Why Websites Suck: Identify or Die

It doesn't matter what your web site looks like, what colors you use, what images you have rotating, what version of your logo you've placed if you haven't taken the time to define your target audience.

Ok, let me qualify this inflammatory headline. Not all websites suck.

But with more than 12 billion web pages out there available for you to access, odds are pretty good that you'll run across a site here and there that just flat out sucks.

And much like a good Jake Gyllenhaal movie, you might not know it when you see it.

Why? Because the reason that many websites suck is because they're either talking to no one or trying to talk to everyone.

Everyone is not coming to your web site. And if you're not actively using it (i.e. publishing some kind of fresh content to it) or constantly telling people about it (i.e. using it as a key communications tool for all, not just one or two, key messages) then more often than not, no one is trudging up the steps to your digital doorbell to give it a ring.

It doesn't matter what your web site looks like, what colors you use, what images you have rotating, what version of your logo you've placed if you haven't taken the time to define your target audience.

So, in this first blog post in the series "How to Make my Website Suck Less," we're going to go over the basics of identifying your audience. Once you know who's on the other end of the line, you can figure out what exactly you need to say.

First, make a guess as to who you think is currently coming to your website (unless of course you've got accurate web analytics to mine through). If you don't have a Web site yet, then take this opportunity to dream about who you'd like to come to your site.

Are they strangers? Supporters? Funders? Are they young? Old? Middle-aged? Is their skin white? Black? Other? Do they shave their face? Or their legs?

Once you've developed a hypothetical profile of current traffic, it's time to do the same for desired traffic. Who are those individuals you know you want to be talking to? Following this exercise (feel free to make two distinct lists for each of the above exercises), compare your two lists.

Are they the same? Drastically different? Worlds apart?

Spend a few moments thinking through their sameness or differences and see if you can articulate (again, write it down) why you think the lists are as they are. If your current visitors look like Bill O'Reilly and your desired visitors look like Oprah Winfrey, why is that?

Answer that question and file it away with your two profile lists. That's all for now. Next week we'll think about what to do with the information we've developed to make a decision as to which audience we care most about talking to, and then, how exactly to speak a language that they understand.

Take a chance and get on board with this process. We'll take it a week at a time, a step at a time, and in the end, you'll have a better understanding of your organization's online existence such that your messages ring loudest to those who most need to hear them most.

The Prioritization of Community

On Sunday, Penelope Trunk wrote a column about the importance of community for Generation Y, whom, as she notes, is sometimes known as the "Teamwork Generation." In her piece, she lists five reasons why community matters to the next generation.

Her article is well worth ten minutes of your time, especially if your business, nonprofit, or school is trying to communicate with and program for Millennials. Not only is community important, but the very definition of the word is getting reworked among this digital generation.

I read Trunk's piece right before leading a workshop at the Nonprofit Resource Center of Alabama. We presented "Fountain of Youth: How to Communicate with Generation Y" to a group of nonprofit leaders that are trying to better connect with younger individuals. (You can download our PowerPoint here.)

While I discussed the things we learned that I wrote about in my post "How to Tell Your Story to Generation Y," we also discussed how the concepts of networking and influence are changing. For example, with Starbucks as the new third place, with chambers of commerce becoming irrelevant networking outlets, and with people keeping up with friends via Facebook, the notion of community has drastically change, and with it, one's ability to influence others.

One question, from a woman who works with an organization focused on senior adults, asked us, "So, will everything soon be digital? Will people just stay on their computers all the time and never come see what we’re doing?"

No.

Just because I spend 10 hours of my day in front of a computer doesn't mean I want to spend all my time there. As long as your event, volunteer opportunity or meeting is better than my online options, I'll shut down my laptop and come out. And ultimately, change still happens best when people meet face to face.

This was evidenced by a brief conversation after our workshop. I was approached by a 20-something who has been hired by her nonprofit to start a junior board to involve more young people in the work of the organization. Her first step? Have coffee with as many people as possible. This is a great idea, because after all, my work world may be digital, but I can't get coffee or human interaction from the keys of my Compaq (no, I'm not a Mac guy).

