The weakest link

My last post was all about the importance of connectivity. I inadvertently illustrated that by messing up two of the links (as bkr was so kind to point out in his comment to the post). So, as Anne Robinson would say,

"Ralph, you are the weakest link. Goodbye."

And there's a good chance many readers (especially first-time visitors) did when they clicked on links that didn't work -- they said goodbye.

But there's another little web lesson to be learned here, and it's one that's been an important part of my business ethos. Sometimes what you do when things go wrong is more important than what you do to ensure they go right.

I received notice of bkr's comment about fifteen minutes ago. I immediately went into the post and discovered the two problems that caused the links to fail. They're now fixed, and I've republished the post.

And that's the lesson. Mistakes create a negative impression, so it's important to correct them in a timely fashion. For the web, most errors can usually be fixed within minutes. Most people who do business on the Internet know this, and so the longer an error is allowed to stay, the more damage is done to the company's reputation.

This was the point I was trying to make to WJMA when I pointed out month after month that they used "overseas" instead of "oversee" in their job posting.

I'm not perfect -- which is why I welcome feedback. Thanks, bkr!

- Ralph