Eyetracking — How the Viewer sees a Web Page

see study

Your headline must grab attention in less than 1 second.

How do viewers eyes track a page? The first thing a viewer sees is the headline, then they scan the first couple of words in that headline. The eye moves to the left side and scans a list of secondary headlines. Navigation at the top of the page works best. Short paragraphs encourage reading. (When I see a long block of text it irritates me and I click off the site immediately looking for faster, shorter info.) Viewers tend to read introductory paragraphs if they're short. Ad placement in the top and left positions works best. People notice ads placed close to popular content and they read text ads more than graphic ads. Multimedia works better than text for unfamiliar or conceptual information.

I came by this information through a series of clicks. First I clicked a link to this blog The Future of Digital Life that blog then credited this blog Direct Creative Blog and that blog credited this website.

Things We Know re: How the Viewer Sees a Page

Thanks to a study of Eyetracking research there is a pattern and course that most eyes will track on a page. "Eyetracking is research that tracks where a person's eyes look while reading, then analyzes the data to reveal patterns. By combining and reviewing data from multiple individuals during testing, you can discover representative patterns that apply to most of the population." (source: poynterextra.org).

What this means is that a good designer will understand these patterns and provide a design by making choices and ranking the elements that make up the page. As with most things, there's more than meets the eye with the psychology of design! This is one of the important features of a website that is forsaken when a layperson creates their own site to save money. Remember, usually you get what you pay for. If you want a successful website, don't be "penny wise and pound foolish." Invest in yourself and your business by using scientific facts and psychological understanding of how your viewers will experience your landing page.

What is Augmented Reality?

Augmented Reality (AR) is a new technology that adds a layer of useful information to computer and smartphone cameras. The technology is only in the infant stages, or maybe toddler. I can download apps to my iPhone and see what subway is closest to me. There are apps to find nearest restaurants. It's futuristic stuff happening now and it's amazing. In the future we will most likely wear glasses that have a visual GPS. So as you're walking you'll be getting information about your environment fed to you in a small frame inside a lens of the glasses. This VIDEO by Common Craft explains it in simple easy-to-understand terms.

How to Measure Social Media ROI for Nonprofits

Part of that depends on your goals. If one of the best ways to draw people to your website is to build your brand and increase the number of people that know your company exists, how much is that worth? If you are seeking volunteers for an organization and by tweeting and posts to facebook leads to that, how much is it worth? If asking for donations brings in some money, money that you would not have seen otherwise, isn't that important? At the end of the year, figure out what you've spent on the cost of outsourcing your social media and see if any or all of these areas have improved during that time and you will know right then that social media is worth the time and money. Ideally you'd be able to measure exactly how much you spent vs how much you earned in dollars and cents but with social media that can be tricky. There has to be an overall analysis at the end of the year of increased brand awareness, increased number of hits to your website, increased involvement of volunteers and of course, increases in donations. In only a few months time and with only a few hours per week I've seen huge increases in brand awareness, new visitors to the website, retweets on twitter and fans on facebook and already some donations that would never have happened had I not been actively using social media to spread the word and promote the cause.

Health Care Reform Bill Summary

Watch live coverage of the health care reform bill. Get the facts!

Tip: Importance of Anchor Text

Anchor text is what the viewer sees as the clickable text for a link. It is the words  the viewer sees placed between the href code. The words in the anchor text can effect that page's Google ranking. Make your anchor text as descriptive as possible. This text tells users and Google something about the page you're linking to. This applies to links within your site—pointing to other internal pages—or external links to other sites. No matter where the link is going, it is easier for Google, and for viewers, to navigate your site the more descriptive your anchor text is.

Barack Obama Wins Major Victory! HCR Bill Passes!!

Congress approved Obama's health care reform bill that will provide medical coverage to 32 million U.S. citizens.The vote was 219 to 212. I was surprised that 34 Dems joined Republicans to vote against the bill. The new legislation is being hailed by the Democrats as a historic advance in our society along the same lines as Social Security and Medicare. Low and middle-income people will greatly benefit from this. While the folks who earn $200,000 annually, and couples who earn a combined $250,00, will especially feel the pain of tax increases. It will cost our country $938 billion over a ten year period. Illegal immigrants will not be benefiting. This bill will reduce our federal deficit by $143 billion in the next decade. Stricter government control will be placed on health insurance companies. I am self-employed, work hard, pay taxes and take good care of myself yet I must pay close to $10,000 on health insurance each year. Then very little is covered. I am so pleased that restraints will be put on insurance companies. I feel they've had practically free-reign to look after their own financial interests for years and not those of the American people. So, my mood is lifted today and I'm once again, very pleased, that I voted for Barack Obama to be my president!

Check out the Augmented Reality (AR) NYC Subway Map

It is so cool! When you hold up your iPhone the nearest subway stations pop up. Check it out. It's so fun! And very practical too.

SAVE THE DATE!

