Not everyone is technical

< About Ben Barden : StumbleUpon and a visitor's attention span >

This is something I heard numerous times in my last job, and also from online friends.  But I don't think enough technical people appreciate it.

Jargon

I often come across jargon that the author assumes you understand.  Recent online services introduced lots of new jargon such as pings, permalinks and tags.  I know what most of the terms mean, and I know where to look if I find a new one.  But not everyone will understand you if you use jargon.

I'm sure you could look back through my blog (even "blog" is jargon) and find numerous entries with jargon.  However, I do try to limit the use of jargon where it's not necessary to use it, and I also try to explain jargon where it's appropriate to do so.

Explanations

Websites seem to be getting better at explaining what things do, but some things are still not explained very well.  For instance, when tags were introduced, they suddenly started appearing on a lot of websites with no real explanation as to what they were.  Sure, you could go looking, but why should you have to?

Technical people seem to know what tags are and how to use them well, but some non-technical people don't even realise they exist.  People need to be educated so they understand what these things are for.

A gripe with IT conventions

I personally choose to avoid all IT conventions - that is, the events where technical people meet and share ideas.  Why?  It's all very well embracing technology and looking to the future, but a site cannot become anything without people to use it.

You might already have customers using the site, but why do we only have conventions where the technically minded people come up with new ideas and subsequently put out new features?  Where is the customer in all of this?  Do they ever get to meet with the technical staff to say what they really think of the service?

Maybe you can't meet every customer in person, but you could take the opportunity to have a user group and look at what the people want from you - rather than start with the technology.  I feel this aspect is lacking in a lot of sites at the moment.

Bridging the gap

I have had several technical people telling me I need to "dumb down" what I say for the non-technical people.  However, I already do this, and many non-technical people have said I explain things in a very clear and logical manner.  Sometimes it does take a couple of tries to get the message across, and maybe I don't always get it right, but I seem to be fairly good at communicating technical messages in a non-technical way.

If you're a technical person and you never really manage to bridge the gap between your technical expertise and a customer's requirements, chances are you'll never really give the customer what they want.

We can always do better, and it's up to all of us to try and make improvements where necessary.

Did you like this post? Subscribe today!

Comments

Name *
Email *
URL
* Required Fields. Email will not be shown.
Verification:	Type the message into the box below. The letters are case sensitive.
Help Enter your comment:
Rate this article: 5 4 3 2 1 No rating (5 = Highest, 1 = Lowest) Note: if you have already posted a rating on this page, a new vote will not be added.