03/12/96 RMIUG Meeting Minutes - Web Fest '96

The Tuesday, March 12th meeting of the Rocky Mountain Internet Users Group (RMIUG) was a "Web-Fest" featuring a panel that discussed strategic and business issues of commerce on the World Wide Web. The panelists were:

• Mark Richtemeyer (markr@customer.com), who is the Online Division Director for Customer Communications Group, which develops WWW marketing sites for large client companies.
• Seth Masia (trust@usa.net), who develops/manages Web Pages for SkiNet, a joint effort of SKI and Skiing Magazines.
• Shelli Meyers (sam@indra.com), co-founder and president of Indra's Net, a Boulder-based Internet and Web provider.
• Tim Enwall (Tim_Enwall@access.com), Director of Electronic Commerce at Access Graphics, the world's largest wholesaler of UNIX products.

The meeting started at 7:00 with about 175 folks in attendance. Art Smoot was the MC and Alek Komarnitsky was the minuteman. Carroll Blend (cblend@tde.com) brought the RMIUG "library" - thanx for taking care of this Carroll.

Announcements from the floor:

• Customer Communications Group (http://www.customer.com) has job openings for an Account Manager, HTML/CGI programmer, and online editors. Pls send Email to Mark Richtemeyer (markr@customer.com) if interested.
• XOR Network Engineering currently has openings for the following positions: Senior Network Engineer, Internet Marketing Specialist, Online Publications Business Manager, Receptionist/Administrative Assistant, Hardware Shipping and Receiving Assistant (Part-time). Pls check out their Web Site at http://www.xor.com/jobs/ for more info.
• Colorado Open Systems Consortium will present an Executive Breakfast Talk entitled, "Business Implications of the Interactive Multimedia Revolution." Jim Chiddix, Senior VP, Technology & Engineering for Time Warner Cable will describe how cable companies will exploit the commercial opportunity created by interactive multimedia delivered over the Internet. The talk will be presented on April 26, from 7-9:00AM at the Mariott Denver Tech Center. Non-member cost is $30.00 and includes breakfast. To RSVP contact, Cindy Morgan (CMorgan461@aol.com) 791-3555.
• ParcPlace-Digitalk recently anounced a web development environment for developing live WWW applications. It's called VisualWave. Development can occur on all common UNIX platforms, and on any flavor of PC. Deployment is of course to any web browser around the world, OR, as a stand alone client. The system also provides access to relational or object oriented databases, and Java applets. For more information please contact Steve Fredrickson (stevef@parcplace.com) or Martin Newmark (martin@parcplace.com), see their web site at http://www.parcplace.com, or call 'em at 442-1177.
• CU's 48th annual Conference on World Affairs will be held on the CU campus in Boulder throughout the week of Apr. 8-12. This year it will include a fair amount of attention to Internet issues. This conference will also deal with many subjects besides the Internet (including, among others: world politics, music and the arts, gender issues, and environmental issues) Roger Ebert, Molly Ivans, Steve Allen, and many other well known writers, thinkers, artists, and scholars will be here. To learn more about the CWA, please check out their web site at: http://osiris.colorado.edu/~cwa/

The first panalist was Tim Enwall. Access Graphics uses the Web to provide real-time information about their products: spec sheets, availability, pricing, and shipping status. Having this available 24 hours/day is a major improvement over the previous 6:00AM-6:00PM ... 'cause people can look at Access's web site at any time of the day and use the information to help in proposals. They currently have over 1,600 files and 584 HTML documents that show over 18,000 products ... and this is updated daily. Tim made a number of points:

• Maintenance is a BIG issue ... but important - stale info is bad. Having up-to-date information custs costs and makes customer happy. Database tie-ins are key; CGI is good technology to bridge.
• "Build it and they will come" ... NOT!!! You must advertise your Web Site in alternative media to "hook" people and get folks to come to your Web Site rather than one of the 150,000+ other ones.
• Daily use features are helpful; gets people to look at your site. Stock Quotes, games, sport stats, etc.
• Their customers/clients are "Web Ready" ... so this is a plus. Web Stuff is no longer "cool" ... it is expected.
• Java changes everything; ability to run stuff locally is big
• Community/Subject Matter Expert Web Sites are coming.
• Web is here to stay ... especially for business-to-business

