on the web

Deboning the Web

Tired of watching a blank screen with no content while a Web site downloads oodles of blinking banner ads? Want to see a site's text and links and that's it? Welcome to the deboning movement. Until recently, this movement has puttered along with such shareware filters as WebFilter, AdKiller and WebWasher. But the explosion of hand-held computer technology has spurred a trend toward trimming Web content for personal digital assistants (PDAs). Programs such as LeanWeb and Sitescooper, developed for hand-held Web use, offer stripped-down versions of Web sites that cut several kilobytes off a download.

For presenters, using these filters may not be desirable if you're looking for cool animations and sounds to garner ideas for your next presentation. If you're researching on the Web, though, and you want to cut down on clutter, these filters are worth a look.

Jargon-free presenting

Nearly everyone who works in a company suffers to some degree from jargon overload — with employees spewing acronyms, project code names and branding schemes. You may understand it, but will your audience? Perhaps it's time to run your content through the Jargonator at www.jargonfreeweb. com.

Designed by the Gable Group, a San Diego marketing communications firm, the Jargonator is meant to aid marketers in writing better press releases, but it can also help presenters take a good look at their content to determine whether it will glaze over their audience members' eyes. Entries are rated on a scale of one (effective writing) to six (an effective birdcage liner). Using the Jargonator is great way to keep that corporate-speak in check. (julie hill)