The conservative radical: June 16, 1997 issue of New Thinking

June 16, 1997 New Thinking:
The conservative radical

Website content management

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June 16, 1997

The conservative radical

By Gerry McGovern

The fact that the Netscape homepage gets millions of visits every week says a lot. I don’t think Netscape gets so many visits simply because they’re a great information or entertainment resource. Because they’re not, unless, of course, you’re looking for Netscape-related information.

In my opinion, one reason Netscape gets so many visits is because there are so many Netscape browsers out there. Another reason is that people using Netscape don’t know how to configure it so that when they launch, it will open up at their favorite website.

In the digital age, it sometimes feels like every day we have to learn how to use a new technology. I find that it can get unnerving. I’ve just installed the new Netscape browser, and I’m glad that it brought over my preferred launch URL. Because I’ve forgotten where you go to change it.

People who venture into new territory have made a radical decision. However, if we examine history, we find that many of these people brought to the new territories some very conservative attitudes.

Here’s a hypothesis: People venturing into new territory will compensate for their act of radicalism by magnifying other conservative aspects of themselves, and that this magnification will continue until they grow familiar and comfortable within the territory.

A practical exploration of this hypothesis might relate to online purchasing habits. People are worried about fraud. Many don’t want to give their credit card numbers. These same people might have no problem giving their credit card in a restaurant, where, in fact, the potential for fraud might be higher. But they are familiar and comfortable with restaurants; they are not comfortable with the online world.

Those who are selling online today have the advantage of being among the first. They do, however, carry the burden of being educators and ‘comfort builders’ for their online target market.

A million websites to visit may sound like fun to some, but for many others it sounds like a lot of hard work. As more and more websites create greater mass and confusion, getting people to visit your site in the first place will become an increasingly difficult task.

Once there, people must be comforted. They should not see clutter, but rather an inviting, simple framework which gives them the immediate sense that they have arrived somewhere that knows what it’s about. They will like to see familiar brands and logos. If they are considering purchasing, they will want to read about how you are a solid, reliable organization.

Anything that leads to confusion or requires plug-ins or extra learning better have a fundamental reason behind it. Otherwise, the consumer will make a reflex decision to back-button themselves away.

Most of us get our Netscape up-and-running and are pretty pleased with ourselves. We’re on the Internet! We’ve made it and once on there is a strong impulse to go the road that’s easiest.

As the new territory becomes an old hunting ground, we may look for new adventures, but in a new territory, every step is a new adventure.

Gerry McGovern

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As more and more websites create greater mass and confusion, getting people to visit your site in the first place will become an increasingly difficult task.