And so, perhaps now more than ever, Generation Y longs for communal experience. A lot of this is, as Trunk notes, because of how they grew up, what college was like, and the current values of this demographic. But it's also how change happens and how meaning is made.

I don't care what tools, bells and whistles the newest gadget promises. While it may be cool and while it may mean I can work better, I am still in search of meaning. I still want my life to matter. I still want to do something important. And I'm not alone in this.

Two years ago today, Kyle Lake died while performing a baptism at the church at which my wife and I were married. In the aftermath of that accident, I witnessed an outpouring of community. While this often happens in the wake of tragedy, what has continued since that is nearly immeasurable. Kyle's commitment to community and his desire to see people discover real meaning where they are is a legacy that lives deep in the hearts of everyone who knew him or heard about him.

The prioritization of community among the next generation is not a fad. Real community is something that can't be replaced or found instantly. It happens. And when it does, Generation Y will be happier, will stay put, and will begin to build the legacies that sustain our organizations and cities.

Who Moved My City?

A few weeks ago, a headline ran in a business report that read:

Denver moved' to the Midwest

At first glance, the headline is humorous. After all, how could an entire city by moved? Companies and families relocate frequently, and there are enough planning, hiccups and headaches that go into that. So how could an entire city by uprooted and moved somewhere?

Of course, Denver didn't go anywhere...

Read the rest at YPCommons.org.

And, press play below to see the video version:

Rewind: Week of 10/22-10/26

Monday, October 22: Treat, Party of 4

Eat out with purpose.

Tuesday, October 23: Get the Lead Out

Lead: Good in pencils, bad in paint.

Wednesday, October 24: Ready, Aim, Light!

Directional lighting just makes sense.

Thursday, October 25: Like Words for Rice

Play a game and feed people.

Friday, October 26: How Much Do You Make?

Carry it and find out.

Jake Smith LIVE!

Listen to LIVE Music All Night Long.

The music should start around 8 p.m. CST and he'll be playing 2 shows, 8 o'clock and 10 o'clock. So, you've got to chances to listen to Jake Smith play an intimate acoustic show from Nashville's Edgehill Studios.

To listen to the broadcast, click the link below.

To listen to the party online, click HERE.

This will either open iTunes and play there, or open Winamp and play there. NOTE: Nothing will be streamed until about 7 p.m. CST, so if you click before then, you'll just get dead air.

If you don't have either of those programs, you can download them for free here:

• Download iTunes

• Download Winamp

Thanks again for being so cool, and for making a difference today and everyday!

Troubleshooting Tips

If for some reason the streaming stops, please refresh THIS page and then click on the link again above to listen. Hopefully this will remedy the issue. This is our first attempt to do live, online streaming, so we cannot guarantee success. But we're giving it a shot anyway...

Podcast:Tomorrow & Big Ideas

This week we're talking about ideas and yesterday vs. tomorrow. We're highlighting the music of The Gabe Dixon Band as well as Jake Smith. Take a listen and tell us what you think. Have a great weekend.

Tomorrow Is

The problem with thinking that we need to go back to a time when things were better is that fatalism is very real.

I think people look at tomorrow in two different ways:

Some people will think that tomorrow will be worse than today. They want society to go back to a time when things were better. They believe that by reverting back to a social structure, by returning to the way things were, or by reinstating certain values and mores that were in vogue before today, things will be better. Idealistically, they paint a very attractive picture of the "good ole days." They may not be able to specifically name when such days were, but they're certain they existed and that if society doesn't return to them, we're doomed. This is a very popular tactic with religious fundamentalists.

Then, there's another group of people who can't wait for tomorrow to happen because of the promise it holds. They believe that the potential of tomorrow lies in the fact that it is a new day. It's a new day for something great to happen, for things to get better, for the world to change. They view tomorrow as a place of possibility. They may not know exactly what it is that will happen to make sure tomorrow is better, but they do believe there is a chance that everything can and will get better. This is a very popular tactic with people that other people like being around.

The problem with thinking that we need to go back to a time when things were better is that fatalism is very real. After all, if things were better a long time ago, that means today is as good as it gets. Why wake up tomorrow if we think it will be worse than today?

