Web Design & Search agency near Tunbridge Wells (UK). The blogger, the MD, loves modded and modding Jap Cars, Dirty Electro House & all things Design and Search orientated!
When I worked in the City for Barclays, we occasionally played a game called buzzword bingo’. A group of us (who were all junior in terms of seniority) would agree a set of our own ‘buzz words’ prior to a major departmental meeting (which tended to be long and rather boring). Phrases like ‘generic’ and ‘off the wall’, ‘think outside the box’ and ‘talking the walk, not walking the talk’ (or was it the other way round?) were all typical phrases. Then, when we’d hear the phrase(s) mentioned in meetings, we’d get given points.
I became quite good at Buzzword bingo. I got to know what certain members of staff would say, or I could provoke them into saying, and more recently, and now as business owner of Hogtronix, an East Sussex based Web Design agency (near Tunbridge Wells), I’m starting to think of buzzword bingo again. My key phrase now would be ‘our customers won’t understand’. A phrase doled out at virtually every single client meeting I attend recently.
The phrase relates, in context, to statements made by our clients, about their clients. i.e. if we suggest having top jQuery funky navigation which looks neat and is simple to use, we’d expect ‘our customers won’t understand’ to be mouthed by our client. Perhaps a way of saying THEY don’t understand. Truth is, people know more about the Internet and how to get around it than we give them credit for. Statistics show that users are growing more mature in their use of the web and ‘silver surfers’ are now prevalent whereby a few years ago they’d maybe not be quite so active on the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and of course Tumblr.
What OUR clients need to understand though, is that they don’t exclusively own THEIR clients. In other words, their clients will not just have a Broadband service solely to view our clients website. Chances are they use Internet Banking, looking at porn or check out what’s on the TV from time to time. In other words, when, as web designers, we build a website for OUR clients, we are building the site with the assumption that end users aren’t totally stupid. Of course, they’re some that can’t find their way out of a open paperbag, but we can’t help those poor souls. But we are advocates of trying to push the boundaries a bit more. So what if your users have never used a navigation structure like that before. What happened to Great British sense of adventure or being first to market?
Our customers just don’t understand.
