End of Homemade Websites (Alertbox Oct. 2001)

He's at it again: Jakob starts with an outrageous statement, follows up with some uncited statistics, throws in a bad and excessive metaphor (bake your own bricks indeed!), moves to a left-handed pitch of his research product, and then shows that he doesn't get out much (heard of Bigstep, J?) and finishes with a conclusion built on a whole lotta nothing. Perhaps the increased publishing schedule is getting to him, but this column needs to go back to the drawing board. Or if Mr. Neilsen wants to throw out his theories half-baked, he should get a blog.

Compare it to this small gem where Mr. Neilsen puts his finger on a key problem... not sexy, but needed.

Is there no middle ground?

He's a usability expert, but this is not a usability topic, hence his lack of expertise. I long for more of 'Usability Engineering' - great book.

I think I felt annoyed having read the cooper (who i respect) the Neilsen (who I also respect, believe it or not) than the challis hodge.... the difference in quality hit me hard. I do think blogs are good places to try out new ideas, put out half-baked ideas for baking, and generally ponder and conversate... but I think the newsletter and the alertbox are tools to educate (and seduce, admittedly) and when these two fellows I admire put out misleading and poorly crafted work, i am disapointed.

not sheepish as in embarrassed but sheepish as in meek :)

I'd type some more, but I have to go bake some bricks and smelt some copper...

He's not interested in you, Mark... you don't have $$$. Silly edu!

Someone forgot to tell Jakob that Internet business consists of more than e-commerce sites (that, in fact, most of those sites closed down while many other web-based businesses quietly survived).

But I don't think it makes the principles any less valid.

Jakob is no different from any number of similar companies is other industries, promoting their messages by exaggeration. Everybody just needs to accept that, take it easy and get on with doing the best job you can for your particular set of circumstances.

Clearly e-commerce is where the usability-guru consulting bucks are.

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