One of the user comments from the Toolkit site was to add a Strategic Vision themed blog header.  Whew!  This was the easiest suggestion thus far!

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you might have noticed that the blog header changed several weeks ago - in advance of the Toolkit.  This is one element of the Toolkit that isn't actually in the Toolkit Web site.

"So how do I change the header on my ANR Blog?"

Easy!

From your Portal, click on Edit next to the name of your blog, just like you were going to start a new post.

Click on the Administration link in the upper part of the left navigation of your blog.

 

This takes you to the Administration Tools section of the blog system.

In the Administration box on the right, click on Edit Blog Style.

Now you're given banner choices, pick the style on the right and you're blog is now sporting the new look.

The Strategic Vision Toolkit was launched this week. (Hooray!) One of our primary goals with the toolkit is consistency so that communications, both print and electronic, have a common look and feel.  This is important in communicating that we are all part of the same brand family and building brand awareness, but on the Web it has another important role.

In an earlier post I wrote about the publication Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug.  In this very readable book, Krug highlights the importance of navigational signposts on the Web and uses brick-and-mortar stores as an example.

Let's say you're in a Target store.  Most Target stores have a similar layout, so that customers can find the departments and the items they're looking for easily and quickly.  Signage is well placed and highly visible, so shoppers can find their way around the store.  You know where the front door is because you walked through it.

But once you're on the Web, it's a whole different ballgame.  Those physical signposts aren't there to let you know you're in the right place.  A few misplaced clicks and you have no idea where you are or how you got there.

So what do Web visitors rely on to make sure they're in the right place?

Good Web sites have a navigation system all their own - visual landmarks.  These visual landmarks are color, fonts, styling, and placement information that let visitors know they're in the right place as they move from page to page within your site.

Jake Kupiec, who some of you met at the Statewide Meeting last spring, calls these systems "khakis and a white shirt."  They're the basic foundation of an organization's look.  Not a uniform, but a foundation.

The toolkit gives you these visual landmarks through a series of customizable templates.  And once launched, you'll find the toolkit elements are built into Site Builder 3.

If you've ever wondered what factors make a news item go viral, there's an interesting article in today's New York Times about a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania on characteristics of the most e-mailed articles.  The Penn researchers tracked more than 7,500 articles published from August 2008 to February 2009, assessing each article’s popularity.

Storytellers, take note!

I may have mentioned that back in a "previous life" at the Gould Voice Research Center, I was the PI on the dissemination component of a large grant funded by the NIH.  Back then, when people asked me what I did, I often quipped, "Diplomacy and translation services."

While that may have been a tongue in cheek description of my duties, actually it was pretty spot on.  Often as communicators in the sciences our task is to "translate" the activities and findings of researchers not only into language that is easily understandable by lay audiences, but translating the findings with these 3 key questions in mind:

• Why does this matter?
• How do I benefit?
• What have you done for me lately?

One of the key components of the new Toolkit is the "translation" of each of the Strategic Vision statements into shorter versions at different reading comprehension levels.  Each statement has been shortened into a format and reading level that is appropriate for stakeholders and a format and reading level that is appropriate for a general audience.

The average score of our general audience summaries is around 65.  Stakeholder summaries average a score of 30. 

When writing for the Web, remember that less is more.  The bullet points from the banners hanging at the reception for stakeholders at the statewide meeting are also available in the Toolkit.

A common question I get on this topic is "Isn't that dumbing it down?"  No, it's being an effective communicator, and understanding your audience.