Poor information architecture causes the majority of outright user failures and isn’t improving at the rate of other Web usability issues, reports usability authority Jakob Nielsen.

To determine why, he identified 10 long-term sore thumbs that together cost websites billions of dollars each year.

Many of these information architecture blunders can be quickly and easily corrected, such as made-up menu names. Why use “What makes XZY company tick” when people are looking for an “About us” button?

As Nielsen suggests, websites should communicate plainly and simply. Otherwise you’re likely frustrating your visitors and missing opportunities.

Check out Nielsen’s full report.

Consumers are cutting down on excess, forcing marketers to take a new approach to selling luxury.

It’s time to be more rational, notes Bert Helm in a BusinessWeek article: “Forget the usual talk of indulgent luxury. Instead companies from General Electric to Lexus are employing sober, left-brain pitches – special deals, useful features, long-term savings.”

Indeed, during these trying times, marketers must focus on value, practicality and durability.

Read: Advertisers Adjust to Market Luxury in a Recession.

For business and pleasure, people are placing bios on multiple sites, from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn. That’s because Internet users have an increasing number of accounts where we make friends, build networks or market businesses.

So it makes sense to invest some effort or resources in a bio, and even have a couple of different versions serving different sites and purposes. After all, you’re branding yourself on the Web, and the right bios can make a world of difference to how people perceive you.

Presenting consistent information in your bio(s) makes you appear more professional and memorable. However, personal brands are often disjointed on the Web because most people have different identities on each social network.

The good news is there are emerging technologies that will enable a transportable identity, which will empower Internet users to bring your identities with you. It’ll lead to an integrated social experience.

Meanwhile, whether you have one bio or 10 floating around the Web, it’s wise to ensure your profiles are up to date, consistent, and put your best side forward.

Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) dominates the desktop browser market, but definitely not in the design world.

According to W3Counter, IE owns 57.42% of the market, with Firefox in second position with 31.22% of the browser market.

Those numbers closely match our web writer blog stats, which is generally visited by business owners, writers and web designers. Since January, 57.86% cent of visitors were using IE, and 32.26% used Firefox.

However, our main Webcopyplus web writing site, which predominantly attracts web designers through several popular web design blogs, tells a very different story. In fact, during the same four-month period, 53.82% used Firefox, and only 22.86% used IE.

If web designers ruled the world, IE would be in big trouble! As it turns out, IE should be looking over its shoulder. Mozilla’s Firefox is eating away at the market share, Google is now a serious contender with Chrome, and Apple recently announced Safari 4 beta, promising to put forward the world’s fastest and most innovative Web browser for Mac and Windows PCs.

As entrepreneurs and employees rely more heavily on the Internet and Web-based tools to perform daily functions, browser innovations like faster processing, tabs, and new search features carry a lot of weight, and can instantly change the landscape of browsers.

Call it a marketing gimmick or a historical milestone, some say Web 2.0 will soon make room for Web 3.0.

There are rumblings that Web 3.0 may be able to search meta tags and labels to a much greater degree – thanks to the combination of ‘tagging’ that comes with the social media culture and advancing technology. The expected outcome: sites will spit exceptionally relevant results back at users.

A lot of discussions are based on what’s called Semantic Web. It’s believed computers will scan and interpret collections of information called ontologies using software agents. An ontology, by the way, is a file that defines the relationships amongst a group of terms. Smarter software, smarter computers!

Few would argue the surfacing technology will make the Web smarter, more efficient and profitable. For instance, businesses will gain piercing insights into customer behaviors, which could be used to serve them better (and reach deeper into their pocketbooks).

For business owners and consumers alike, Web 3.0 will likely make it easier to sort through and benefit from the colossal loads of information floating aimlessly around the Web. Perhaps there is a real Google killer not too far off in the horizon.

When will we be exploring (or exploiting) Web 3.0? TutZone’s “Bariski” predicts Web 3.0 will likely get rolling in 2010 and end by 2020. He noted: “It will be the most evolutionary development of that decade because now Web is not just technically orienting people, but it has major social contributions also.”

