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MAY 2012
Everything You Know About Mobile is Wrong
Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist
2011 was a breakout year
for mobile Internet use. I'm not just referring to the growing number, size and
power of smart phones and tablets or the near-universal availability of
affordable Wi-Fi and cellular data networks. Mobile Internet users have also
become more numerous, adventurous and sophisticated.
The truth is we're playing catch-up with our users. If your mobile strategy is
a year old, it's time to throw it out and start fresh.
The "Common Wisdom"
Around Mobile
For the early adopters, mobile Internet use isn't new. We spent years addicted
to our BlackBerrys, Moto Q's and first generation iPhones, which allowed us to
check the occasional website. Many of our preconceptions come from these early
experiences - screens were small, bandwidth was at a premium, and many websites
were marginally functional on our little lifelines to the digital world.
As the number of Internet-enabled mobile devices grew, we saw our opportunity
to make the online world more hospitable. The percent of site visitors started
growing and we made the case for creating an optimized mobile experience.
Given the struggles of accessing information on those early devices, we created
a set of use cases for how users use the mobile Web. These assumed mobile users
are typically on the go, and looking for phone numbers and addresses. In other
words, we built mobile sites for users who need information while driving and
operating their phone one-handed.
The result was small optimized mobile sites containing only a fraction of the
content on the full website. Mobile sites included simplified navigation, big
buttons for large fingers on small screens and few features for tight bandwidth
limitations.
The Tipping Point
In January, Nielson reported 116 million U.S. mobile phone
Web users and Apple sold more than 55 million
iPads last year alone.
In research performed by Geonetric with 30 hospital and health system websites,
the average site saw a 230% growth in mobile traffic from January 2011 to
January 2012. In that time, the percent of all visits coming from mobile
devices grew from 4.6% to 11.5% with some individual sites seeing more than 20%
of traffic coming from mobile devices!
The reality is that mobile users have changed. They're no longer the early
adopters. They don't just use their smart phones and tablets when on the go.
Visitors no longer just want maps and directions. And they're looking for more
than just that physician directory. Careers, service information, health
resources and even baby photos get lots of use on mobile devices. Read more
Check Out Our Latest Article
Using Blogs to Build Relationships
For healthcare marketers
it's not just a question of should you be blogging - but how? In his latest
article Using
Blogs to Build Relationships Geonetric's own Ben Dillon sheds light on this timely topic. Published
in the Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development's (SHSMD) member
newsletter, Spectrum , Ben's article explains why so many healthcare
marketers are reaching out to their audiences through blogs - and more
importantly, how to develop a strategy that will ensure your blog delivers
value.
When it comes to blogging, it's tempting to jump right in. The best blogs may
feel spontaneous, but the truth is few blogs actually are. Check
out this article
and learn what steps you can take now to ensure future blogging success.
Approaching Responsive Design Responsibly
Bill Basler, Director of Creative Services
One
thing is certain about the Web - change is imminent and constant. As Web
strategists, writers, designers, and developers, we're used to this reality.
That's why when the Web throws yet another curveball, we're prepared to react.
The latest curveball has come with a shift in how people interact with online
content - their migration to mobile devices.
Back in 2009, Morgan Stanley published a 424-page diatribe titled, The Mobile Internet Report, which
declared, "More users may connect to the Internet via mobile devices than
desktop PCs within five years." Smart people, those Morgan Stanley folks.
Midway through 2012, we've already seen an explosion in the adoption of mobile
devices.
Studies indicate that some users are leaving their desktop machines for a
mobile device and not turning back. For those users, it appears their mobile
device may be the only computer they need. Other users strike a balance between
their mobile and desktop devices.
As designers, we have been watching this trend for several years, and it's
clear we're no longer designing for one on-screen experience. Instead we have
to be responsive to the needs of all users, across all devices, ranging from
extra-large to small - from vertical to horizontal. And websites need to adapt
to these varying screen resolutions, aspect ratios and user inputs.
The uncontrollable nature of mobile computing has challenges that go along with
it. Imagine you are a painter. You take many things into consideration as you
approach your latest work - design principles and elements. Color. Emphasis.
Contrast. Line. And perhaps most important, composition.
Now imagine cutting your new work into pieces and issuing those pieces to your
fans allowing them to be reassembled in any way they see fit. One of your fans
wants a horizontal piece to hang over a mantle. Another wants a vertical piece
to place next to a doorway. You get the idea. Designing a site so it can be
"cut apart" and reassembled in a number of ways is how we're reacting
to the shift in mobile usage. It's called responsive design.
With media queries embedded in CSS, we can alter the placement of images. We
can introduce new, alternate layouts tuned to each resolution range. And we can
fine tune navigation so it's more prominent in a widescreen view, or reposition
it above a logo on smaller displays.
We can also fine-tune elements to create a more optimized user experience
regardless of the device type. We can increase the target area on links for
smaller screens. We can selectively show or hide elements that might enhance
page navigation. We can even practice responsive typesetting - stripping down
gorgeous fonts in favor of system defaults to minimize the amount of data
needed to display the site properly - saving users valuable kilobytes in a
world where wireless data plans are ever-increasing in price.
Geonetric is fully immersed in responsive design solutions. And we'll be
discussing this in further detail during our upcoming webinar.
WEBINAR
Everything You Know About
Mobile is Wrong
Thurs., May 24 - 3:00 p.m.
Join us to learn new techniques for developing
sites optimized for mobile devices and discover how the user experience is
evolving.
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Shifting Online Focus to Wellness
MHSCN
Spring Conference
May 16 - Presented by Ben Dillon, Geonetric and Chris Bevolo, Interval
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Geonetric
and PatientKeeper Partner to Help Hospitals Improve Patient Care Through
360-Degree Online Information Access and Sharing Among Physicians and Patients
Two industry-leading companies collaborate to help hospitals meet Meaningful
Use requirements and drive information technology adoption by patients and
physicians.
Cornerstone
Health Care Selects Geonetric to Develop New Online Presence
New
website to promote the system's practice philosophy and aid in physician
recruitment.
