For starters, it's interactive, searchable and linkable. The technology is merely the tool - the medium is not the message. Many wealthy web cowboys and their hapless clients have missed that point, squandering time on flashy looks and gimmicks. Competition for eyeballs is fierce. The online reader demands clear, crisp, timely information presented in a legible, logical, structured form.
Few sites can boast great content, great design, great functionality and great usability.
The problem is a hangover from print marketing when glossy brochures, big pictures and hype-ridden text were standard corporate fodder. Impatient, information-glutted readers demand a new approach. In the real world, many of us must multi-task. What works for a brochure or print report is unlikely to work for a web site or email publication. Reading from the screen is more of a chore than reading from paper.