This Global TuneUp™ post will focus on a simple thing that causes many people no end of frustration.
Have you ever wondered if there is something more that you can do to help people find information and resources -- either your own or those that you are recommending -- that you are trying to share with them?
Did you know that you may be just seven (7) characters short of your goal?
One of the ways that many people unknowingly hinder their efforts to reach their target audience is -- ready for this? -- the way they write a URL address in an email, as part of an email signature file, in a Twitter post / tweet or a phone text / SMS message!
Surprised? There's actually a cultural explanation...
In today's world of technology, there is a "majority culture" - Microsoft and its products - and a variety of other cultures, including Mac and Linux, as well as subcultures (software and tools) such as Firefox and Chrome (my favorites!) and other browsers, various email packages, Twitter, etc.
You see, people from the Microsoft culture who use Microsoft software for email and web browsing have discovered that their culture's primary software "fills in the blanks" and automatically adds the http:// to a URL. They don't need to use the http:// part of the address to make their URLs become live links in their email correspondence or documents.
And they make the crucial mistake of thinking that other cultures are just like theirs.
Not everyone in the world uses Microsoft software, including some members of the Microsoft culture. They use non-MS software -- and many of those tools require the inclusion of http:// to make a URL address go "live" and link properly.
This means that there is a big difference between using
www.manitouheights.com
(which doesn't work in many non-Microsoft products)
and
http://www.manitouheights.com
(which works in all cultures/products)
Using http:// will significantly increase your marketing and information-sharing efforts by allowing people from many "cultures" to quickly and effortlessly reach the information you are trying to give them.
If you don't include http://, there is no doubt that you are hindering people from accessing your information. Many people will not format the URL properly and paste it into their browser. For the want of seven (7) characters, you may have lost an opportunity to reach them!
The next time you write a URL address in an email or Twitter or include your own URL in your email or text message / SMS signature file, consider:
How inclusive are you willing to be to make sure that you reach the broadest audience possible? Do you want to be understood and reach as many people as possible in all cultures? Or are you content with using a method of writing URL addresses that actually hinders -- and therefore prevents and excludes -- potential members of your audience?
I hope that your answer is seven (7) characters: http://
Good luck with that Global Tuneup™! Let me know if you have other suggestions!
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This post is part of the Manitou Heights Global TuneUp™ series. If you're not familiar with it, check out the Global TuneUp™ series introduction!
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I had no idea! I\'ll make sure I do it from now on. Thanks, Ruth!
Robert Hruzek\'s last blog post: Overcoming Barriers, Part 2
Thanks for the information. Really an eye opener for me.
Wow... didn\'t realize this... I will make sure to include the full URL when I\'m up for more marketing materials. Thanks for sharing this information.
Thank you, Ruth. That was very useful.
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Just another reminder that we have to be aware how our work shows up on different browsers and in different programs. I have seen this happen a bunch of times where people forget those 7 characters and their call to action is no longer as compelling. In my own experience, I remember the first time I designed a website and it looked great in my browser of preference (Firefox) but it didn\'t do as well in some of the other well known browsers. Hopefully now that we see people becoming used to more than just Microsoft, we will see a more standardized approach to these types of issues.
Very informative and an awareness to all. Thanks for sharing this.. Good job!
Very interesting! Thank you!!!!
We each tend to equate the global world \"way things work\" with our on little world and the \"way things work\". Something as simple as \"http://\" can be a bridge if you use it and a chasm if you don\'t either bringing together or separating people. There is similar example with birthdays. In the US, we assume that the first birthday occurs after 1 complete year from birth; however, in some cultures, the first birthday is considered the birth day. So, a two year old in the US would be three years old in S. Korea. It all depends on your local world view and how it relates to the global world view of things.
I noticed a lot of the links I was posting on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube weren\'t working and this is exactly why. Thanks for sharing this important info.
Oh never realized that... Thanks for that wonderful tip... Sometimes a small thing can lead to big problems.
I will give you a similar other tip. Many a times people send word documents in docx format assuming every one has Office 2007 & above but its not true. Many people like me still uses office 2003 & those people can\'t open that document.
It\'s an inspirational article for internet job holder. I appreciate it.Thanks for your nice post.
I\'m happy you found the information helpful!
Wow thanks! Never thought this way! Thanks a lot for sharing!
Glad you found this thought-provoking!
How can i measure it ? Actually I\'ve no idea about it.
You could use Google Analytics to measure what URLs people are using. It might be very helpful information for you. Good luck!
This really is an eye opener.. It\'s so simple but many of us have overlooked this idea. This is so sad, but at least we learn along the way. Thank you.
Happy that I shared something that you value! Thanks!
Thank you for sharing this tip, it has solved many problems. My social networking sites were not working properly, and this must have been the reason why. I will most definitely use the full URL address now.
I\'m glad you found the information helpful!
Very interesting article that you’ve posted. Found the views to be quite informative and intriguing. Thanks for sharing.
Very useful, I\'ve never realized that.
Thanks for the information.
Wow, very interesting. I never really thought about this, but it definitely does make sense. Without the http request being properly formatted, there has to be some sort of function within a program to make the adjustment. Most programs don\'t have this type of functionality built into them.
Looks like I need to go back and change my email signatures