My local newspapers are full of great articles written by journalists about finance, how-to repair, and general sound advice on a slew of topics. However, would I pay for all this actionable insight? Let’s just say, I haven’t purchased a newspaper in a very long time – and I’m willing to wager neither have you (at least not as often as you used to). The newspaper model is collapsing. The audience at large sees information as a commodity (for the most part). Why pay for one writer’s point of view, when I can find another three writer’s points of view for free – even if it isn’t quite as good. Read more…

Critical eye, New Media, User-Experience Premium content

Remember to always step back to see the bigger picture.

Let it be known that I’m a strong proponent of usability. I have run a good number of user-tests and card-sorts. I’ve watched countless videos and screen captures of user-sessions. I’ve read Jakob Nielson’s book (and am eagerly awaiting his latest Eye-Tracking book which keeps getting delayed *sigh*), as well as Steve Krug’s inspiring book, Don’t Make Me Think. I’ve preached the virtues of usability to all those that would listen, and I’ve bored my friends with endless ramblings of the heuristic analyses I performed on lack-lustre sites. Thus, it pains me to say that I missed the point. I missed the mark. I screwed up. I had it all wrong. In the end, usability is not always the be-all and end-all of web design. In fact, I’m actually convinced it’s not always as important as many UX designers say (I know, blasphemy!).

So, I’ll cut to the chase. Usability? Often, it’s useless. Read more…

User-Experience Information, Scent, Usability

We all love it when brands make us feel special, but how forgiving are we when they get it wrong?

The theory goes, the more in-tune with the potential customer’s frame of mind a product offering is, the higher the probability that the offering will result in a sale. It just makes common-sense; Give a thirsty man water; Give a hungry woman a snack.

Large strides have been already made in terms of personalization through customized content. Visit Amazon.com for example (my site is on page 24 of that book by the way). If you’ve been there before and sign in, Amazon welcomes you by name, and suggests items that it thinks you’d be interested in. In the case of a hotel, go to a hotel enough times and they’ll remember little details like the fact you enjoy an extra pillow, or what your favorite daily is and provide both of them for you before you enter your room. However, let’s look at this in a different way.

Are the potential gains of creating a positive, customized user-experience worth the risk of getting it wrong from time to time? Read more…

Critical eye, Marketing, User-Experience Customization, Privacy, UX