As you probably know if you’ve read my last two posts, I’ve recently conducted a survey to get some feedback about this blog.
Between December 20, 2005 and January 4, 2006, 26 readers took the time to answer 10 questions.
When you factor the 10,074 unique visitors this blog received in 2005, it’s fair to say that this survey hasn’t any real statistical value. However, it definitely gives an idea of the opinion of this blog’s most involved and active readers. At the bottom of this post, I’ve included a few comments of mine — along with some 2006 resolutions — about the main topics brought up in the last open-question of the survey.
1. What’s your position? Are you a…
- Web professional (Webmaster, Web designer, Web developer, Web manager, etc.) 76.0%
- PR/marketing/communication professional (writer, assistant, manager, director, etc.) 12.0%
- Admission professional (recruiter, assistant, manager, director, etc.) 0.0%
- Higher ed executive (president, VP, associate VP, provost, dean, etc.) 0.0%
- Other 12.0%
2. For what type of institution/organization do you work?
- Public university 28.0%
- Private university 20.0%
- Public 4-year college 4.0%
- Private 4-year college 16.0%
- For-profit university/college/school 4.0%
- Vendor/consulting firm 12.0%
- None of the above 16.0%
3. Where did you hear about collegewebeditor.com?
- On another blog 48.0%
- On search engines (Google, Yahoo, etc.) 16.0%
- On Technorati 8.0%
- Uwebd mailing listserv 24.0%
- At the office, from a coworker 0.0%
- At a conference 4.0%
- Somewhere else 12.0%
4. How often do you read collegewebeditor.com?
- As often as Karine posts 60.0%
- Twice a week 12.0%
- Once a week 24.0%
- Once a month 0.0%
- Less often 4.0%
5. How long have you been reading collegewebeditor.com?
- Just found it 4.0%
- Less than a month 24.0%
- For a few months 40.0%
- More than 6 months 32.0%
6. How do you get updated about the availability of new posts on collegewebeditor.com?
- RSS: web-based reader (Bloglines, my Yahoo, Google reader, etc.) 48.0%
- RSS: desktop reader (Firefox, Outlook plug-in, etc.) 32.0%
- Watchlists on specific tags/keywords (Technorati, Topix, etc.) 0.0%
- Email newsletter 8.0%
- Checking the homepage from time to time 12.0%
7. What type of posts do you find the most interesting? (several answers possible)
- Higher Ed Web Pro Files (Interviews of Web professionals) 80.0%
- 3 questions to a higher ed blogger (Interviews of blogger from higher education) 48.0%
- News about initiatives in universities or colleges 76.0%
- News about interesting research (surveys, studies, white papers, etc.) 60.0%
- Commentary about trends in higher education 68.0%
- How-to’s and tips 32.0%
- Link lists 28.0%
8. Why don’t you recommend collegewebeditor.com more often at work or in conferences?
- There’s really nothing worth sharing 0.0%
- It’s good, but it’s really too focused on what I – and only I – do at my institution 8.0%
- It’s too good to be shared. I prefer to keep it to myself 0.0%
- To recommend collegewebeditor.com to others? Never thought of it. I’m just going to do it right away! 56.0%
- I really don’t know 36.0%
9. In your opinion, what should Karine do better in 2006 to make collegewebeditor.com (even?) more interesting or useful?
Because this was an open-ended question, I got a lot of different answers. For the sake of synthesis, I’ve created a few groups and added my comments for each:
- “Just keep up the good work and keep on blogging!”
Well, thanks for your nice words and encouragements. I really appreciate them (so, feel free to email or post some whenever you feel like doing so ;-) - “I send articles to the public affairs and admissions folks ‘all the time’. They love seeing what other schools are doing and having some commentary/perspective.”
Great idea! As I’ve already written a couple of times on this blog, I really believe shared information is power. So, I guess if you are among the 36% of the readers who answered to question #8 “I really don’t know,” here’s a good reason! - “Decrease (better: Eliminate) the color Orange from the blog. I’d also like to see less bolding in the posts and fewer RSS buttons. You’re writing about design, therefore LOOK the part.” or “I think a redesign of the front page might help — it’s a bit cluttered. You might give the different categories on the site more prominence. (This is assuming that a lot of your visitors want to read deep into categories, rather than just the most recent posts.) But then again, if 90% of the people who read the site are doing so via RSS, it might be a moot point.”
Am I writing about design? Yes, sometimes. Are higher ed websites just about design? Personally, I don’t think so. I have a more content-centric view of our practice, I guess. But, that’s definitely open to discussion.
Now, let’s get back to the real problem: Orange ;-) As I’ve recently learned, the world is divided in two types of people: those who like orange and those who can’t stand it (as 2 readers who answered the survey). As you might have guessed, I belong to the first group. This blog and my consulting business website confirm it. I’m not sure I’m ready to crossover yet to the non-orange side of life, so there’s a big chance that this color will stick around in 2006. However, I definitely agree with the necessity to redesign the homepage. Even though most of the readers of this blog experience it via their RSS readers, a redesign is in the plan as I write this post. - “I think more posts would be great.”
Personally, I think more hours in a day would be great too. I would love to be able to blog full time, but I still need to work to pay the bills especially when the GoogleAds don’t even cover the web hosting bills of this blog (actually, I’m really thinking of tossing the ads altogether). Moreover, I prefer to write longer posts instead of one-liners.
So, I can try to post more often, but won’t probably go the daily route (so, let’s not even talk about several posts a day). And, you can help by emailing me about the exciting projects (redesigns, Web 2.0 applications, podcasting, etc.) you’re working on. - “Increase coverage of institutions located outside the U.S.”
Yes, very good point. But, here again, it all comes down to time. So, if you work for an institution in Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, Australia or anywhere else on our planet, feel free to send me news about what you’re doing in your side of the world. - “I’m a bit biased, since I’m with an outside vendor, but consultants can provide valuable, external perspectives on best practices. Maybe interviewing them, or sharing their research/work would be helpful to in-house Web professionals at colleges and universities.”
Vendors can always email me pitches (Please don’t include them in comments though, and there’s no guarantee I’ll write about your products or services, so don’t go crazy ;-). When I come across something interesting – even if it’s done by a vendor, I write about it. I might start a new interview series with vendors, but I’m still not sure when and how.
So, again, feel free to email me at karine@collegewebeditor.com and thanks to anybody who did the survey.
I work for Syracuse University, a place that lives and breaths orange. It’s our school color, our athletic teams are called the “Orange”, and our mascot is a giant orange. Everything out of the Admissions office contains the word “orange” or “slice” in it.
When we design websites, some clients strongly resist having ANY orange on their site, despite the fact that it’s part of SU’s brand. Like you said, people either love it or hate it. We always sneak it in somewhere though.
Thanks, Mindy for these reassuring words. I feel less alone in the orange-side of life now ;-)
I actually like orange, because I find it to be a very energizing color (especially in winter when snow is everywhere…)
But, I do understand that some can have strong opinions when it comes to this particular color.