To the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC):
I'm a frequent visitor to your website and submit tips on cases I see there on a regular basis. I appreciate your efforts as the foremost advocate for the rights of missing and exploited children. I believe your effects could use some improvement. My suggestions aren't a negative reflection on my opinions of your efforts; they're more observations from a casual observer. You can read my suggestions below:
1. You're sorely underrepresented on the internet. Similar organizations have profiles on several social networking websites, including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. I'm a regular visitor of these websites and I haven't seen profiles for the NCMEC yet. Profiles on these websites would improve your sagging traffic numbers indicated on Alexa.com. You could enlist the help of volunteers who know about social networking to accomplish this goal.
2. The design of your website hasn't been updated in the several years I've been visiting it. Normally, an outdated website design wouldn't be an issue, but I think it's affecting how fast your website loads and the ease with which users can navigate through it. A modern, streamlined design that's more appealing to the eyes would bring in more visitors than the design as it stands.
3. The search engine visitors use to look for cases needs to be faster. Sometimes it locks up and other times it takes far longer than it should. Modern website-embedded search engines are much faster and user-friendly. You could keep the same search criteria; it just needs to be faster.
4. Your newsletter system is broken. I've signed up for all of your newsletters and I have yet to receive one. This is an opportunity you're missing out on. You could have it set up so visitors could receive emails whenever a case is added, updated or resolved. If you keep your visitors in the loop, they will come back time and time again.
5. The information provided in the case files themselves is insufficient. Every missing person has a story to tell. Their story can't be told in the two or three lines typically in each case file. Additional information would also help increased the standing of the NCMEC in search engines.
6. Visitor input needs to be encouraged. A community forum would accomplish this feat. In this forum, visitors could communicate with one another and you could interface with visitors as well. This exchange of information would be nothing but productive for the NCMEC.
7. The reading material on your website needs to be updated and multiplied. The more information you provide visitors, the more time they’re going to want to spend on the site. Based on information from Alexa.com, visitors are spending less than two minutes on the site each time they visit. This number needs to be increased.
8. You should reach out to the other missing persons organizations out there to form an alliance or a network of organizations focused on the same goal. The organizations I’m referring to include The Charley Project, The Doe Network and The National Center for Missing Adults and their affiliates.
9. Their needs to be a system for nationwide, internet-based volunteers. These volunteers can help you accomplish a number of different purposes while keeping costs down. I don’t think you should rely on the help of locals when there’s a nation of millions that would surely lend a hand.
I will continue to visit your website on a regular basis. I’m submitting this through the comment form because I don’t know where else to send it. I hope you forward my letter to the appropriate individual and get back to me as soon as possible.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Thanks,
Allen Glines
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