Compatibility

One of the web design statements I come across frequently is that it doesn't make sense to invite people to your site only to face annoying obstacles or be blocked entirely because they don't have the preferred browser or plugins. They will either leave without a second glance, or they will be increasingly annoyed at the frustrating experience at your site.

This concept is also applied to "brick and mortar" sites: you don't want to invite customers then make it difficult to enter the building after they get there. This seems like basic Marketing 101: make it easy to find, easy to get in, easy to use. I think it should be applied to everything an organization does, whether for profit, not for profit, or governmental. If a service or product is going to be offered, don't allow roadblocks. You never know how many people will be turned away, and in today's web 2.0 world, what the consequences will be (how far and how fast will the word be spread).

Which brings me to OverDrive, a good example of a flawed product/service that is being marketed to library patrons. How many iPods have been sold? Over 150 million? How many mp3's with DRM on them? A million? A couple million? Why on earth would a library excuse itself from that Marketing 101 rule by citing the Apple/Microsoft/DRM debate. Who cares? Not the patron. All the patron cares about is that the library is offering a service that doesn't work for them.

Is it really a good idea to promote a service or product that won't work for the majority of people it is targeted for? Yes, I am lumping iPod users in with MP3 users, because from their perspective, those devices are just the modern version of portable CD and tape players, and they aren't interested in the finer points of DRM which now plague us.

On the other side, is it really a good idea to spend public money on resources which promote a specific industry player (Microsoft)? But that's fodder for another post.