I gave my email address to the Internet Standard because I knew their code of ethics regarding email addresses, plus I wanted to go to one of their parties (never did, sigh)
When the Standard folded, their parent started sending me Fortune, which has given me a rather weird insight into a certain managerial mindset. I haven't minded it, beyond being perplexed and occasionally alarmed (I read pretty much everything that crosses my threshhold)
Now the mail begins.
We may, from time to time, contact you with offers for Time Inc. products and services which we think may be of interest to you. If you would prefer us not to contact you in this manner, and you did not previously indicate this preference, please let us know by sending us an e-mail at <no_solicit@timeinc.net>.
Additionally, from time to time we may provide your e-mail address to carefully chosen companies whose offers we think may be of interest to you. If you would prefer us not use your e-mail address in this manner, and you did not previously indicate this preference, please let us know by e-mailing us at <no_transfer@timeinc.net>.
I will point out that the Standard had guarenteed in writing on their website that they would never give my email to anyone. But in times of firesales...
Anyhow, I smell a lawsuit. Or maybe it's just all this dirty laundry....
Here I am again, lurking around Amazon's favorite people area, reading descriptions and upgrading humans. (I love that Amazon allows me to "upgrade" someone from a favorite to a friend. That's just twisted enough) The Amazon "About me" blurb is an art form. I'm now officially embarrassed by mine and am off to rewrite.
Some favorites:
Lance "I am never content but always at rest. I am never happy but always satisfied. I am never lonely but always alone. I am Stinky Butter Tarts."
Adam: "I used to like NWA. I used to like cheeseburgers. I used to like Frank Lloyd Wright. I used to like Philadelphia. I used to like skateboards. I used to like blondes. I used to like Deleuze and Guattari - without even understanding them. I used to like Sandra Bernhard. I used to like being in the Army. I used to like the color blue. I used to like ACT UP. I used to like staying up all night long. I used to like Armani."
Anil: "I'm a plain brown rapper. "
David: "I enjoy long walks and heated swimming pools. Lighting fires and watching the grass grow. What am I? Is that your final answer? "
Derek: "Has anyone else noticed that Amazon brought the tabs back? Sigh. "
Erika: "snork!"
Lane: "After everything I've done for you, THIS is how you repay me? "
Todd: "I make stuff easy for people to use. I live in San Francisco. My favorite color is #ff6600. My hair defies gravity. I am the greatest lover the world has ever known. "
Mike "Uh uh, not on MY sofa you don't. "
Michael: "I wear blue shirts. I drink orange juice. I drive a Volkswagen. I'm married. I live in a major metropolitan area. I'm in 'management.' And since 1996 I've purchased something from Amazon every 11.6 days, on average. "
I'm also puzzling over how I got on Jef Raskin's favorite people list (if it is that Jef? How many people are so efficiant they go to using only on "f"). Yes, yes, I admit it-- I look at other's favorite people list to look for my name.
You love me, you really love me!
p.s. I'm taking this friday off from freaking out over anything. Book? What book? Job hunt? What job hunt? Dirty clothes? What dirty argghhhh help me help me I'm buried!!!!
I was intensely disappointed by Homepage Usability, and haven't gotten around to articulating why. sp!ked's article "Excuse-ability" does the job for me:
"For web geeks, it's fun reading what Nielsen has to say about websites that we regularly use, and that some of us might even have designed. But on closer inspection, the book reduces web design to a mundane level.
While some of the book's guidelines are common sense, others are banal. For example, 'show the company name and/or logo in a reasonable size and noticeable location' - and 'don't use clever phrases and marketing lingo that make people work too hard to figure out what you're saying'. This doesn't express a high opinion of businesses or internet users."
I really liked "Designing Web Usability" and thought it taught people to think. But Homepage usability isn't on the same par. The on thing I did liek was the set of heuristics in the front-- might be a nice tool for some consultants.
What have others thought of it?
A CHI-WEB post pointed at the Customer Experience workshop notes, written up by Kevin Doohan. Lots of great stuff, includign this story
"Phillips electronics gathered a group of teens in a room and asked them "What color boom box would you prefer? Black or yellow?". Teens to a person said that yellow was it. Black was conservative and old. Not hip at all. Yellow is definitely the color for them. Later in the afternoon, the teens were informed that they could each take a boom box home with them. Boom boxes were stacked at the exit in two piles, a pile of black and a pile of yellow. All teens selected black. What customers do is more important than what they say. We can watch and influence what they do online like never before."
and this anecdote on simplicty
"A Webvan holiday package was a great idea but had a very low uptake by customers. The promotion had 150 items to choose whether to include in the package or not. Kozmo.com holiday promotion had 5 items to choose from. It was a tremendous success and had greater than expected uptake. The assumption is that a package that is easier to navigate leads to more conversions."
Nothing like storytelling to illustrate an idea.