The challenge with thinking that we need to move ahead to tomorrow is that things then actually need to get done. We'll need to move beyond the big idea into a stage of acting out that idea. We'll need to get our hands dirty, move forward, work together and actually build that which we've been dreaming of.

The best line in all of Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat is: "Does your society have more dreams than memories?" (page 451) And it is the same with our own outlook on tomorrow. Either we think that our best agenda of days is a month of yesterdays, or we're willing to bet it all on a week of tomorrows.

In Gabe Dixon's new song, “New Day Revolution,” he prophesies:

We've been sleeping...but the sun is always rising, everytime we open our eyes...we are waking to the New Day Revolution...we are singing songs of hope, and drowning out the fear, little by little we are living out the promise of the New Day...

But in my opinion, hope wins.

The Big Idea

My wife watches The Bachelor. She may not freely admit this, but it gives her a chance to unwind and disengage her intellectual core after the grind that is grad school. Besides, I watch enough terrible shows myself.

As I was listening to a clip from one of the latest episodes, it dawned on me why relationships forged in the midst of a reality TV competition rarely work: it isn't about love.

While this my be a shocker to approximately 0% of the population familiar with The Bachelor, since I don't follow the show closely, it just hit me. What the women really want (or, the men, in the case of The Bachelorette) is to win. The falling in love and finding a soulmate part doesn't even matter. They like the idea of falling in love. What they really want is to win.

So, they disguise their want in the camouflage of an idea. By doing so, they think they can hold out hope that what they are really going after is in fact the thing they want. They hope that by winning they'll also fall in love and find their happy ever after.

And the producers of the show know this. They know they can put lots of women in a room together with lots of alcohol and one available guy and funny, outrageous, and scandalous things will happen. They then know that millions of people will tune in or TiVo to find out said scandalous things. And the rest sounds like money in the bank. After all, who doesn't want to fall in love? And, who doesn't want to win? And how many of us think that if we, too, could win at something, we also might find love?

But, a lot of us really just like the idea of something, as opposed to the real thing. These women like the idea of winning something on national TV. They don't really want to do the work of finding out about someone and whether or not you're really compatible.

In a similar fashion,

• We like the idea of writing a book, but what we really want to do is create something. So we talk about how we hope to write a book, but end up never creating anything.
• We like the idea of starting a business, but what we really want is to put our own dreams into practice. So, we let our dreams hatch and die because we think that we've got to get a small business loan before any of that can happen.
• We like the idea of helping poor kids in Africa, but what we really want is to do something that matters. So, we wait and wait until we get the chance to fly across an ocean, letting our chances at greatness dissipate in the meantime.
• We like the idea of fame and fortune, but what we really want is someone else to notice us. So, we think no one is watching as we live our lives on what we consider a small and insignificant stage.

A lot of times, we need to get out of the way of our own ideas. Ideas come in moments of epiphany and can arrive on the scene with much pomp and fanfare. But meaning (what we really want) is often harder to recognize. The idea is the big sexy part that can be made into a catchphrase or printed on a banner. The meaning is trickier and can't be explained quickly in an elevator pitch.

The trick is to shatter our idea and find out what's really there. Throw your idea up against a brick wall or smash it on the sidewalk. Look among the mess of your best laid plans and find what it was you really wanted all along. Like an archaeologist discovering a precious buried artifact, there among the ruins we find what we really wanted.

Dust it off and put back the pieces of who you always wanted to be.

P Is For People

Young professional groups are on the rise in communities large and small, and if there's not a YPO (young professional organization) near you, you need to start one. Your city, church or nonprofit needs it if theyre going to be around in the next 10 years.

Many YPOs have become integral threads in the tapestry of local communities. Young people are invited to the table when city council discusses green initiatives, when the mayor wants better urban development, or when nearly anyone wants to get elected. The movement is growing, and its influence along with it.

But, one thing all YPOs must ask is, "Who’s missing?"

This is an important question for any civic organization to ask when it claims to speak on the behalf of any segment of the population. Of course, no one group can consistently speak on behalf of every single person it is supposed to represent, but such a claim can't be made if certain people haven't been involved from the start...

