#463427, #C5AC81, #BEDFE2

While channel surfing Sunday afternoon, I came across CNN’s In the Money show where they were having an insightful discussion about blogs and the ideas behind blogging. When I tuned in, they were interviewing Tony Perkins who is the man behind AlwaysOn. Mr. Perkins provided a lot of information and statistics about the current status and the potential behind the blogosphere. Of course, there had to be some room for his sales pitch but I managed to get past that.

After the interview, I went to check out their site and I was very disappointed on what I found. I took a screen shot of the AlwaysOn homepage with my browser set at 800×600 px, similar to what an computer user might be using on their own computer. I understand that such screen resolution is slowly being pushed aside but I wanted to illustrate the point that commercial real estate can easily become an obstrusive proposition.

In this image, you are greeted by:

• A banner showcasing the benefits of an AlwaysOn membership. I wonder if removing all commercial banners is a benefit?
• A rotating banner courtesy of AO’s Founding Partners
• Finally, using the 800×600 resolution, the site’s navigation links mark the end of the page.

If you were to scroll down the page, you would then be able to see the content available on this page (it’s "wrapped" by even more banners and commercial links). I get the impression that the AlwaysOn network is putting its sponsors’ interests ahead of its content. Something that appears to be against the fundamental idea behind most blogs today.

I am not sure that I would reference the AlwaysOn network as a leader in the blogging movement, if they are, they certainly need to re-analyze their own website.

In a few minutes I will be going to a PBS broadcast covering accessibility of online courses. The program is being produced by the University of Maryland University College and sponsored at our campus by a couple of departments involved with online education. There has been a lot of talk about web accessibility and with a move toward standards-based designs; it has become much easier to open the online doors to those with disabilities.

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During my time working for a corporation in Amarillo, I would come across the different sites for some of our clients. These clients ranged in size from small to humongous and only in some cases the quality of their online presence would match their size. I would be mostly surprised by those clients that were doing a lot of business with said company but once you would visit their website, you would not believe they were a million dollar company even if you could see their accounting books.

I have seen several cases where a "client" spends a large amount of money to conduct their daily operations. In some cases, an online presence is not essential for their industry and the reason behind their website is mostly because their competitor has a one and so they need one as well. Situation like these end up with sites that are not successful from the any possible point of view (business, accessibility, designing, etc.)
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