The 39th Annual American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) Writers Conference takes place this year on April 24–25 at The Roosevelt Hotel, NYC. Come hear me speak on Sunday, April 25th at 9am — Panel Topic: Websites for Writers.

What the Heck is an Android Phone?

Android is a mobile operating system that uses a modified version of the Linux kernel. Huh? The Linux kernel is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software (OSS). The Android OSS was initially developed by Android, Inc. Google later purchased that company. This led to the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). Huh?? OHA is a business alliance of 65 firms for developing open standards for mobile devices. Are your eyes crossed yet? An open standard is a standard that is publically available. The term "open" usually means royalty-free technologies. "Standard" is sometimes restricted to technologies approved by formalized committees that are open to participation by all interested parties and operate on a consensus basis. Getting back now to the Android mobile operating system—it allows developers to write code in Java to control a device, in this case a mobile phone, via a Google-developed Java library. In this explanation library means a collection of "sub-routines" used to develop software. Phew! Got all that?

Secrets of Publishing Your First Book

Saturday 3/20 Susan Shapiro, author of 8 books and hundreds of articles for major publications, is giving a seminar in Greenwich Village from 1 to 5 pm. The seminar will include speakers Kate Garrick, agent and Paul Whitlatch, editor who are publishing her former students' books.

Blogging From iPhone

Good morning from rainy, soggy Chelsea, NYC.

How Augmented Reality (AR) Works

"Augmented Reality is changing the way we view the world — or at least the way its users see the world. Picture yourself walking or driving down the street. With augmented-reality displays, which will eventually look much like a normal pair of glasses, informative graphics will appear in your field of view, and audio will coincide with whatever you see. These enhancements will be refreshed continually to reflect the movements of your head. Similar devices and applications already exist, particularly on smartphones like the iPhone"
Article by Kevin Bonsor

Internet Statistics

The State of The Internet [VIDEO] has some eye-opening stats. Check it out.

Cool Video of What's Real and What's Not at Stargate Studios

Shows how actors are put into backgrounds. Very cool to watch. Check it out!

A rare thing happened

I didn't get everything on my check list done today. Humph. I'm a big list maker and I absolutely adore checking off each item as I do it. So, tell me, what is an embarrassing and/or trivial fact about you?

Gr8 Quote!

"When a business owner says to me, 'Why do I need to change my way of advertising and start using social media?' I reply, 'Do you want to be an 8 track player in an IPod world'" 

—Rick Mosca

17" Macbook Pro laptop

People said not to get the 17" laptop because it's too heavy. But i wanted it, I got it and I'm happy!  :)

6 Content-Driven Social Media Tips for Business

Establish presence. With hundreds of millions of active participants (Facebook alone has several hundred million registered users), you want continuous visibility among the people who are important to your business, be they customers, partners, or other stakeholders.

Build rapport and relationships with specific audiences. Cultivate relationships with your important stakeholder groups through two-way communication.

Establish your business as a leader and authority, by providing helpful and insightful content that can’t easily be found elsewhere, information people want.

Engage prospective customers and partners interactively. Invite feedback and input, and be responsive, attentive, empathetic, and supportive.

Listen and learn from your customers, supporters, and all your various stakeholders. Encourage constructive criticism, conduct surveys, solicit suggestions.

Build brand and company loyalty. Social media is an ideal vehicle to grow whatever loyalty initiatives your organization engages in.

read more
by Alan Radding

New Mac Pro Computer and New Macbook Pro laptop!

I must say, it's very exciting having such gr8 new toys. There's always a slight adjustment time to set everything up right but so far so good...

What a Long Strange Trip its Been

Yesterday my computer died an untimely death. It was my worst fear realized. I couldn't access anything—no email, no internet, no files, nada, nuttin, zilch. My monitor was black. I found out it had fallen into a coma. The power was working so it looked like it could turn on but it's mind (motherboard) was shot. I spent the day at Apple on 67th and Broadway. Thank goodness Apple employees are trained to be exceptionally kind and helpful. Lots of sucking up. Which I needed. My nerves, understandably, were shot. So, a zillion hours later i am now back online. Trying to get used to my brand spankin new Mac Pro. I couldn't decide whether to buy a laptop or a new tower so I bought both. $6000 later I sit here trying to get everything up and running. And that's the grim story with a happy ending.

Defense Dept. Now Allows Social Media

"The Defense Department on Friday unveiled its new policy allowing military members and civilians to access social media Web sites from the agency's unclassified network. Price B. Floyd, principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for public affairs, said last week that the new policy is an attempt to change the culture at the department, particularly as young people, many of whom have grown up using social media sites like Facebook, join the military, the American Forces Press Service reports."  read more

Linkedin Groups

If anybody out there hasn't tried joining groups on Linkedin you're missing an easy way to network with people that have similar interests. I can't believe how many cool people I've "met" online thru these groups. Ok, that's my tip for now...