Uncommon Sense Archives
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December 31, 2008
Some of my favorite tweets and twitterers of 2008. Thanks for your insightful and witty tweets! Hope to see more in 2009.
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December 9, 2008
Blackbird provides African Americans with a custom web browsing experience based on their specific needs and interests. Let’s keep race relations out of the browser development business.
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October 3, 2008
Among those of us who use social media, the vast majority—93%—expect companies to have a social media presence. Does your business have a social media strategy yet?
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August 14, 2008
Are you a narcissistic attention whore? Do you have an innate desire to annoy friends, family and perfect strangers? Then you should be lifecasting!
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June 30, 2008
I’m coming clean. I’ve been with someone else. It’s grown from a lurid fascination to an obsession. I have even recruited my friends to join in the fun. I disgust myself.
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May 27, 2008
As a consumer, whom are you more likely to trust—someone you’ve never met who is likely getting compensated for his or her product endorsement, or a peer who shares your tastes and interests, is genuinely excited about the product and isn’t getting paid to have an opinion.
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April 15, 2008
As websites evolved over time, a set of accepted user interface, content and programming standards were established by the architects of Web 1.0. In 125 years, people will still use the Internet as a tool to communicate and share information, but the World Wide Web of the not-so-distant future will bare little resemblance to today’s experience.
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March 25, 2008
A couple weeks ago, I noticed Google experimenting with a new user interface pattern in their search results: another search input field. The search within a search raises some questions from both usability and marketing points of view. Is this unexpected UI pattern beneficial for end-users; does it help users more easily discover what they’re looking for; and what will be the effect on content owners whose sites Google is searching?
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March 22, 2008
In less than 24 hours of Twitter usage I’m following 18 people and 12 are following me. I’ve posted a few tweets… I have to admit, it is somewhat addictive
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March 11, 2008
Wired magazine’s feature about the founders of 37 Signals has caused a minor skirmish in the user experience community, and I’m choosing sides.
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February 22, 2008
Yes, attention is king; the hard part is capturing and maintaining people’s attention. MTV has fried most of our synapses to the point that we can’t focus on anything for more than three seconds.
Are you paying attention? More importantly… is your audience?
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February 14, 2008
Every now and then I find myself randomly showing up and hanging out on the Why Use Twitter page like it’s an ex-girlfriend’s apartment. For those who do use Twitter – Do you see the value? Can you explain it to me? Should I take the plunge?
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January 26, 2008
Are user generated content websites like Facebook and MySpace taking advantage of their users? The aforementioned websites are valued at billions of dollars (estimates range from $15 to $65 billion for MySpace alone), but without the users who create all of the content on the sites, aren’t the businesses effectively worthless?
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January 18, 2008
Websites like Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, etc. are increasingly attracting marketers looking to get their product in front of millions of web users. There are at least three questions that should be asked of any business that wants to enter the social fray…
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January 13, 2008
As the amount of consumer choices for shopping, entertainment, information and education grow, the businesses that will ultimately come out on top will understand the importance of creating a positive user experience for their customers. Those that don’t see the value in pleasing their customers will eventually find that they don’t have any customers left to please.
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December 26, 2007
As 2007 comes to a close, let’s take a look back at some online trends that I would rather not see again in 2008. Realistically, many of these trends will persist, but a guy can dream, can’t he?
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December 22, 2007
Rhode Island School of Design, a.k.a. Riz-Dee, has appointed John Maeda as its new president. He is one of the preeminent thinkers in the design/technology community and an ideal selection to lead the design school.
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December 15, 2007
For the second installment of the two-part series, I’ve analyzed the websites of the three leading Republican presidential candidates to determine who is winning the user experience vote.
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December 12, 2007
In the first installment of a two-part series, I’ve analyzed the websites of the three leading Democratic presidential candidates to determine who is winning the user experience vote.
One candidate holds a clear advantage.
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November 27, 2007
Try as they might, even the most seasoned user experience and interaction designers must overcome tremendous challenges to create an intuitive and useful web UI for a hand-held device. Face it, typing a URL or your user name and password with your thumbs on a phone keypad is no fun.
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November 20, 2007
Today, I came across an interview with esteemed UX consultant, Bruce Tognazzini. One question that was asked was especially interesting; the interviewer asked Tog if any of his original Apple user experience guidelines were still relevant.
Twenty-seven years later, it’s not just relevant; it’s user experience Gospel.
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November 7, 2007
As I pushed my cart and dragged my two children into the self check-out lane of our local grocery store, a realization came over me: Shouldn’t I be compensated in some fashion for performing the role of cashier and bagger? Rather than paying a cashier an hourly wage, the store owner expects me to figure out how to operate the check out and payment system and bag my groceries for free.
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November 5, 2007
To be successful in any business venture, it is essential that the business owners understand their customers’ needs and fulfill those needs while providing value to the customer.
The same concept holds true online.
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November 1, 2007
There has been a lot of speculation over the past several months about the next big thing in user interface design, and many experts are betting that a three-dimensional, immersive user experience is the wave of the future. While some of the examples I have seen are compelling, I’m not entirely convinced that the majority of users are anxious to experience a 3D interface
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