1. The World Wide Web: Evolution and Opportunity
1. Web site evolution - a general framework
2. The
Bob Gagné
York University
Executive Director - Information Technology

2. Web Evolution - a general framework
Web Site Evolution
Beginning - the mass communication model
- transfer experience from print, radio, TV ...
Information
Creator
Audience

3. Web Evolution - a general framework
The web is not like other communication mediums
Print/TV/Radio - it’s broadcast so everyone has to see the same thing.
Web - every user gets their own copy of the web page.
Information
Creator

4. Web Evolution - a general framework
The web goes both ways … transactions and transactive content
Print/TV/Radio - broadcast
Web - users can receive information but they can also send it.
Information
Creator

5. Web Evolution - a general framework
Users can talk to each other - really a web
From information provider to community hub
Information/
community hub

6. Web Evolution - a general framework
Some common traps in beginning -
Business Model: treating the Web as a marketing brochure and not as a fundamental shift in the way we do business in the network economy.
Project management: multiple developers without coordination.
Information architecture: structuring the site like the company’s own org chart instead of reflecting the user’s view of the service.
Page layout: using heavy graphics (that look good on a large monitor and load quickly on a direct network connection).
Content authoring: writers don’t realize the need to cut their copy in half for online readers. Nor do they modularize the text into multiple hypertext nodes.
Linking: banning external links in an attempt to imprison the user on your own site
Jakob Neilsen - Author on Web Site Usability

7. The WWW Opportunity Focusing on the Audience, Customers, Services -
“Customer Orientation”
driven by utility - Why do they visit? What do they want to do?
ultimately “the audience of one”.
what do we do for “customers”?
how could we do it on the web and make it better?
Constraints of time and place vanish.
Beyond services to experiences.

10. The WWW Opportunity The Future web@york
Lessons from the internet industry - portals and “home bases”
Portals - Yahoo, Excite, Go.com, Lycos, Canada.com
pass you through to other destinations
based on searching and web directories
you go there to go somewhere else...
Home Bases - My Netcenter, My Yahoo, PlanetAll
where you keep your “stuff”
start and return here between forays
lots of services, deep personalization

13. my.netcenter.com

14. Northwestern Portal

15. Northwestern Home

16. The WWW Opportunity The Future web@york - The “web campus”
home base for students, staff, faculty, alumni.
Personalized integrated services and features
on line learning, , schedules, applications, personal sites.
parking stickers, bill payment, registration
how can we do what we do on the web and make it better?
Need an architecture and attention to usability and accessibility.
Internet=Intranet+Extranet

17. my.ucla.edu

19. ecollege.com

20. Villanova/Campus Pipeline

21. The WWW Opportunity The Future web@york - Need for new approach -
too big to do by ourselves.
Leverage tools - publishing, authoring, application development.
A web platform with personalization and utilities built in.
Partnership opportunities abound.
E-commerce potential.
Coordinated approach

22.
…first steps