I got up thinking about two things that happened recently that made me wonder how much people really think about what they say and do. The first was a conversation at work where I laid out a fair simple scheme to help Star reporters develop a “web first” workflow, building audiences online and letting print pieces flow naturally from the best online content and interacting with said audience using Star sites and third party social media. The response was, “I’m not sure that’s the best use of our reporters’ time.” And a better use of their time is what, working on stories for a print product that is losing subscribers, advertisers, and gets more expensive to produce everyday while neglecting the delivery system that has alreadyovertaken newspapers as the primary source of news in this country? Sounds like being “web first” is the only use of our time, but hey, what do I know.

The other baffling interaction was one my wife had with a website, or maybe its more accurate to say that we were baffled by her lack of interaction with a website. Amanda runs a local craft fair focusing on contemporary, urban application of traditional techniques – think hip jewelry and knitted iPod cozies – and she was considering having her printing done locally. Promoting the event requires hundreds of posters, thousands of postcards, banners, etc – it’s not a giant account but it’s a nice little paycheck for a printing shop and now in its third year, the event is growing in scope and frequency.

She ran into the owner of a local print shop while promoting last fall’s event and decided to visit it to compare his prices with the printer she uses in Ohio. When she entered the url a splash page appeared with his logo, address and phone number. She clicked on it. And nothing. She clicked around the screen. And nothing. No samples of work, no price quotes, no testimonials. The shop’s website offered nothing more to us than we could have gotten from the Yellow Pages. Because we want to support the local economy, she called him to ask if she could see samples of his work and get price quotes. His reply? Make an appointment. In the middle of the day. When she’s at work. And you know what? Because we want to support the local economy, she is trying to work out a time to visit the shop and see work that he’s done. And that, folks, puts her in an extremely tiny minority that is willing to inconvenience themselves out of principle.

This guy solicited her business and then fails to provide any useful information that might win her business away from the company she’s been quite happy with. He has a website, which is more than a lot of locally owned businesses can say, but it’s useless. It’s like offering a ride to someone at a bus stop and leading them to a car sitting on blocks. Yeah, you’ve got a car but it has no practical value. And you wasted my time leading me away from a much easier option I was happy with.

I am not big on Scripture but I do remember something about the universe helping those that help themselves…