Should You Personalize Your Web Site With An Animated Character?

There's a unique service called SitePal that allows you to add a human touch to your web site. The company allows you to design a speaking animated character, that can easily be added to your website or blog. You can program the character to look just like you, and say anything you want.

The service is very popular, but is it effective? My answer would be yes and no. In some cases, it can be effective to have an animated character talk to your web site visitors. In other cases though, it can be very annoying.

It all depends on what kind of site you have. I wouldn't recommend it for corporate web sites, online newspapers, online research sites, or anything in that arena.

However, I would recommend it for web sites that are used to promote an individual. For instance, the personal web site of an author, a radio host, a blogger, or even a motivational speaker. In these cases, people want to hear your voice, and likely wouldn't find it annoying that you're talking to them online.

For instance, Black Enterprise columnist Brian Leary uses the service for his web site. He says that he has been "surprised by the amount of positive comments [he's] received, as well as new subscribers [to his podcast]."

I think for what he's doing, it's a great fit. The key is to be realistic about how your web site visitors will respond to it.