11/26/2007

Logging on the Dub-Dub-Dub

It's been over a decade that the internet has been commercially used by most people... I feel like it's about time that Americans at-large shed some vernacular that stems from the "early years" (much like we no longer say "groovey" or "totally tubular").

First of all - No one "LOGS ON" anymore... I can't stand when I'm watching a commercial and the call to action is "LOG-ON to ESPN.com" (as an example) ... When AOL dial-up was mainstream - I understand why this term was used ... People waited several minutes to get connected to the internet - and "logging on" was a way for marketers to inform 40+ year olds that when they said "Log-on to XYZ.com" that they were referring to the internet (aka information superhighway) ... But now - I'm happy to report that AOL dial-up represents less than 5% of US internet penetration - and we've moved on to a faster, always on internet environment. We can "visit" or "go to" URLs... we just shouldn't LOG-ON and marketers should take note of this....

Secondly - when promoting a URL - people really should exclude the "www-dot" portion from now on... It's similar to the concept: If everyone didn't let the water run while brushing their teeth, imagine all the water that we collectively can save ... Well, in this case, if people no longer put "WWW-Dot" in front of all their URL addresses -- think of all the time we'll collectively save! You'll notice this on talk shows and the like...When the host asks them where can the viewer find out more - the reaction is typically "WWW-Dot-some-long-URL.com" ... No need for the first part, buddy... I think it's much easier to tell people to "Google" a keyword that your URL shows up #1 for...(and no bias here - I swear) Seriously - what's more likely - users remember and type in a specific URL - or they Google a relevant concept?
Either way - the WWW is inferred as part of a URL and people who don't realize this appear either uninformed or patronizing to me.

Am I alone here??

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