross-browser test! You can contact me for the other many, numerous hints)
- Chicago Tribune sports (Why is newspaper website design is behind???)
- Google: if you didn’t know of most of their many tools, you’d never be able to find them
Google? The #1 search engine in the world? Bad Website user Navigation?
Yeah, i said it. For all the tools you can find from your Google account, you’d sh** if you’d learn how many more applications and tools you can’t find via standard navigation. And it’s worse if you don’t sign in.
Not that they’re suffering.