Bariski even peered into a crystal ball to provide some thought-provoking predictions.

SEO specialists, web writers and website developers, take note: Ask.com has become the second search engine in Germany in the 1st Quarter of 2009, according to research firm Nielsen Netratings.

Google maintained a stronghold on the top spot with 36 million unique users per month on average, and Ask.com came in with 4.2 million users, edging out MSN (4 million unique users), Yahoo (2.5 million unique users) and AOL (1.7 million unique users).

Hold on…how did Ask.com become Germany’s second largest search engine? They bought a lot of Adwords traffic! Read more at Search Cowboys.

You wanted Google’s sitelinks? You got ‘em!

When businesses get serious about online presence, many ask about Google’s sitelinks – the set of links that show up underneath the first search result on the page. These links are great because they provide significant exposure, and allow Internet users to instantly access deeper pages.

Now Google is launching an expansion of sitelinks. Indeed, a single row of links can now appear for results beyond the first position. This means multiple results on one query can now have sitelinks. Up to four sitelinks can show up right above the page URL, instead of the usual two columns below the URL of the first result.

It’s a clever move by Google as businesses may be able to draw more visitors to valuable, but previously overlooked pages. And online visitors (or guests) will be able to scan additional headings and get to relevant information with less time and fewer clicks.

Read: One-line sitelinks on Google’s Webmaster Central Blog.

In the business realm, it’s been said formal learning fulfills 20 per cent of learning needs, while informal learning handles the other 80 per cent. Well, in the past, informal learning was turning to ask your colleague a question. Today, the rise of Web 2.0 technologies and social media brings the means to expand informal learning to the company scale, suggests Forrester Research’s Claire Schooley.

“As an information and knowledge management pro, the time is right to harness informal learning approaches like targeted job-related content, internal YouTube-type video clips, and employee-generated wikis,” reports Schooley.

Forrester indicates some forward-looking companies, such as BT (formerly British Telecom), Intel, and Nike, are making informal learning part of their learning programs, and are reaping rewards.

For the average Joe, a close look at a PC reveals a frightingly complex string circuitry, wires and computer chips. But Chad Rushka of TSG Computer Services, says: “You need not be scared anymore.”

To help you overcome your fear of looking a little closer at your PC, and perhaps getting your hands a little dirty, Rushka offers the following advice and guidelines:

Your computer is running really slow and taking forever to start, or open programs.

Your first steps should be to take care of the obvious.
(The steps outlined below are for Windows XP)

Take a look at your system tray, which is located at the bottom-right hand corner of your screen with all the icons in it. The icons showing in the system tray represent all the third-party programs running in the background. These programs are using precious system resources that would otherwise be available for other applications.
Browse through these icons, and determine which programs are necessary and which ones are not.

Continue reading →

To ensure the world doesn’t miss out on awe-inspiring or useful words, writers should always jot down ideas as they surface.

Inspired by lyrics? Someone said something captivating? Capture it! I recall an interview with Radiohead, where the band explained how a mutual friend said: “The best you can is good enough.” They were moved by the phrase, and eventually worked it into their lyrics for the tune Optimistic.

Sure, there are the BlackBerry, iPhone and generic microrecorder routes, but old school notebooks can be practical and fulfilling. In the cold digital age, tradition can be enchanting. In fact, you should check out MOLESKINE, which offers simple, legendary notebooks that have retained the thoughts of creative heavyweights like Van Gogh, Picasso and Hemingway.

Too much noise in your life? Pick a time of day when you can write without disruptions, and make it a habit. When you’re enjoying your morning latte? Late in bed? Whatever works for you. Find your time and try sticking with it.

Can’t seem to get inspired? Just dive in! Grab a blank sheet or screen and just start writing. If ideas or leads don’t emerge, try something different, like playing around with contradictory headlines. Try seeing things in a different perception.

Don’t let a brilliant thought get lost. Document your ideas.