Next to speak was Seth Masia, who discussed how SKI and Skiing use the Web. He is involved in eletronic ventures for Times Mirror Magazines which also owns/publishes Golf, Outdoor Life, Field & Stream, Popular Science, Yaching, Home Mechanix, and other magazines. A big issue driving their use of the Internet is the fundamental nature of the magazine business: paper, printing, and mailings cost increase about 30%/year. In addition, lead times are about 3 months, and the shelf life is about 30 days. Putting stuff on the Web dramatically reduces those costs and times.

As with most magazines, the goal is to build a loyal subscriber base and sell that to advertisers. In Mid-95, 50% of their "regular" subscriber base had on-line access (expected to increase to 66% by the end of 95) ... but only 11% look for Ski info on the Internet. So there was an opportunity there to provide information, and http://www.skinet.com is getting ~2,000 visits/day.

They currently have over 2,500 HTML pages with daily updates and archived information from previous magazines. In addition, there is some interactive features that allow readers to talk to each other and/or advertisers; this would be near impossible to do with traditional print media. They have info from the US & Canada ... and are actively looking to have information from Australia, South America, etc. (Alek suggested that the RMIUG'er who is based at Antartica could contribute ... Seth replied that although there probably wasn't much night-life there, the lift lines had to be short! ;-)

Total budget for the first year was $200,000. They currently charge $5,000/month for the "primary" banner advertising, $2,500/month for a secondary banner, and $350/month for a selected spot (i.e. Colorado Ski reports). This not only is a lot cheaper than print media, but also allows an advertiser to better target their audience.

Seth tries to minimize the use of graphics, and provides mostly text-based data in order to keep the response time fast. They have done very little with photos: this is mostly used in the print version ... and photographers have been reluctant to release electronic rights.

In response to some questions, Seth said that they may consider some Sport Animation/training pictures/video's ... although bandwidth is a concern ... and it's hard to bring your laptop on the slopes! He also pointed out that SKI uses reader survey's when judging products/resorts/services ... this way, they can not be accused of favoring an advertiser.

Seth mentioned that they get 2,500+ visits on Fridays ... and less than 1,400 on Saturdays ... so people really are using the site! ;-)

Mark Richtermeyer talked next about how Customer Communications Group deals with clients and how to best use the Web. The main Issues he sees are:

• Communications Issues (CCG spends at least a full-day with clients on this). You must determine clearly defined objectives for what you want to accomplish, assign specific actions for the client, determine what value-added information can be provided via the Web, track the results of people looking at your site, and then do something with it (adjust Web Site, business, etc.)
• Development Issues include defining the target audience (it's no longer just "computer folks" using the Internet - many markets are out there). Be sure to speak in terms that *your* customers will understand ... and use technology when it is right (ex: do all of your customers have access to a Java-enabled browser?) Along those lines, remember that if you are selling to people with home access, they probably have (at most) a 28.8 modem ... whereas people in the commercial arena probably have higher speed connections (keep user bandwidth in mind). Provide multiple paths (depending on the browser) so that your pages look best for the user ... and build custom pages on the fly as appropriate.
• Commerce Issues to look at are improving the shopping experience (this is actually kinda boring to do on-line right now). Keep an eye on safety, security, and privacy issues (stay up on technological developments here too). Credibility and Brand Image are important - they are hard to build from scratch, but terrific customer service can help a lot. Along those lines, fufillment issues (shipping the product promptly!) can help. Finally, everyone talks about ordering stuff over the Net with credit cards ... but clearing credit cards is important to do ... but very few people are actually doing this.
• Marketing Issues include identifying who is out there (is your target audiance even on the Net?). Be sure to provide real value - not fluff. Agressively market your site via alternative media paths (i.e. ad in the Wall Street Journal). Use traffic stats (and buying patterns) to determine reasonable charges for banner ads ... and ultimatilly determine the return on investment for the Web Site (some of Mark's clients broke even in as short as 3 months).

