LDS Media Talk

Remember in Steven Spielberg’s movie Minority Report, when Tom Cruise uses his hands to manipulate data on a giant computer screen? It’s here.

Today at the D: All Things Digital conference near San Diego, Microsoft unveiled Microsoft Surface, a tabletop computer. No, it doesn’t sit on top of a table. It is the top of the table. Microsoft Surface is a translucent, interactive façade that recognizes motion and objects, and interacts with cell phones and digital cameras. No more searching for the remote controls on the table because the table is the remote control, and the video game system, and just about anything people over the next few years can dream of.

It will be tested with the public in November in restaurants, hotels, casinos and stores. Industry analyst Roger Kay says, “This is game-changing and will cause companies like Apple and Google to go back on their heels. I try not to gush too much. I think this is a really big deal.”

Read more about it:

• USA Today
• Reuters
• Tech Blog has a demo of PlayTogether using MS Surface
• Watch this description of multi-touch computer screens from Popular Mechanics.
• Watch this earlier demo from Perceptive Pixel, an early inovator of multi-touch-driven computer screens.

Paul Allen has just predicted that Facebook will become the largest social network in the world. It has just launched a new business model that encourages people to develop and distribute applications on its platform. Great entreprenurial opportunites.

Now, how can members use Facebook to share the gospel?

Read  more about Facebook’s plans:

• Facebook Welcomes Outside Services
• Facebook’s app feeding frenzy – 40,000 developers engaged already
  

We are pleased to announce that audio files of the April General Conference are now available online in 79 languages. The listing of languages can be found by navigating from the LDS.org home page to Gospel Library, then General Conference, or directly here.

Google’s May 16th press release explains that their new Universal Search will begin providing a “more integrated and comprehensive way to search for and view information online,” because the Google results will now include online news, books, video, maps, and other online databases, in addition to Web pages. Results from all these sources will be mixed with the traditional Web page results.

Bottom line: Now that more sources will be included in Google results, it’s now more important than ever to optimize your pages and your other content. If you were skating by before, you may find that news and video results will push your Web site’s rank down. Your search engine optimization (SEO) strategy must include optimizing not just Web pages, but also video, books, news, and other content you have online.

So what?

• If you’re a Google user, you’ll begin to see changes now, and more over the next few weeks, incorporating additional types of content in your search results.
• If you’re interested in search engine optimization, I recommend you read SEO guru Danny Sullivan’s good explanation of the implications of Google’s Universal Search on SEO.

We recently told you that the More Good Foundation published a list of 12 Ways to Share the Gospel on the Internet. (We later provided more ideas.) The Foundation is now doing each of those 12 things themselves, and reporting on the ease or difficulty of each item, and passing along hints and helpful explanation. Read their first post about answering questions at Yahoo! Answers.

This year, banks and wireless service providers are rolling out products that will let customers check their account balances, pay bills, transfer money and receive alerts about deposits and payments by mobile phone.

By the end of 2007, TowerGroup expects that eight of the 10 largest banks will offer mobile banking and bill payment of some kind. They believe that up to 25% of existing Internet banking customers will adopt mobile banking. See eMarketer for more information.

But don’t hold your breath yet. Some surveys show that only 8% of online consumers who own a cellphone are interested in mobile browsing to check their account balances. This whole mobile world is still new, and it’s anybody’s guess how far (and it what direction) it will go.

I’ve recently begun reading the magazine Media Business: The Magazine for Business Publishing Executives. It is particularly aimed at the business-to-business (”b-to-b”) community, but has a lot of relevance to those of us involved in “publishing all the things which they had seen, and explaining the prophecies and the scriptures to all who desired to hear them” (Mosiah 27:35).

The March 2007 issues has two articles of particular relevance:

1. “5 Trends you Need to be Aware of when Dealing with the Convergence of Print and Digital Circulation”
2. “Evolution of the Editor” As print’s dominance wanes, publishers are asking editors to expand their skill sets and become much more public brand stewards.

The magazine is also available online at mediabusinessonline.com, where you can subscribe at no charge to their printed version, to their e-newsletter, or you can subscribe to updates to the Web site by RSS.

According to a report commissioned by Deloitte & Touche and conducted by Harrison Group, when people ages 13-24 (also called “Gen Y” or “Millennials”) find a worthy TV show or Web site, they tell an average of 18 people, compared to only 10 people for all age groups. Word-of-mouth (or “viral communication”) was the main reason Millennials visited Web sites, followed by TV ads.

The average broadband user in the USA spends 1 hour and 40 minutes a day online. Over half of that time online is devoted to entertainment and communication.

The chart below shows the media-related activities of US broadband users, both online and offline.

See the full report at eMarketer.

I attended a half-day session at the International Worldwide Web 2007 Conference on usability.

After learning a lot about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and usability, I’ve come to believe that virtually all efforts to make a site more usable for the disabled or more friendly for search engines, will also make a site better for the average user.

