From: Gleanings
To: Fireballs
Subject: Gleanings: things that blow up in the night
OPENING THANG
How the heck did it get to be Friday already?
Yesterday two different people sent me two different images of a transportation device penetrating a building with flames erupting. I hesitate to guess what this might portend.
http://www.lebienpublic.com/une/20010118.JSL2605.html
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/sfgate/object.cgi?object=/chronicle/pictures/2001/01/17/mn_sacfire2.jpg&paper=chronicle&file=MN74633.DTL&directory=/chronicle/archive/2001/01/17&type=news
IA MATTERS
NY Times: Web Sites Begin to Self Organize.
The Vines is an example of an emerging class of what are called
self-organizing Web sites. Such sites are demonstrating that with a dab or two of well-written code and a bit of careful planning, a site can take a random collection of links or posts and turn them into a sophisticated,
adaptive system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/18/technology/18SELF.html
DESIGN MATTERS
The experience of color
http://www.hermanmiller.com/us/index.bbk/5519
Multimedia/PowerPoint Survey
http://www.presentations.com/resources/trends/2000/02/29_f1_mm.html
"Are computer-based multimedia presentations really more effective at
getting messages across than other tried-and-true media? Does the kind of presentation visuals you use matter? Do well-designed PowerPoint slides give you an edge over the competition? Does multimedia animation really communicate messages better than overhead slides or plain words on paper?"
Design Language
http://www.onemedia.com/resources/design_language_index.html
"Combining wisdom and wit, Tim McCreight's Design Language dissects 100 design terms, including their etymologies, definitions and connotations.
Accompanied by specially commissioned illustrations (denoted with
asterisks), Design Language creates fascinating snapshots of the words
associated with the concepts and practices of design."
from xplane.com/xblog
NEWS
Dot-Com Alternatives Pull the Plug
The deregulation of the energy industry was supposed to open the market, but ironically has had the opposite effect.
http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64374789&i=293604&d=900222
IBM Reports Solid Quarter
http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64374789&i=293604&d=900230
Apple Posts Loss
http://tm0.com/thestandard/sbct.cgi?s=64374789&i=293604&d=900231
The Whole Business World Is Watching Microsoft
http://www.thestreet.com/tech/software/1261656.html
from thestandard.com
News.Com: AOL Time Warner plans to close Entertaindom.
Entertaindom was Time Warner's first foray into creating a series of Web destinations, or hubs, focusing on specific topics. The hub strategy and the creation of Time Warner Digital Media were the company's attempts to develop Internet businesses in the wake of its defunct Pathfinder site...
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-4515788.html
Internet World: From April 1, 2000; Deconstructing Entertaindom.com. Peter Merholz and John Shiple.
http://www.internetworld.com/040100/4.01decon.jsp
from tomalak.org
FEEDBACK
How did they used to put it in the New Yorker? Oh yes...
Our design correspondent writes:
"hugh dubberly
i met him years ago when presenting the hr site for netscape to the vp of hr there, and he was in the room. he was such a p-rick and a whiny baby that i always used that experience as a boilerplate for the term 'bitchy creative'.
however, he added a little quote in the GAIN issue i read (prompted by your email, as i'd forgotten about the launch of that magazine), and it's pretty dead-on with how i feel about all this naming of titles and roles and IA/UE design stuff....
"Calling what we do 'experience design' is a questionable idea. First of all, it does not provide a good way of classifying design work. Second, it's perhaps hyperventilating to claim experience as the special province of any branch of design. Good designers serve an audience. They make or plan things for people to use. That use is an experience. The design of a thing cannot easily be separated from the design of its use--the design of an experience. Architects are experience designers. Product designers are experience designers. Even graphic designers are experience designers. Experience is not unique to the design of Web pages--or even to the design of software.
I'm amazed and amused by the string of names associated with whatever it is we do and how they've evolved. IN high school I took Commercial Art classes.
By the time I reached college, Architecture had become Environmental Design and Commercial Art had become Communications Design. there were also such titles as Art Director and Creative Director in advertising, Type Designer, Graphic Artist, Graphic Designer. Henry Dreyfuss brought us Human Factors.
Ricky Wurman brought us Information Architecture. Multimedia became New Media. Human Factors became Usability. But that's not quite the same as Interface Design, which became Interaction Design because the interface was but a membrane. Now Interaction Design has become part of Experience Design and UI has moved on to become UE. And now there's ExMod--'experience modeling.' Recently I've heard people talking about digital design and information-product design. We change our names so much that it's not surprising that many people don't know what we do."
amen, sister bitch!"
also, eric points to this interesting article-ette
Hello,
After reading your bit about Navigation... His and Hers
Below is a comment I made on the same issue, diff article
http://www.evolt.org/article/Breadcrumbs_for_the_sake_of_Users/4090/4483/index.html
Just thought i'd share.
