Too much energy keeping users on our sites?

We spend too much energy keeping users on our sites. We should focus more on reminding them we exist.

(source) Go over and read this article, then come back -- OK, so I'm trying to keep you here. What do you think? The author contends:

I would prefer a user to visit my site on six different occasions for one minute each, than once for six minutes. That is because they will have been told about my site six times and so will be ready to take what I have to say seriously.

 and I think that, in some ways, I agree with him, especially about small sites like this blog. I have spoken about software being a place and more people are using aggregation software on their mobile devices to get their information. What you want is for the user to spot your entry and click over to your site for more information on your subject of interest because they have been there before and know that you have something important or interesting to say.

You need keep reminding your potential readers through entries in their places -- tweets, Facebook and Google+ entries . . . -- that you have something to say on the subject and that it's worth their time to drop by and read it.

Finding value in a place . . .

Are you finding value in all the places where you are? If you're selling something, I can see some value in exposure, but for most of us, I'm beginning to wonder if all these places -- Twitter, Facebook, Google+ -- are really worth it.

Do you get value from those you are following? In my case, it's a qualified "maybe". I work through my list periodically and evaluate it, eliminating those from which I'm not getting any value. Otherwise, at least for me, I can't follow all their tweets, messages, likes, etc.

Do you produce anything worth following? I really wonder in my case, because it seems that a large number of my followers are people who want me to follow them so they can sell me something.

The quest continues.

An Application as a Place

In the last blog I talked about a device as a place. Now I'd like to consider an application (app) as a place. The choice of a news aggregator, social media, or video app puts you in a place from which you view and interact with the world. From this place you view things and state YOUR views. If you have an app which anticipates your selections you are choosing what comes into your place. Sp the act of choosing the app creates a place into which you invite the world and from which you go out into the world. You use software which fits your way of interacting with the world and which makes you comfortable much as your favorite places.

A Device as a Place

Can a device be a place? A phone, tablet, or laptop can organize your life. Many people communicate with their friends more via texting than they do in person. We spend as much time in social media places as we do in physical places. So, why not?

I have used a phone for work for some time, but have just recently gotten an Android tablet. So I'm new at this device place. It will take me a while to evaluate this place. Sort of like moving into a new neighborhood. It takes some time to check out the local hot spots. I'll have more as I work in this new place.

Different Stuff for your places?

So if you are in multiple places -- let's say Facebook, Google+, and Twitter -- like I am, should you put different entries in each place? I go from one place to another and find much the same things in each. Twitter is a bit different than the other two, primarily because of its 140 character limit. That tends to make it the announcement place pointing to other places like this, where you can be more verbose. But, because of automated posting programs, I'm finding the same thing in both Google+ and Facebook. Makes keeping both sort of silly. Sure, Google+ has circles while Facebook has friends, but the content seems to be pretty much the same. Should it be? Are they like competing retailers who carry the same stuff and only differentiate themselves by price or service? Both are platforms and I wonder if they could differentiate themselves by the content that can be applied to either.

House Cleaning at the 3rd Place

It's the last day of 2011 and I'm doing some house cleaning at the various places I hang out on the web. I'm looking through the folks I follow and eliminating some that just aren't all that productive. I started at following 125 Twitter accounts at 11 h 16 m to go to 2012 here in Sacramento. I'm trying to evaluate them by volume and benefit that I have gained through following them. I should point out that I follow Twitter accounts for work, news, and knowledge. I use other 3rd places to link with friends and family. at 11h 0m to go to 2012 I am following 95 Twitter accounts. Most are related to things I'm doing at work, news, or interests at home.

I have 72 followers. I'm uncertain why most of them follow me, but I suspect many of them do so to get me to follow them and buy some product or service. At 10h 47m to 2012, it's not exactly working. I am following fewer than 10% of the people who follow me. Mostly for the same reason that they follow me -- I don't want to know about their product or service.

On to Facebook . . . Not much to change here. Not exactly rolling in friends, and am following only a small number of pages. Made a small change to my user name.

. . . 10h 36m to go and on to Google+. This one was new this year and I'm still evaluating it as a place to hang out (pun intended for one of their features . . . one I haven't tried yet). No changes here, so I'm moving to the oldest blog I have on the website. For a while now, I have been revisiting, rewriting and removing some of the blogs I wrote over the years. Today, I'm looking more at removing than anything else.

. . . 10h 3m to go and I'm done visiting my 3rd places and tidying up for the year. From my places to your places, a blessed and prosperous new year to all the world.

Wolfram Alpha

If you like to know stuff, you need to try Wolfram/Alpha. Here's a widget to try:



I'm just now trying out this beta widget for fun. If it doesn't work, try the link to the site. It's interesting.