Call me pig-headed. Call me self-centered. Go ahead and slap a big ol' sticker on my forehead that screams "I'm full of myself!" Honestly, that would be pretty accurate... at least when it comes to my perspective of the Internet.

The Internet should be all about me, shouldn't it? I think so, and I'm not alone.

Apparently there are over 108 million Web sites on the Internet (how many pages is that?). Personally, however, I am only concerned with a precious few hundred of them. As for the rest, who cares? The question used to be "If a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a sound?" I think now the 21st century equivalent is "If a site is uploaded to the Web but no one visits it, does it really exist?"

Great Expectations

The Internet has opened up a whole new set of consumer expectations that could never have been met in 'analog' situations. If I walked into a store to make a purchase, I would never expect the salesperson to know who I am. I wouldn't expect her to know what I've bought in the past, to recommend products that other people with similar buying histories have enjoyed or to recall my billing and shipping addresses and preferences. I would understand that the salesperson's focus is on several customers and I logically accept the fact that this store simply can't be all about me. Or at least it won't.

Online, however, technology has accelerated our expectations and demands. It took only a few successful Internet pioneers to demonstrate that the Web CAN be all about me, and therefore it SHOULD (it MUST!) be all about me. And this isn't just true of e-commerce sites, it's true of social networks, government resources, online entertainment, internet marketing, anything and everything.

This user-centric revelation has opened the door wide for millions of consumers to adopt the Web as part of their lifestyle. Companies and organizations have the fresh opportunity to create positive connections with more individuals than could ever 'literally' step through their front door. Ultimately, though, I am still left with a lot of Disappointment 2.0. For every Web site out there that does a good job of focusing its energy on me there are hundreds that don't. Or at least that won't.

Strangely enough, it's usually not the big things that disappoint me. Backpack doesn't have all the features that I wish it had, but I still used it to organize my holiday shopping. Google Docs doesn't have all the Microsoft Word-esque features I wish it had, but I'm still using it to draft up this blog post. Despite their high expectations, Web users are accustomed to 'beta' versions and shifting feature sets as long as they feel respected and valued. What these users won't accept is an impersonal experience.

So then what does disappoint me? It's the little things, the details that, while relatively small, reveal the sad truth that this company doesn't really care about me at all. Web sites that...

• ... are more concerned with being cool than being usable. Any site that is so difficult to navigate that I still can't find what I'm looking for after several minutes of trying is not thinking about me.
• ... are more concerned with corporate deadlines than reliability. A site with broken links and server errors obviously was more concerned about their launch time or budget than the quality of my user experience.
• ... are more concerned with the masses than me. Sure, it's a lot easier to build a site that only works in Internet Explorer or on PCs, but I feel like a second-rate user when I try to view the site on my Mac or iPhone.

Don't Ignore the Parsley

The funny thing is that these issues aren't that hard to fix. It's not much harder than putting parsley on a plate. So why does the ball get dropped so often? The problem is that very few people are consciously thinking about the parsley and its significance. The people building the site are focusing on the 'big stuff' and the test user groups aren't listing the garnish as a key priority. But when it is taken away, you notice. You cringe. And you go elsewhere.

Remember the Hair Club for Men commercials - "I'm not only the president, I'm also a client"? Well, we're not just designers and developers, we're also users. From a developer's perspective, it's very tempting to 'cheat' by doing insufficient testing, lax browser support or not-quite-best practices. The user within me, however, screams, "Get it together, man! Polish it up, make this site shine! I'm worth it!"

And the user is worth it, and more! Out of the 108 million sites to choose from they came to your site. The user has given you their valuable attention for a fleeting moment - what are you going to do with it? Are you going to give them 97% or 100%? Will this experience be all about you or all about them? Remember, the average user only takes 4 seconds to decide if they're hitting the Back button or not.

It is our goal at Killswitch to consistently deliver a 100% user-centric experience. Sometimes this means saying 'yes' to the tough work that only benefits a small percentage of the site's users. Sometimes this means saying 'no' to feature or design requests that will muddle the user experience. Either way, we're working to put the parsley on every plate.

So go ahead, be pig-headed - it's good for the Web!