Mark's Presentation for RMIUG is online http://www.customer.com/shocked/mark/ Users will need the shockwave plug in for netscape to see the presentation.

Shelli Meyers showed her "Ten Steps to a Successful Web Site"

1. Identify your goals (why are you doing this - "fear factor")
2. See what your competitors are doing (be a lurker for a few weeks)
3. Understand the Internet culture (different folks and ways of doing things)
4. See realistic expectations (no magic solution here)
5. Research your options (lots of people who will take your money! ;-)
6. Create visual interest (don't look cheesy!)
7. Maintain a logical structure (help people navigate & find what they want)
8. Provide rich content (real stuff ... not fluff)
9. Constantly update and improve (don't let stuff get stale)
10. Agressively market your site (put URL everywhere!)

Shelli also encouraged folks to be "smart" with appearances. Good use of fonts, background colors, and graphics can go a long ways. But be careful about being too fancy ... people want reasonable download times. And don't be afraid of putting pricing/rate information on-line.

All four panelists than came on-stage for some group Q&A.

Question: Do writers get extra pay for Web Work?
Answer: (Seth) Yes, they do get extra if their print stuff also gets put on-line. In addition, because one needs constant refresh of the on-line stuff, a number of writers get paid just for that work. As mentioned earlier, photographers are reluctant to release elctronic rights to their pictures ... and it just looks better in the magazine anyway.

Question: What backend database do you use for your web-site.
Answer: (Tim) Currently using an HP legacy mainframe ... but should have an Oracle/UNIX solution on-line withen six months. Again, CGI is a great "bridging technology" here.

Question: Who is compiling indexs/subject matter expert sites?
Answer: (Seth) SKI magazine is attempting to do just that. (Mark) This will be an area where firms compete to become the recognized expert in an area by having the "best" data available and/or through brand recognition.

Question: Do companies offer discounts for electronic orders?
Answer: (ALL) YES ... it costs less to process ... but there is also a higher no-show rate. People are still quite reluctant to give out their credit card on the Net ... although they'll give it to (basically) anybody on the phone or in person (local eatery).

Question: How do you measure the "real" effectiveness of the Web Site?
Answer: (Mark) One large client has "members" on its Web site ... so it knows when you access the site ... and can correlate that with your downloading/use of coupons and/or eventual purchases at the store. (Seth) SKI uses Web Hits/Visits as selling point to advertisers.

Question: What are some unique ways to publicize your site on the Net?
Answer: (Seth) Participate in Usenet newsgroups and include your URL in your .sig (signature) file at the bottom of your email. The person who maintains the site needs to spend one third of their time answering email, because the users expect fast response. Also, exchange free links with related sites to drive traffic.

Question: Now that a company has invested in building a site, can one person be assigned to maintain it? What is their title?
Answer: (ALL) Yes, one person should be dedicated to handling WWW site issues. Find Net-savvy college students to work on the site at a lower pay rate. Pay an outside service bureau to work on the site - farm it out. Work WWW site duties into the jobs of current employees. Person who answers email to the site must be literate - spelling, grammar is key.

RMIUG wishes to thank Internet One of Boulder for sponsoring the refreshments, NIST for the use of their meeting room, and XOR Network Engineering for maintenance of RMIUG's WWW site and email lists.

Suggestions/comments/feedback are always welcome - please email these to rmiug-comm@rmiug.org.

RMIUG has 3 email lists for its members. Send an Email to rmiug@rmiug.org for an auto-reply message with more information or check out our Web Site at http://www.rmiug.org/rmiug/

For our Tuesday, April 9th meeting, we plan to have a speaker from the CU's 48th annual Conference on World Affairs which is held that week. More details to follow as we nail this down.