Feature — Web Advocacy
April brings the anniversary of CAMWEST's web site. In this issue we look at the lessons we've learnt on using the web and email to advocate for better bike facilities.
About Our Site
Our site continues to do very well, and it has been a key tool in our advocacy efforts. More than 240 people have subscribed to our announce mailing list (to join, see our mailing list page, and the number of visitors is healthy and growing. The mailing lists have provided us with a support base which we can rely on, which gives us more power when dealing with councils and government groups. This has given us an increased sphere of influence, as more people find out what is going on and are enthused into advocacy. We have received positive feedback about the site from a number of people. We were also included in a feature article about cycling sites in Icon, the Sydney Morning Herald's web liftout (see article). The Web has been a cheap and effective way for us to communicate our message to cyclists and decision makers, as well as encouraging people to get involved in advocacy.
The site is updated every two months, and the home page follows the format of a brief newsletter with news, updates, and events. We let our subscribers know of the updates with a free summary email. The newsletter includes a 'feature article' which looks in focus at a particular issue. Past issues have looked at Police on Bikes, Oil Prices, Riding to Work, etc (see our feature index). We also include short updates on our projects and bike-related news we collect from local papers and other sources. We are careful to keep a positive tone throughout the site by including good news stories when they come our way.
A key addition has been 'Action Corners' (a section in our site suggesting one or two simple things people can do to advocate). This approach gives us different levels of involvement to choose from, which means more can be involved. Empowering people to become advocates is a key goal.
Our advice to advocates considering the web is simple: have something to say, and say it well. Provide good content. The flashiest site is useless if you don't have a message. At the same time, ensure you communicate your message effectively by following good style and design guidelines. See the links section below.
We would like to thank PPS Internet (www.pps.com.au) for supporting us by hosting our site for free. Their support to cycling is very important to us. PPS specialises in the hosting of business related e-commerce websites. They host B2B, B2C, and B2G web sites. Contact: Ph:+61 2 9281 3905, Fax:+61 2 9281 3047, sales@pps.com.au.
Please help us improve our website by letting us know what you like and don't like about the site, and how it could improve. We really appreciate your feedback.
Web Advocacy How-To
Content
- Plan your site before touching the code. Think of your audience, message, purpose, goals.
- Keep the grammar tight, as people scan web content.
- Use the seductive moment: after reading a story, viewers often feel ready to act. Make sure you include 'What You Can Do' and 'Read More' sections at the end of the article.
- Include good links: quality, not quantity. Group your Links Page under headings.
- Keep an archive of old articles, news. Keep file names constant so that people can bookmark them.
Design
- Use San Serif fonts (Arial, Helvetica, Verdana).
- Keep graphics relevant and to a minimum.
- Separate the design from the content by using Cascading Style Sheets.
- Write valid html
- Support w3.org standards
- Use email and the web together, by sending out an email reminder of updates to the site. This creates 'stickiness' to your site, as it keeps people coming back. Include link to updated web site in the e-newsletter.
- Keep it very short (see Jakob Nielsen's Mailing List Usability, Alertbox Aug. 2000).
- Use the Bcc (blind carbon copy) field when sending mail to many people to protect people's privacy. Please note that you should not put a mailing list address in the Bcc field, since mailing list software usually will not accept it.
- The subject should be short, summarising the email. Avoid cuteness.
- Include links to the site's pages.
- Send a confirmation email when people subscribe. There are many mailing list services available.
- Provide an easy way to subscribe and unsubscribe in every email.
- Trust is important on the net, and we've found the best way to win people's trust is to be trustworthy! Respect people's privacy and explain how you will use their information.
General
- Hosting: A simple hosting service included in most ISP deals is the way to go for most simple sites. See Active Sydney as an alternative.
- Domain names: ideal if you can get one, but don't stress over it. Many visits come from links from other sites and emails.
- Measure the impact and success of your site: web visits, subscribers, etc.
LINKS
Web Design/Usability
- Start with standards
- Jakob Nielsen's site
- Lynda Weinmann's site
- WebMonkey - reference site for web building.
- IBM's Web Design guidelines
- Web Developer's Virtual Library
- Yale's Web Style Guide
- Usable Web
- WebMonkey Design page
Web Advocacy/Activism
(Please note: we don't necessarily agree with these people, we just include them as examples.)
- Rob's Ramblings - Environmental
- Save the ADI Site
- The Virtual Activist
- Active Sydney - site that is becoming an online focus for community activism in the city.
- How To Lobby Politicians
- Internet Resources for Australian Activists
- ICON feature on Activism Online
- Community Activist Technology
- Google Activism Directory
- Activists Handbook
What You Can Do
Please give us your feedback to cycling (AT) camwest.org.au on our site — we'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions.