APROPOS OF NOTHING
Napkin Folding
--> http://www.cukezone.com/napkin/
--> http://www.ywh.com/Tips/Napkin/napkins.html
--> http://www.quipindustries.com/napfold.htm
"One of the graduation requirements at my high school was a 75-hour senior project on a topic of one's choice. And so here is mine. I hardly recall spending an evening folding napkins in the middle of my senior year, but that's beside the point. All the examples require well-starched napkins that can hold their shapes without wire support. That means no paper napkins, folks."
from xplane.com/xblog
posted by Christina Wodtke 1/19/2001 07:49:05 PM
From: Gleanings
To: t-shirt clad readers
Subject: Gleanings: those who can't do, complain
OPENING THANG
In a a particularly apropos move, the dude who started up "Greenhouse for Startups" sold it and started a newsletters of complaints-- the first one includes stories of both investor betrayal and worthless stocks. He sent the first one to all the subscribers of "Greenhouse for Startups" -- perhaps thinking he'd find an empathic audience?
newsletter
http://www.liesdamnedlies.com/011801.htm
subscribe
http://www.liesdamnedlies.com/
IA MATTERS
Information Architecture - A New Opportunity
http://www.webreference.com/new/ia/2.html
Give that content expert a lap dance, for God's sake.
http://www.alistapart.com/stories/topless/index.html
Experience Design is an emerging paradigm, a call for inclusion: it calls for an integrative practice of design that can benefit all designers, including those who work in the new, interactive media.
http://www.alistapart.com/stories/experience/
DESIGN MATTERS
Q&A: Jeffrey Veen, Part II
It seems you hear about new Web design theories on an almost-daily basis.
But when ideas like this come from the same person who determined the look and feel of such groundbreaking sites as HotWired.com and the HotBot search engine, you tend to listen. We have Part 2 of an interview with Jeffrey Veen.
http://www.newmedia.com/default.asp?articleID=2426
Design, Colors, and Branding
Black text on a white background is easy to read, and yellow text on a black background is hard to read. But how could your site's color scheme actually communicate something about its content?
http://www.newmedia.com/default.asp?articleID=2434
from newmedia.com
USABILITY MATTERS
Internet World: Testing Tips and Notes on Task Time.
Jakob Nielsen. One of the most important usability metrics is time on task.
After all, the entire reason to have interactive systems is to support users in the performance of some task -- to help users get something done.
http://www.internetworld.com/news/archive/01172001e.jsp
from tomalak.org
Using Real People for Web Site Testing, Part I
If you're serious, and we mean really serious, about the user experience of your Web site, you should probably conduct usability testing. The people taking the test, though, shouldn't be your designers and other people within
the company. We have Part 1 of a 2-part series on putting your site to the
test using "real people."
http://www.newmedia.com/default.asp?articleID=2438
from newmedia.com
NEWS
Internet World: Talking to the Web.
The voice-enabled Web appears to be the latest craze to grab hold of the industry's imagination. If you believe what you hear, all you will need to surf the Web in the coming years is a telephone, a thirst for information, and the sound of your own voice.
http://www.internetworld.com/011501/01.15.01feature1.jsp
TechWeb: Anthropologists Look For Missing Link In Wireless.
A team of anthropologists conducted 180 interviews in six countries for a new report on wireless usage from Context-Based Research Group. The study concluded that wireless adoption could benefit from more user education and an emphasis on social utility.
http://www.techweb.com/wire/story/TWB20010117S0003
from tomalak.org
APROPOS OF NOTHING
Last night, idle and tired of IA (but not of the web-- of never tired of the web, my baby) I decided to build a cafe press store. At some point I'll tell the story of that, but for now take a look at my stuff!
http://www.cafepress.com/eleganthack
posted by Christina Wodtke 1/18/2001 07:52:27 AM
From: Gleanings
To: faithful readers
Subject: Gleanings: readers respond
OPENING THANG
Of course I've had no predictions sent to me, but I have had two rebuttals to my rabid hatred and fear of drivers talking on cellphones, and my hope that handless phones might help:
1. dave rossi writes:
"i don't have any predictions (that's always a slippery slope), but i do well in predicting what's already happened.
instead, let me give you a little did you know: did you know the NHTSA rates what distractions cause auto accidents? and did you know that cellphone use is not the first or the second or even the third? yes, it's fooling with the radio that wins. eating second, talking with passenger third. and cellphone comes distantly after that. i love the wall street journal....
hmmm, let's see, as soon as they ban those, i'll jump right in with ya on your dream! ;)"
2. dave o'brien writes
">everyone will have cellphone planted in the hollow of there jaws, reducing traffic incidents by 10%
Actually, counter to intuition, studies indicate that making the phone
hands-free does not keep the driver from being impaired. It seems to be the talking (i.e. the attention) that causes the accident. So the jaw thing wouldn't help (but dentists might like the extra income). Also, this is bad news for those companies trying to add the Internet to cars - if you think talking to a person on the phone takes attention away from the road, how about trying to use your voice to control an Internet device. Yikes."
