[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/07\/24\/fit-for-engagement-making-it-mom-proof\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/07\/24\/fit-for-engagement-making-it-mom-proof\/","headline":"Fit for engagement: Avoiding omnishambles","name":"Fit for engagement: Avoiding omnishambles","description":"Knowing your audience is key\u2014and a new service reminds us that if your mom can\u2019t understand what you\u2019re offering, then chances are you\u2019ve got an omnishambles on your hands.","datePublished":"2015-07-24","dateModified":"2020-11-17","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jamie-anderson\/#Person","name":"Jamie Anderson","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/contributor\/jamie-anderson\/","identifier":119,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/249ae804963762332acd20e644bfe865782bee3d64ee223d5dd6a28e548b47b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/249ae804963762332acd20e644bfe865782bee3d64ee223d5dd6a28e548b47b5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Future of Commerce","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/logo-foc-schema-app-1.png","width":172,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FOC_2015-07-24-A_HERO.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/FOC_2015-07-24-A_HERO.jpg","height":370,"width":1200},"url":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/07\/24\/fit-for-engagement-making-it-mom-proof\/","video":[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"VideoObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cIPxLzfw6wU#VideoObject","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=cIPxLzfw6wU","name":"In The Loop - The Full Tucker (Best of Malcolm Tucker)","description":"Pretty much all of the scenes involving raging psychotic Malcolm Tucker, the Prime Minister's Director of Communications and all-round attack-dog.  Also has some extra snippets of his helper Jamie McDonald, a sort of condensed Mini-Me version he unleashes when he's busy and needs to multi-task his beatings.  Contains adult language from the start...","thumbnailUrl":["https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/cIPxLzfw6wU\/default.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/cIPxLzfw6wU\/mqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/cIPxLzfw6wU\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/cIPxLzfw6wU\/sddefault.jpg"],"uploadDate":"2013-05-29T07:41:19+00:00","duration":"PT14M46S","embedUrl":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cIPxLzfw6wU","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCBx5vJ-FRBK3SIVSsqaDGUw#Organization","url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCBx5vJ-FRBK3SIVSsqaDGUw","name":"Videorama*","description":"The best classic film reviews on the planet straight from your local video store!  Starting April 2026, you can visit Brett Turner at VIDEORAMA where he will happily - or sometimes begrudgingly - recommend a classic film you may or may not have seen.  Maybe you're young and haven't seen the original 'Terminator', or you're old like him and just like to reminisce and have someone talk about one of your favourite classic movies.  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Weeks after the election the tabloids are still gleefully hunting for the defunct #EdStone. The fate of its former owner is well documented.I see similar things happening in digital. Every couple of days I\u2019ll encounter a website that brings me up short. Whether because of bland company messaging, convoluted social strategy or simply the sense that the user experience could be much better, there\u2019s no shortage of brands that don\u2019t stand out.In their defense, it can be hard\u2014particularly when outside your comfort zone\u2014to think objectively about your audiences and customers, and how they\u2019ll react to you. But that\u2019s precisely why you need to step back and have a sober moment.Which is where Scotty Allen\u2019s 64-year-old mom, Pam, steps in. Allen and his friend Richard Littauer are UX professionals who have stumbled on a neat way to offer outside-in-reviews of websites and their usability. Visit The User is My Mom  and for $75 you can hire Mrs Allen to test your website (here\u2018s her review of Twitter.com).It\u2019s no joke. Mrs. Allen is a high school tutor with a master\u2019s degree who regularly goes online. But she uses the Internet with purpose rather than as recreation, and she doesn\u2019t necessarily have the same context that younger users have. The simple pitch is that, \u201cif she can\u2019t understand your site, others will struggle as well.”Pam Allen: Your digital strategy\u2019s toughest test?Failing that, you could hire Littauer to review your site while \u201cvery drunk,”\u00a0though this costs a little more. His reasoning is simply that any feature of your site (particularly for retailers) has to be able to be used by someone who could be drunk\u2014so why not test for it? There\u2019s also the chance that the booze might make the presentation of the facts a bit more interesting.There\u2019s sense behind the irreverence. These are off-the-wall ideas, but they make a serious point. It\u2019s easy to try so hard to engage\u00a0that you end up making\u00a0whizzy new activations out of emojis,\u00a0miss your core customers all together and end up in an omnishambles. It sounds simple but building in checks and remembering what your customers need can make all the difference."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2015","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"24","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/\/07\/\/24\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Fit for engagement: Avoiding omnishambles","item":"https:\/\/www.the-future-of-commerce.com\/2015\/07\/24\/fit-for-engagement-making-it-mom-proof\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]