Read the rest at YPCommons.org.

Rewind: Week of 10/15-10/19

Monday, October 15: Hot Blog Action

Go ahead. Jump on the bandwagon.

Tuesday, October 16: Catch as Catch Can

Just put in under the faucet and fill 'er up.

Wednesday, October 17: Good 101

Do your part to make schools better.

Thursday, October 18: Limit: One Load

Rationing is good. Really.

Friday, October 19: The Book (Doesn't) Stop Here

Read and pass. Repeat.

New Day Radio

We've recorded a 4-minute audio ad for placement on Utne.com and are using it to test our new podcast functionality. If all goes well, we'll record and publish a weekly podcast, aptly (if not surreptitiously) titled "New Day Radio."

So, tell us -- do you listen to podcasts? If so, how? Do you subscribe using iTunes? Or some other application? Do you really want to hear the people you read talking about the same things they write about? Please, do tell...

So, to take a listen, just click here.

How to Set Up a Brain Trust

Every Tuesday morning, I meet at a local coffee shop with two others. For an hour, we sit and dream together. We half-jokingly call our meetings a 'brain trust' because we simply use the time to discuss big ideas and bounce thoughts off one another. When the hour is up, we go on to the rest of our days, our minds refreshed and worked out due to the hour of deep thinking.

Meetings like this are one way you can stay creative. Here's how to set them up:

• Find at least two other people. Pick some folks you know and admire for their ability to think. Maybe they look at problems from a fresh angle. Maybe they're creative. Maybe they aren't afraid to ask "Why?" Regardless, pinpoint at least two other people that you know you can learn from.
• Find a third place. Even if you choose to meet with coworkers, get out of the office. Or if you meet with roommates or family, get out of the house. Go to a place meant for conversation, like a coffee shop, restaurant, park or bar. This neutral ground will force you to stay engaged, instead of worrying about someone needing the conference room.
• Set aside a time. We meet every Tuesday at 8 AM. We all have pretty flexible schedules, so there are rarely any conflicts with this time. But, it could have been 7 PM on Mondays, noon on Fridays, or any other time that we all could commit to. The key to making these meetings happen is the commitment on everyone's part to be there.
• Come with a question. We take turns each bringing a question to the others. One week someone may ask, "How could we set up a group that brings about community change the best?" Or, "What's Nashville's biggest need?" The conversation may drift from that, but with a central question to get us started, we can all begin with a reference point.
• Let it happen. Other than the question, we have no set agenda. There's no format, no talking stick, no rules. Allowing the conversation to go where it may means we can each answer the question from our own perspective, bringing our own unique approach. We may end up 180 degrees from where we started, but that's the beauty of the meeting.

Whether you're dreaming about social ills or a way to improve air travel, forming a 'brain trust' with other smart people means that the next big thing could happen during the next regularly scheduled coffee hour.

When It Matters Most

I love playoff baseball. I love nearly all kinds of baseball, but there's nothing like playoff baseball. For me, college bowl games, March Madness, and even the Super Bowl don't hold a candle to baseball in October. During this month, every game matters. Every pitch counts. And you shouldn't turn off the TV, no matter how far ahead one team is in the ninth. (Do I sound like Dane Cook yet?)

I think some of the payoff of October has to do with the fact that April, May, June and July seem so terribly boring in baseball. The season is the longest of any professional sport, and so it seems to drag on with lots of games that don't mean much. This has been made clear this year by the improbable run of the Colorado Rockies, who have continued to win at a remarkable clip, after being all but out a month ago.

But that's why you play every single game.

Because in life, you never really know when it's going to count the most. We never know when one unlikely lead could develop into the biggest sales commission of our career. We never know when a random conversation leads to the love of our life. We never know when an epiphany will strike us so deeply, forcing us to make a choice that will alter the trajectory of where we thought we were heading.

This makes it all the more pressing to soak up every minute of this thing we call life. This means that we've got to keep reading, keep dreaming big, keep being remarkable, and keep trying. Because we never know when we'll be at the point when it all really does matter like never before. The skills we honed in our April are the only thing that will see us through October.

