Dot Ugh

Communication World, June, 2001 by Cheryl O'Donovan

But propose installing an employee bulletin board, and the company lawyers look at you as if you've just suggested arm-wrestling the CEO. The lament, "If some smart aleck posts an inflammatory statement, we're liable." The next step, then, is to suggests that all message be screened first, then posted. Another monkey wrench is flung: "Screening would be unbearably labor-intensive. It's too much hassle.

"A legal department usually looks at the downside," says Nielsen. "But how imporant is it to get work done? A bulletin board offers a great potential benfit. Maybe you can't eliminate risk, but you can minimize it." Nielsen says to provide written policies on what to do, versus what not to do. One way to screen postings: employees could nominate topics for review.

Communicators often touch both the Internet and intranet sites. "It's almost a schizophrenic problem, because customers and employees are obviously not the same," says Nielsen. "There's a great difference in knowledge and motivation. The customer won't care about the history of the company. The customer cares about the products and services. The employee does care about the company history. He or is trying to get work done, and trying to get promoted." Crossing that wide divide, then, is to return to sound usability principles. Shape content on the basis of what users need. "An Internet site is generally more marketing oriented, and an intranet has more in common with the employee newsletter. It has more HR and communications," says Nielsen. He also supports the idea of a web editor or senior web editors, to monitor content. Webmaster aren't necessarily writers.

Go for clarity, not cuteness. "Cute or fun headlines often come at the expense of clarity," says Nielsen. Users must realize what they will get out of the click before they activate it. Avoid causing multiple clicks, or sending the user to an irrelevant site. It wastes time. It's annoying. And brevity rules, especially on the home page. "There is a great need to write hypertext," says Nielsen. "Anyone can write a long piece. Few can write a short piece and do it well."

Merge the creative and technical minds. Assign web site development to both the technical and creative experts. If technical exclusively owns it, the site will be too complicated and crammed with features. There won't be any white space. Likewise, "Keep the creatives on a leash," cautions Nielsen. "Don't let them go wild. You end up with tiny type that's unreadable. Content will be too clever for its own good, and obscure. Users want you to give them the link and get out of the way."

Doctors use Latin, techs use jargon. People, including communicators, can be intimidated by technology. Engineers and programmers use jargon as a distancing ploy. What would help the layperson understand web development? An HTML course?

"It never hurts to understand the technology basics," says Nielsen. "On the other hand, respect the technical person's knowledge. A web site is a communication tool. The way it's built -- that's the engineer's job. When you talk to technical employees, avoid the marketing angles, or the sales job. Talk about the project in logical terms. Reaffirm that you represent the third leg on the stool. That you provide a balance."