They apparently mean something else.
I'm not the only person using the term. Google searches for the terms "value
added info", or "value added information" bring up over 60,000
hits, but the pages that use the term don't seem to have the same thing in mind
as I do. Apparently what most of these pages mean by the term is a site that allows
us access to information accessible on other sites, but with tools specific to
their site that makes using that information more worthwhile. An interesting article
on the issue, from 2002, is available here.)
Frankly, that's a good idea, but it's not what I had in mind.
My take on the term refers to the idea that a company wouldn't only try to promote
its products via its web site, but also to enlighten us in at least one of a number
of additional realms. It might, for instance, give us a few pages on the history
of their product (including before the company started producing it), or perhaps
go into detail about the production process. Potential customers might not find
this particularly useful, but chances are good that they would appreciate the
additional information as a public service. Pupils would find this sort of information
useful when they prepare reports on various subjects for school. A company could
also use its site to highlight the worker of the month and tell something about
him or her, giving a human touch to what might otherwise be a rather cold site.
Again, though this information might not be what a potential customer is looking
for, the feeling that a company chooses to make information of this sort public
would probably receive a warm reception.
I've presented ideas of this sort to numerous friends and acquaintances who have
businesses and want to develop web sites for them. On the whole, though these
ideas seem to generate interest, in the end they fall by the wayside and the sites
that are ultimately developed are, to my mind, all the poorer for it.
Go to: Content? Did somebody mention content?