Not a pretty picture, now is it?

Imagine for a moment that your web site is a work of art. No, literally — a painting, a meticulously crafted and refined masterpiece. Let’s say you have the perfect place on your wall to display it, somewhere your audience can view it in all its glory.

Now, this is where I come in. I’m the guy in charge of hanging paintings.

There are many different ways I can go about mounting your artwork. I can stand in front of it, holding it against the wall. I could crouch under it, resting it on my neck and shoulders. I might be able to stand next to it with my arms around it. All of the above get the job done but they all suffer from the same problem: The audience can’t enjoy the work because I am literally in the way. My presence is a distraction from the experience.

So, how do you show off your amazing work without these distractions? The simplest answer is often the most elegant and easiest to implement. Find a hook, get some wire and mount the painting from the back. Then, get out of the way. Done.

Now, take a moment and think about the web sites you visit throughout the day. What do you like about the sites you visit frequently and what keeps you coming back? I’m guessing your answers are things like “the site has great information,” or “everything I was looking for was right there and it was easily found.”

Alternatively, what don’t you like about those sites that you’ve had bad experiences with? Your answers here are probably more along the lines of “the site loaded really slow,” or “I had to download plug-ins to view the content” or “I kept seeing weird messages or errors in my browser.”

In other words, the sites you use and come back to are the sites that show you what you want with an unobstructed view. In the click-and-run world of the internet, it doesn’t take much to distract from your message, brand or product. If you can’t show people that you have what they need, they’re going to look for it somewhere else.

Building a web site is a lot like that example of hanging a painting. There are a lot of ways it can be done but, no matter how creative your methods, ultimately you need to get out of the way of the user’s interaction with the message. It’s easy to get caught up in the bells and whistles of web applications or content management systems and, either intentionally or accidentally, add unnecessary hoops for visitors to jump through. As web developers, it is our job to build web sites that function efficiently and effectively across all platforms and media — or more simply, to get the technology out of the way of the message.

Re-examine your own web site or other web projects you’re working on. It can be a difficult question but you have to constantly ask yourself, “Just because I can do something, should I?” Or, more to the point, “Am I getting in the way?”

Most advertisers are familiar with Comcast’s On Demand service, which was its first attempt at providing subscribers with more in-depth information on a product or service. This was a good start, but it didn’t compare to the “seek-n-find” capability of the Internet. Well, in the very near future, subscribers are going to be able to push a button on their digital cable TV remote when they see an advertisement to instantly (with a double opt-in “yes” feature) request that coupons or additional information be sent to them via snail-mail or email.

This capability will open up endless possibilities for advertisers — if subscribers actually do it. As with anything else, it will take time to catch on. But, when it does, it will become as second nature as setting your DVR to record The Bachelor (by the way, you will also be able to hit a button on your remote when you see a promo for The Bachelor to signal your DVR to record it for you — instantly!). Technology and advertising — I LOVE IT!

Regardless of which side you were voting for, how did Barack get to my father? My father, who lives in rural Pennsylvania, is not an Internet user, so the social networking campaigns that the Obama campaign has become famous for weren’t a factor. My father doesn’t subscribe to any magazines or newspapers, and he rarely puts on the radio. I will admit my father watches TV; usually between the hours of 5am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm – which means he didn’t see any of the debates or SNL skits. My father voted for change because the messages he did receive were consistent and compelling, and he believed them. He believed them because they came from credible sources, as they were discussed on TV programs he watches regularly, and from friends and family who engaged him in conversations. He believed them because they were coming to him from someone other than Barack Obama himself. And he believed them because they spoke directly to him.

So what can we learn from this famous Challenger Brand campaign? First, make sure your message is consistent and true to what you believe. Second, make sure you’re communicating in a language your target understands. And third, follow the KISS principle (keep it simple, stupid).

The freedom of the Internet is a beautiful thing. It allows anyone who wants to publish information to do so freely. The media does it every day – as rapidly as they possibly can, oftentimes putting out stories before the drama has completely unfolded. Large corporations and grassroots causes do it, too. Individuals have unlimited potential to post messages, images, videos and full-fledged websites about any topic that is of interest to them at that particular moment. In fact, I’m doing it right now.

This freedom opens the lines of communication between Challenger Brands and the marketplace, allowing messages to be dispersed rapidly and affordably. However, if these messages are not consistent with the brand platform, they will confuse the market and do a disservice to your organization. Here are three very basic steps to take prior to entering the online world:

1. Solidify your message and tie it back to your overall brand platform, marketing strategies and measurable goals
2. Establish the tactics that will be utilized (internet advertising, website, blogs, blog comments, social media, etc.)
3. Educate your internal audience and establish a policy for how content will be dispersed (guidelines for blog posts and comments, who posts to the social media sites, etc.)

Although you should be able to control the information and messages that come out of your four walls, you cannot control all that happens in cyberspace. You’ve no doubt heard this before. If you please your customer, they will tell a few people. If you disappoint them, they tell everyone they talk to…and the Internet expands that universe to include people your disappointed customer doesn’t even know personally. And, what makes matters worse, it doesn’t fade as quickly (the video below was posted on YouTube over a year ago) and it can happen whether the Internet is part of your marketing arsenal or not.

So how do you minimize this issue? First, build a brand that your customers can trust – and payoff on that brand platform with every interaction the outside world has with you. Second, differentiate yourself from the market leader and create a new category. So when the leader gets flak, the market is less likely to associate you with them. Third, create a sense of community and following through your current customer-base, giving them an outlet to share positive experiences with the general public. The more good things are said about you, the less the negative things will impact the perception of your brand.