The session on usability presented a list of 5 major usability problems:

1. Unclear and confusing page layout
2. Confusing and disorienting navigation mechanisms
3. Inappropriate use of colors and poor contrast between content and background.
4. Graphics and text size too small.
5. Complicated language or terminology.

They then listed 15 issues that account for approximately 80% of the usability problems on Web sites. From that list, I’ve compiled the following list I intend to apply to Church sites:

Priority 1 Items
1. Text equivalents.

• Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element. Images should have an image list, a toggle image/Alt, or Show Images. Visual navigation should have a text equivalent.
• Use ALT tags on all images. For decorative images (spacers, etc.), use ALT= “” to facilitate screen readers, such as JAWS.
• For dynamic sites, ensure that when the page changes, the text equivalents also change. [Test by toggling Javascript and ActiveX on and off.]

2. Color.

• Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color (for example, from context or markup, grayscale). [Test by using the Vischeck Color Blindness Simulator.]
• Ensure sufficient contrast between background and foreground and text. This accounts for 37% of the variance; in contrast, type font and size account for only 3% of the variance. For example, don’t just mark hyperlinks with color; also use underline.

3. Language.

• Mark changes in document language with language attributes. This helps JAWS readers in reading the languages.

4. Layout.

• Use stylesheets. Use HTML header tags (h1, h2, h3, etc.).
• Mark up lists properly—not with asterisks or dashes.
• Present documents so they may be read without stylesheets or with alternate stylesheets. [Test by disabling the CSS or toggling to another CSS to see if the document is still readable.]
• Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and stylesheet property values. (For example, not text 12 pt, but “normal” or “larger.”) [Test by resizing to 640x480 and 800x600. Test with Juicy Studio Tools CSS Accessibility Analyser.]

5. Writing.

• Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for the site’s content.

6. Tables.

• When using tables for layout, don’t use any structural markup.
• For data tables, identify the row and column headers.

Priority 2-3 Items

7. Avoid movement on pages, since readers can’t detect it.

8. Since readers allow users to turn off spawned windows, don’t use pop-up windows or change the current window without informing the user.

Testing

• Don’t test your sites with average users. Test with disabled users, and if they can use it, the average user will as well. This will uncover all kinds of problems (site design, navigation, colors, contrast, complicated terminology, etc.) that will be devastating for disabled users, but also will be distracting or annoying for average users. Fixing these problems will create a great site for disabled users and an amazing site for average users.
• Test your site using screen readers, such as JAWS. It may point out problems for people with disabilities, but will also point out structures that seem illogical for average users. Be sure you use it like users will so you don’t get false negative results.
• For IE: Use the AIS toolbar.
• For FireFox: Use the Web Developer Toolbar and extensions.
• For Opera: Use the Web Accessibility Toolbar and developer tools.
• There is little support for automated usability testing for Safari.

Readers

The new browser CSurf (aka HearSay) is a more effective browser that identifies and reads only the relevant words on the screen.

Mobile Web

I attended several sessions at the International Worldwide Web 2007 Conference on the mobile Web and how cell phones and other handheld devices will become a greater means of accessing the Web over time, especially in developing countries. We saw demonstrations of increasing use of cell phones in developing countries to perform valuable tasks. Internet access points are increasing in rural areas. Internet kiosks (on bicycles with laptops powered by batteries, solar panels, and pedal power) circulate among some rural villages. Cell phone browsers and applications are improving greatly. I also had a good conversation with the head of the W3C Mobile Initiative about the future use of the .mobi domain to gather more information to decide which .mobi domains the Church ought to obtain.

The International Worldwide Web 2007 Conference just ended in

Banff, Canada. I’ve attended two of these conferences (2006 was in

Edinburgh, Scotland). This year was also great, although I echo many of Phil Windley’s feelings. These conferences are a mix of academic and commercial interests. My interests in attending are to learn where the Web is heading strategically and think through what content and services Church sites should be providing. I also picked up a lot of tactical tips on how to do what we do better. But my role is not to be a deep technical person, so many of the sessions didn’t interest me. But there were plenty of good sessions to keep me busy each hour of the full 5 days. Unlike Phil, I don’t have the budget to go to the conference next year in

Beijing. I’ll try to attend the Web 2.0 Summit in

San Francisco in October.

Phil’s blog covered the general sessions at WWW2007 pretty well, so I won’t share my notes here. There is also a good review of the talk by Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the Web) on Nodalities. In the recent eWeek.com listing of the 100 most influential people in IT, they listed Tim as the second most influential person, right behind the Google guys. Therefore, I will only blog about a few issues in my next blogs.

