If you’re just finishing up your holiday shopping online, just hope that you don’t have a question before you order. An informal PC Worldsurvey of pre-sales customer support found that one in four online merchants don’t, won’t, or didn’t answer basic product questions. Maybe that’s why more people are doing their research in
Web and Online Culture
Online Holiday Shopping on the rise
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Web and Online Culture
It used to be that shoppers would do their research on the Internet, then head out to their local store to make the purchase. But a recent survey indicates that over 40 percent are actually doing their research in stores, and then making their purchase online.
Maybe this is due to the big improvement…
Become an Inbox Ecologist
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Web and Online Culture
Usability guru Jakob Nielsen has turned his attention to a different issue altogether: information pollution. The article is mostly about the ever-present spam problem, and it contains a few suggestions for managing the terror. I agree with most all of them, except for his advice, “Don’t be event driven: resist e-mail alerts.” Yes, if…
Librarians and the Internet
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Web and Online Culture
Marylaine Block has a terrific article on How Librarians can Manage the Unintended Consequences of the Internet in this month’sSearcher magazine.
Down with Long URLs!
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Internet Search, Web and Online Culture
How often do you get an e-mail from a friend that contains a URL, and the address takes up more than one line? It’s a pain to get that cut and pasted into your web browser, and sometimes it just doesn’t work. That’s why it’s helpful to have a “URL-shortening” service on hand — these…
Paying bills online is growing
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Web and Online Culture
Do you pay your bills online? Some analysts say paying bills online is now the fastest-growing use of the Internet, and banks are offering sweeteners to encourage customers to use their online services.
Crutch for the web surfer?
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Web and Online Culture
PC World reports on Richard Mander, who wants to abolish your browser’s “Back” button. Well, maybe not, but he does believe web designers rely on a surfer using it rather than design appropriate navigation tools within the website itself.
A better man than I
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Web and Online Culture
Can you imagine going 20 days without a computer? I can’t. Read how someone did and lived to tell about it.
Your Google Doppelganger
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Search Engines, Web and Online Culture
Proof that Google is permeating our national culture — the New Yorker has another cartoon on the search engine.
And in another study….
By Tom Mighell on
Posted in Web and Online Culture
If you’re thinking about implementing a personal Internet use policy at work, read this first: a survey by the Center for e-Service reports that Americans spend more time at home on the Internet for work reasons than they spend on the Internet at work for personal reasons. Get that? The survey finds that those who…