REVIEW: Educell.com and the case for too much information

Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly feature, Yay or Nay. Every week we’ll review a new wireless application or service from the user’s point of view, with the goal of highlighting what works and what doesn’t. If you wish to submit your application or service for review, please contact us at [email protected].
Application: Educell.com by EduCel L.L.C.
Running on: LG Voyager with service from Verizon Wireless
Yay: The no-frills portal is easy to navigate and provides quick access to cool content such as drink recipes, weather forecasts, a dictionary and quick meal ideas. And most of the good stuff is free.
Nay: While Educell features an impressive amount of business-related information, we’re not sure many executives want to be researching, say, patent law on their handsets (especially for $20 per month). The content library seems arbitrarily assembled, with entire sections devoted to golf and sailing, and it was impossible for us to discern premium content from the free stuff until we clicked on it. Also, while the content appears to be well-sourced and plainly identified, were not sure we’d be comfortable leaning on Willitfly.com – another EduCel business, apparently — for advice about hiring immigrants or handling a tax audit.
We say: Twenty bucks a month seems awfully steep for the kind of in-depth content that’s difficult to consume on a mobile in the first place. But Educell’s free offerings are a great way to find the perfect glass of wine or come up with a fast dinner on the go. And the portal’s “Kama Sutra” category is as entertaining as it is informative.
Review: We hate being overwhelmed on the wireless Web. While most site-builders have come to grips with the small screen, far too many content owners continue to overwhelm our phones and our fingers by trying to jam as much stuff as possible onto their mobile sites.
Which is why Educell’s home page is so refreshing. “The Ace in Your Pocket,” as the portal dubs itself, offers 1,139 “diversion guides” – primers and how-to’s, essentially – in six categories and an additional 1,407 “business pro guides.” Despite the depth of its information, it’s presented in a way that’s easy to digest and consume.
The site’s welcome screen offers just a few small images and all of nine link options, including an invitation to sign in or register for an account. Users can learn more about the parent company EduCel (no explanation for the spelling variation) or jump right into one of four topics including business-related content, leisure/lifestyle categories, a dictionary and weather.
The portal’s business information is both the most impressive and most puzzling feature on the site. Drilling down reveals a vast amount of well-written content covering nine broad topics, many of which feature sub-topics. Would-be entrepreneurs can research accounting practices, tap into a veritable encyclopedia of human resources information – including tips on how to discipline employees – and learn how to produce a prototype. Other interesting categories include outsourcing, choosing packaging materials and developing public-relations strategies.
Much of the business content is available only to users forking over the $20 monthly subscription fee, however. And the premium stuff isn’t flagged, leaving us to click on a topic and hope that the desired content appeared. (EduCel was kind enough to offer us a press pass to the entire site, however.)
Willitfly.com, the source for the business content, appears to produce solid, well-researched information, and we were floored by the sheer quantity of the stuff. But trying to consume all that knowledge on a handset was painful, and we wondered what use cases EduCel had in mind. Might an executive need advice for obtaining a visa for an employee on the commute to the office? Are entrepreneurs interested in mapping out a bookkeeping system on their phones?
But it’s the use-case scenarios that make the “diversion guides” so attractive. Need to know what’s in an Alabama Slammer on the go? Looking for the right glass of wine while you wait for the server to bring your steak? Thinking about stopping at the grocery store on the way home to make a quick dinner? Educell has you covered on all counts.
And the portal’s sex information – which doesn’t feature graphic porn but is decidedly NSFW – runs the gamut from lurid to educational. In addition to the predictable slang terms and descriptions, nine topics are related to sexual health and three discuss biological issues. There’s plenty of advice, too, including priceless tips on talking dirty: “A good rule of thumb is to avoid the word ‘because.’ You are not writing an essay question.”
Unfortunately, Educell’s content categories seem to reflect more of a supply of the stuff than a demand for it. An entire section is devoted to sailing, oddly, featuring everything from knot-tying to anchoring from several obscure sources. Much of the content is sponsored, allowing Beringer, for instance, to plug a text-based wine-pairing service, and redirecting users of the dictionary offering to Reference.com.
Given the lack of credible, known sources at Educell.com, we’re not likely to use the portal to build a business or save us from Davey Jones’ locker. But we’ve earmarked the site and will continue to use it for quick meal ideas or help with our golf swing. Or when we’re out of ideas on how to talk dirty.