I believe the social change revolution is like this. We've gained a lot of appeal because our ideas are practical, doable, and have an impact. We ask people to do things like clean out their cars, call a friend, and skip a latte.

We ask these things because for now, this is what the revolution asks of us. If we're to impact our planet, change our community, and better the lives of others, we've got to start small and get good at the small stuff. Because soon enough, the revolution will ask more of us.

There's no way the Rockies win 20 out of 21 games if they can't catch a fly ball, lay down a bunt, or hit the cutoff man. There's no way people are going to install solar panels, buy a hybrid or donate to a conservancy if they don't recycle their newspaper.

Soon, the revolution will demand that we all change. We can be prepared to act and change by making sure we're taking the daily steps that are so integral to long-term success.

Because eventually, it all changes.

Newspapers, air travel and coffee have all dramatically changed in the last 40 years. To succeed in those worlds, you've got to be consistent. If you can't write well, get me there on time, or taste good, it doesn't matter what tricks are up your sleeve. Southwest Airlines consistently makes money and retains customers because they get people to where they want to go, just like they did between Dallas and San Antonio back in 1971.

October counts, but so does April. Only because unlike the baseball season, we never really know when it's the postseason.

Blog Action Day

It's Blog Action Day, which means we're one of 15,000 people talking about the environment. So, here's a quick round up of ten things you can do right now to save the planet. (Because let's face it: saving the world can happen in as little as five minutes a day.)

1. Skip the plastic bag at the grocery store and get a reusable one instead.
2. Make sure you're not phantom loading and wasting electricity.
3. When a bulb burns out, replace it with a CFL.
4. Buy some green power on your next electric bill.
5. Get rid of your junk mail in order to save some trees.
6. Buy local food to support your community and save gas.
7. Opt for a reusable spoon instead of a plastic one when you pack your lunch.
8. Bring your own mug to the coffee shop.
9. Go in and skip the drive thru to curb emissions.
10. Try to shave a minute off your shower time and watch the savings add up.

Rewind: Week of 10/8-10/12

Monday, October 8: Chopsticks Forever

Your fortune: bringing your own chopsticks is good for the environment.

Tuesday, October 9: A Very Public Mess

Make it beautiful out there.

Wednesday, October 10: Get Lost

Throw your GPS out the window.

Thursday, October 11: I Shall Wear Purple

Make a statement with a color.

Friday, October 12: Life is Fair

Purchasing decisions make a difference.

I'll Trade You an S for a V

In 15 days, our book officially releases. (Actually, Amazon is showing it in stock, so if you get it there, it could arrive on your doorstep before October 27th.)

I've held a copy of the finished product. I guess I'd always dreamed of writing a book, and now I have. And it's nothing like I thought it would be. And every time I crack the cover on it, it doesn't feel quite like I thought it would.

It feels better.

So, now that it's done and the book will soon be out there for all the world to see (with no erasers or delete buttons), it's time to tell you why we named it what we did.

At the beginning of this year, we launched a campaign at CoolPeopleCare. Everyone has heard of New Year's Resolutions. Everyone has made one at some point. And, everyone has broken one shortly thereafter.

Since we're in the business of change, we wanted to put a new spin on this old idea. But we didn't just want to rename or rebrand something. We wanted to rethink it. We wanted to reimagine the idea, not for the sake of marketing, but for the sake of success.

We thought that if people made a resolution for just a day, they might be better at keeping it. And, if they kept if for an entire day, maybe they could do it again. And so on. Before we knew it, a New Year's Resolution quickly became a New Day's Resolution.

We then ran 8 More Time on Your Hands from people who made a resolution to do something that would change their lives and their communities. We told the stories of ordinary people who changed their eating habits, started exercising and cleaned out their closets. Resolving to make any sort of change is a big deal, even if it's just one act, one day.

And whenever you get a lot of people doing something, even a little something, you start to see the stirrings of a revolution. It's interesting that there's only one letter of difference between 'resolution' and 'revolution.' In many ways, resolutions are precursors to revolution. Once people have resolved within themselves to act, to protest, to change, to march, to speak out or to be different, then a revolution becomes tangible.

