Site-based teaching

The other day, I was looking for the best gardening Web sites, so I Googled -- are you sitting down? -- “best gardening Web sites.” What, you were expecting me to say, “Gardening Illustrated’s annual swimsuit edition?” C’mon. Give me some credit… Everyone knows that doesn’t come out until February.

Anyway, a few moments into my search, up pops an option that not only lists an array of sites devoted to the greening of America, but also ranks them with stars -- a la movie ratings. Among the sites sitting atop the page is the resource page for National Gardening Association and the site for iVillage Garden Web, which is billed as “the Internet’s Garden & Home Community.”

Given that lists sometimes can be nebulous -- I’m guessing you won’t agree with me that “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” is the greatest movie in the history of great movies -- I don’t know that we can conclude that the aforementioned virtual garden havens are the “best” of the best. But I will venture this: You need to check out both sites.

In this, the “instant” age, your customers are dramatically more sophisticated than they were even a decade ago. You are constantly challenged just to keep up with their whims, desires and needs, each of which can be dictated by something as simple as a mouse click.

Here’s some advice: Click before they do.

-- Yale

Comments

[Doug Green]

My generation used the yellow pages and library card-catalogs to find information. My kids use google like a fine instrument to seek out and find the info they want. And they're just starting to buy homes and garden.

They don't understand the concept of "library" as a building because to them, the library is wherever they happen to be with their wireless laptop.

This is your new customer; and how do you communicate to them? Best of the best? Heck, they're well past those directories. :-)