M+R has lots of smart people on their team, so I always get excited when they release new studies and research. Their recent white paper on storytelling is a case in point.
Do we really need yet another piece about storytelling and fundraising? Yes, we do.
more…
Lab Day is over! It was hard to really focus on it as much as I wanted to, what with a couple people being out of the office and vote going on in the U.S. House. I’m happy we did it, and looking forward to hearing about the rest of the Web team’s experiences.
Lessons learned about Tableau Public:
The web team here at EDF, inspired by Google’s “20 percent time” (and lobbying by web producer Porter Mason), is experimenting with setting aside occasional Lab Days. The goal is to allow our producers to experiment with new tools, build new skills, and otherwise do cool stuff that wouldn’t fit into a regular work week.
Today is my first Lab Day, and I decide to recreate (or create) some maps we’ve worked with using Tableau Public, which I learned about at a really good data visualization session at last year’s NTEN Conference.
And here’s my first map! more…
Beaconfire just posted about the new responsive design on the Boston Globe‘s site. The site adapts to the width of your browser. Well, they’re not the only ones — EDF’s site also uses a responsive design.
And our design firm, Headscape, added a twist that none of us had seen before. Our home page responds to both the width and height of your browser window. Here’s why we did it this way. more…
I’m excited to have two session proposals in the mix for the 2012 NTEN conference in San Francisco. Voting is open, and I appreciate your support.
Is it time to redesign your web site?
How to tell and how to fix it
This is an idea that Farra Trompeter and I hatched last year, and I’m looking forward to working with her on it. Farra is a top-notch session facilitator. The last time we presented together, she structured the session thoughtfully and coached us into being the most well-prepared panel I’ve ever been part of. You are in excellent hands with her, and you will learn exactly what she says you will.
Content strategy: A case study of creating content with a purpose
This is a continuation of the all the learning I’ve done about content strategy over the past year. We’ve gotten through the build and launch of our new site with a new content strategy to guide us. Now we’re figuring out what it means to live with one, day in and day out. I don’t know exactly what lessons we’ll have to share with you by April, but that just makes it more exciting, right? It’s likely to be a mix of straight-up results and organizational lessons.
Thanks for checking them out and for voting for them — you wouldn’t want to miss out on a chance to make me do more work, would you?
This explains my posting silence over the past several weeks. Here’s a look at the old, left, and the new (click through for larger views):
Improvements you might notice: more…
This month’s Nonprofit Blog Carnival asks a deceptively simple question: What one book has most influenced my professional life?
I didn’t have to think too hard about this one — it’s Don’t Make Me Think, by Steve Krug.
Why this book? It’s ostensibly a book about web design, but Krug exposes a fundamental truth for any communicator: If you are trying to implant an idea in someone’s brain or get them to do something, you have to understand what they experience, and make it as easy as possible for them do what you want.
And when you look hard at what they experience, you find:
These are underlying principles that good communicators and marketers know like they know breathing, but for me, this book stands out for two reasons.
First, if you need a refresher, it’s really refreshing! It’s fun and easy to read, partly because Krug follows his own advice throughout the book. And I love his optimism in the face of constraints: If people blow by your lovingly crafted home page like they would speed past a billboard, his solution is, “Design a great billboard!”
Second, because of those qualities, it’s a great book to recommend to others — I’m responsible for at least a dozen copies being bought (you’re welcome, Steve!). It’s accessible and painless and a good way to get people thinking about user-centered anything.
So if it’s not on your shelf, do add it, and I’d love to hear thoughts from anyone who has already read it.
Update: Eve over at Beaconfire picked this as her book to write about, too! Brilliant. 
Developing a content strategy was a new challenge, and I found myself turning to a few resources over and over. In case you, too, are ready to embark on this challenge, here are my trusty companions: more…
Plan, by Flickr user Tintern
We didn’t pick graphic design, or information architecture, or even our aging publishing platform. We thought the best way to improve key metrics was to re-think the site’s content. To us, that meant not only the text of the articles, but the use of images, videos, micro-copy, interactive graphics and features — all the material on the site that helps convey ideas.
That led us off in search of a different kind of redesign. Along the way, we learned a new phrase, “content strategy,” and met a few “content strategists.” This approach has become a powerful tool for us, so I thought I’d share how we got here.
by Flickr user kmiller799
A year ago, we pulled together a team at EDF to create our social media guidelines. The all-time most popular post on this blog tells how and why we did it, so I thought I’d share an update.
The best news is that it they seem to be working. They’re part of our new employee and intern orientation materials. Since we released them, we have not had any social media disasters big enough that I’ve heard about them!
Last week, spurred by conversations at the NTEN conference, we revisited the guidelines. more…