Folks who buy our book will be treated to a free soundtrack to help them save the world. Music has long been a motivating factor for many, and for some folks, some tunes might be just the thing to help them kick their own revolution into gear.

I, of course, have access to the music now, and Gabe Dixon has been generous enough to write a title track for this endeavor. His song is brilliantly poetic, smacking the listener in the face by revealing to us our own apathy. When children are sent to war and when the earth is abused, it is time for a revolution. When everyone around is silently watching, it is time for a revolution.

Clearly, the word 'revolution' is a marketable one. Certain products promise to revolutionize the way we experience music, buy groceries or go for a jog. And while revolution may not be some panacea of a word that can be slapped on everything, it does have a certain connotation that things will be different. When a revolution happens, things change. When a revolution happens, it's a chance for a fresh start. When a revolution happens, it's a new day.

Will our book revolutionize your life? I don't know. It's not a magical book that you can put under your pillow and when you wake up tomorrow your skin will be clearer, your jeans will fit better and your relationships will be less complicated.

But in it, we dream of a new day. And in that new day, you'll be different, and we'll be different. We will all have made different choices about the way we shop, the way we eat, the way we spend our free time, and even the way we enjoy a trip to the coffee shop. And when enough of us resolve that what we need is a new day, we'll have a revolution.

Defying Gravity

Last weekend, I attended the opening night show of Defying Gravity, performed by Tennessee Women's Theater Project. Nearly all of my Nashville theater experience has been relegated to the realm of TPAC, so I knew I was in for something a little bit different than what hefty budgets and large auditoriums usually produce.

Watching Defying Gravity is a bit like watching Titanic or United 93. No matter how nice things seem, we all know how it’s going to end. Defying Gravity is the story of Christa McAuliffe, the first teacher chosen to go into space. She was on the doomed Challenger flight when it exploded 73 seconds into its flight.

The play refers only to McAuliffe's character as Teacher, and the main character is her daughter, Elizabeth. Other characters, like a retired couple, a NASA mechanic, and a bartender must also come to grips with what happened in the disaster. Elizabeth's voice wavers back and forth between being a confused little girl and a grownup reflecting back on what happened. Luckily, Claude Monet (yes, the painter) is there to tie things together and help everyone move on.

Ultimately, the central story is about defying the gravity within ourselves. Each of us has so many dreams and hopes which easily have us floating upward and reaching for the stars. But with that also comes a barrage of excuses that keep us grounded and often times prevent us from ever daring to do anything remarkable.

But what we see through the Teacher is that dreaming is mandatory, and defying the gravity of our own (or others') excuses and restrictions is the only way anything great comes to pass. Sure, things don't work out as we plan, but the journey to defy our own gravity was really the point all along. Because that's the journey that leads us to discover ourselves.

If you've never had a change to take in local theater, it's on the list of things you need to go to in your community, along with attending a street festival and a local art opening. Events like Defying Gravity show us that if we want something great – a great marriage, a great career, a great family, or even a great community – we've got to go outside our realm of routine to embrace that which is new, daring and different.

And this is exactly what TWTP provides Nashville.

Tennessee Women's Theater Project is a nonprofit organization that seeks to produce plays that express the human condition in the female voice, provide opportunities for women in theater, and bring live theater to new, underserved audiences. Defying Gravity is their 4th production and runs through October 21 at Looby Theater.

We Like It When People Notice

Recently, a few people have found us, and we couldn't be happier that they let their chunk of the world in on what we're doing.

Rebecca Carpenter at Razoo mentioned us as an example of the little things that add up to make a big difference.

Likewise, Roger at the Everyday Giving blog takes notice.

And, the good and creative people at All Day Buffet took the time to ask me some questions about what we do.

Updated: Wanda, from SIBA, the trade show at which we signed our new book, enjoys her CD sampler that came with her free copy.

Updated #2: Kat, who is a very CoolPerson, gives us a mention as she details little things people can do to make a difference.

If you've even given us a shout out before, email us and we'll add you to this list. Thanks to everyone out there who like what we do - you're CoolPeople.