Second Life is an online game (an online 3-D “virtual world”) where thousands of people connect and millions of real dollars are transacted. You create an “avatar” to represent yourself, then walk (or fly!) around the virtual world, exploring, learning, and meeting people. Part of what makes Second Life so important is simply that so many people are involved — currently 4.6 million. You can buy and sell land and other objects, using Linden dollars (the “pretend” money) which you buy with real dollars. Dell, IBM, Adidas, and Nissan have opened offices in Second Life, Reuters has opened a news bureau, and Sweden has opened an embassy. Several political candidates are campaigning there. Major companies give presentations and advertise in Second Life.

On a typical day, over $1.5 million real U.S. dollars are transacted in Second Life.

Some members of the Church see Second Life as one of the next frontiers for sharing the Gospel. There are 5.7 million total residents in Second Life—each one representing a real person. Over 1.3 million people roam the worlds of Second Life each month. There are probably hundreds or thousands of Church members who participate in Second Life.

There is a group of about 50 members who are coordinating their activities and often gather online. They have created groups for various LDS interests, with group leaders from Seattle, Salt Lake, Orem, Provo, Washington DC, England, and Denmark.

A handful of members bought an island, upon which they have built an LDS visitors’ center, Family History Center, chapel, and personal residences. There is also a replica of the Relief Society building, the Christus statue, and the Tabernacle. When you walk into the Tabernacle, the Saturday afternoon session of this past General Conference begins to play. You can read the Articles of Faith on the walls. Over 100 people a day wander through the buildings on a self-guided tour, complete with pictures, quotes, and other information about the Church. There are also links to Church Web sites and Church videos. There is at least one [real] person who has committed to baptism as a result of being introduced to the Church in Second Life.

The members recently built a replica of the BYU-Hawaii administration building and circle of flags, at the request of some people at the (real) BYU Hawaii for a presentation they gave to their directors. They’re even discussing a virtual classroom where students can earn (real) college credit by participating in Second Life classes.

The group has just purchased a second and third island, including a commercial business park. A few large multi-national corporations have even contacted one of the members asking him for help with their Second Life strategy, because they were impressed by the orderliness of the Mormon island.

GetReligion.org recently ran an article on churches in Second Life, mentioning that Mormons were among the varied communities that meet regularly in this virtual world.

Gartner predicts that within four years, 80% of active Internet users and Fortune 500 companies will have an avatar or presence in a virtual environment like Second Life.

Want to Learn More? Read the USA Today article on the basics of Second Life.

On Monday, media titan Rupert Murdoch wrote a letter published at Forbes.com to explain how media is evolving. He’s the majority shareholder and chief executive of News Corporation, that owns 20th Century Fox, HarperCollins, Fox Broadcasting, dozens of prestigious newspapers and magazines, and MySpace.

User Interaction

Murdock said “People’s expectations of media have undergone a revolution. They are no longer content to be a passive audience; they insist on being participants, on creating their own material and finding others who will want to read, listen and watch.”

Have you thought about building a community around your online content? Users want to comment and add their own ideas about your content. Is there a way to establish a forum for comments on your Web site? People could post their faith-promoting experiences, ideas, and testimonies. If you make it easy to use, it will draw more users because they will want to contribute and see other users’ comments.

Quality of Content

Murdock also states that the quality of online content “is more important than ever, because the marketplace is more ruthlessly competitive.” The content we publish must be valuable to our users. More isn’t better. Better is better. Don’t just publish “flashy toys.” The content or services must offer more value to your readers. After you publish good content, you need to keep working at it, making it more focused, impactful, relevant, and current.

Murdock concludes his letter with “The future of media is a future of relentless experimentation and innovation, accelerating change, and—for those who embrace the new ways in which consumers are connecting with each other—enormous potential.”

On September 29th, we announced we were going to hire a new Product Manager for LDS.org. We have determined not to hire a product manager, but instead someone to serve as my assistant in coordinating the content and services on Church sites. The new position is

Manager of Internet Coordination

This person will be responsible for coordinating the content and services on Church Web sites. It is a strategic position responsible for rigorously understanding the needs of end users (including leaders, members, and non-members) and developing and executing plans to meet these needs.

Applying candidates must have each of the following:

• Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and currently temple worthy.
• Bachelor’s degree; masters preferred.
• 8+ years of experience managing Web content and services, including extensive experience managing and marketing corporate-level Web products and services.
• Experience in monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on Web site use and effectiveness.
• Skill in developing business plans and requirements that shape the development and delivery of services to customers.
• Experience leading complex customer research and analysis of diverse audiences.

Exceptional candidates will have one or more of the following:

• Understanding of industry directions for developing and delivering content on the Web.
• Successful experience with search engine optimization and Web marketing.
• Proven experience in managing the life cycle of Web content and services, including identifying business needs and success criteria, creating product plans, maintaining and supporting content and services, monitoring and evaluating content effectiveness (metrics), managing user feedback, and creating plans to increase effectiveness.

A more complete job description can be found online (job listing #0700598).

Please pass this information along to anyone that you feel meets the requirements.