Nobody Reads Web Pages

But, everybody engages web sites

By Wizard Partner, Dave Young

It's a bold statement. When I first heard Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg utter it, my brain rejected it. They put it on a slide and my brain set it aside to chew on later.

Here's what it means: People who think that the internet is just print in a different medium are wrong. (Is your brain rejecting that statement?) Here's my little 'a-ha' demonstration

You are reading a book: read - read - read - backup to re-read a difficult passage - read - read - lick thumb to turn page - read - read - read - and so on.

You are reading a newspaper:  scan - scan - read - read - scan - read - turn to page 8A - read - back to page 1 - scan - read - turn page - scan - continue.

I am reading a newspaper: find the comics - scan - skip - read (just the funny ones - why do they call the boring ones 'comics'?)

You are reading engaging a web site designed by someone who believes that web sites are just like print: scan - scan - read - look for nav link - look some more - click - scan - wrong page click back button  -find another nav link - click - scan - read - click - back to search engine.

You are engaging a web site designed by someone who believes the web is different: scan - read - click - scan - click - scan - read - read - click - scan - click - type - click - type - click - wait for UPS truck to deliver merchandise.

Does that help?

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