Media: Gerry McGovern on the Clashing of Cultures

In "IT is from Mars; Web content is from Venus" New Thinking tackles the cultural conflict at the base of many unusable sites. What he is opposed to, says McGovern, is a 'particular technology mindset which exhibits a type of gadget addiction, an obsession with the new, and a relentless desire to automate everything it comes across.' He predicts a diminishing role for IT departments.

Instead, he puts responsibility for development at the very front end: marketing or communications: 'The managing editor who is in charge of the website must be responsible for everything — the content and the applications. They must ultimately decide whether new content should be published, or whether new applications should be developed. Their decisions must be based on a deep understanding of their staff, their customers, or whoever else their website is targeted at.'

His concern is the language, of course, and so he doesn't comment on the role of the usability professional. But reading this does make one think about the changing allegiances of our industry, as more time is spent with the marketing department nowadays and less with the techies in the backroom.

Associated Link: New Thinking: IT is from Mars; Web content is from Venus

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