"one stop shopping" dilemna

Next up, question two on Gabe Rio's Task force on Social Networking Software post: Microsoft HealthVault, RevolutionHealth and Google Health make me feel L-yucky!

Question 2:
What is the potential impact of these new services offering one stop shopping for managing your health record, accessing health information, and locating health services?

The potential impact is that users will choose Revolution Health or HealthVault and then stay on that site, content with the links and tools and information and community they find there. After all, once I enter my personal data, why would I move to other sites and do the same work again? Creators of these health2.0 websites must be choosing their services with this goal in mind and while it remains to be seen how successful they are, it is a logical and promising tactic. The potential impact on users also remains to be seen.

This question intrigued me because we have been debating the same issue in a different setting this week. The question for us is: on a website redesign, is it better to:

• provide links to all possible resources and tools your users may desire in the hope that your page will then be used more and for longer periods of time (this is the one stop shop model) or
• to provide only your preferred content and resources in hopes that users won't leave to use less desirable but more familiar or heavily advertised links?
  

Again, to me, it comes down to just what you think of your users. If you believe that they can't differentiate for themselves and will stay on the homebase you create for them, then your best tactic is to give them one or two of the best resources and limit their exposure to the rest of the world. After all, you don't want to risk offering them something that they may like better than your preferred content and you don't want to confuse them.

On the other hand, if you believe that they are sampling and exploring the web for similar sites and resources and that they have some skill in judging these for themselves, then you have a second problem. You now must decide which of the other resources to link to and how to position your content to compete with theirs.

I can't be expected to have an answer to this, can I? After all, this discussion involves two library/information science classic conundrums, and I am still a bit wet behind the ears. There are elements of give them what they want vs. give them what they need AND do we continue to do what libraries have done or do we compete in the brave new world.

I do want users to find and use Medline Plus. With that goal in mind, I say lets watch the others, use Medline Plus to fill the void of reliable, non-commercial health information and stay in the conversation. Remember, to users there aren't such an unmistakable differences among sites offering health information. We know we are special and better. They don't. If we don't tell them and make it meaningful to them, they will surf on by.