I stand corrected, but still suspicious. The three times I've nearly been killed by cars the driver was on a cellphone.
In other news... George send me an email wiht the auspicious title "Why blogger empowers mindless twits" Have to like that.
"Goes back to that idea about the good thing about the net is that is allows anyone to be a publisher; the bad thing about the net is that is allows anyone to be a publisher;
http://www.disobey.com/devilshat/ds011101.htm
On a related note, have you seen http:/www.plastic.com which looks like a moderated blog. More interesting (from what I've heard) is
http://www.kuro5hin.org/ Apparently they've got a system where stories are posted and talked about, then those that are moderated up go to the home page."
anyhow, it's a slow news day, so here are a couple of tidbits from http://xplane.com/xblog
http://www.elearningpost.com/elthemes/nielsen.asp
“Just how important is usability in e-learning? We ask usability guru Jakob Nielsen on this and other wide-ranging issues. '...given that people are just not willing to read so much — I think it leads to a completely different approach to learning on a computer than learning in a traditional environment.'”
these posters blew my mind:
http://burn.ucsd.edu/paris.htm
“Paris 1968. Pent-up anger and frustration over poverty, unemployment and the conservative government of General Charles de Gaulle, gave rise to a mass movement for sweeping social change. In the month of May, workers and students took to the streets in an unprecedented wave of strikes, walkouts and demonstrations. By May 18th, 10 million workers were on strike and all factories and universities were occupied. During those days of turmoil the ATELIER POPULAIRE (Popular Workshop) was formed. The faculty and student body of the Ecole des Beaux Arts were on strike, and a number of the students met spontaneously in the lithographic department to produce the first poster of the revolt, 'Usines, Universites, Union.'”
posted by Christina Wodtke 1/17/2001 10:02:02 AM
From: Gleanings
To: yuz guyz
Subject: Gleanings: I predict
OPENING THANG
First, if you sent predictions by hitting reply, that doesn't work for various mysterious reasons. Please resend any predictions for 2001 to predictions@eleganthack.com. I'm pretty interested in seeing what folks can come up with. I found it rather fun to predict like a psychic or a pundit.
Try it, you'll like it! And don't forget to add your name as you'd like to be referred to. Most of the time I just write people's first name, we're a casual Friday kind of community here. But of course if your prediction is brilliant and wonderful and want folks to click to your website after to see what other sorts of clever things you've come up with, I'll enable that.
And if there are no predictions, I'll make more up. In the year 2001
everyone will have cellphone planted in the hollow of there jaws, reducing traffic incidents by 10% and reducing the stigma of being insane and walking around talking to yourself.
DESIGN MATTERS
The identity card project
wow.
http://www.ideo.com/identity/introduction.htm
from xplane.com/xblog
IA MATTERS
fewer choices more better
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/09/health/09CHOI.html
Information Anxiety 2 is out.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0789724103/eleganthack
Web Techniques: Building Web Sites With Depth.
Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir. Good stores know that it's not enough for the store to look nice--it must act nice as well, and support the total customer experience, including location, staffing, returns, payments, sales, and so on.
E-commerce sites focus far too often on superficial niceties, without
investing in their customers' underlying needs.
http://www.webtechniques.com/archives/2001/02/nielsen/
from tomalak.org
Publish: Invisible architecture.
Christopher Locke. Companies don't have values or voices, only people do.
Fortunately, your company has lots of people. How many stories does your
building have? Before you can answer, you must understand what a story truly
is. To do that, you first have to find your own.
http://www.publish.com/features/0012/feature3.html
from tomalak.org
BUSINESS MATTERS
just found this-- what a great source for articles on business.
http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/products/hbr/
USABIITY MATTERS
Yet more usability backlash
http://www.webtechniques.com/archives/2001/02/redi/
Peter Merhlz write a pretty good rebuttal (scroll down to January 12th)
http://peterme.com/
APROPOS OF NOTHING
While looking for a place to go for my 1st wedding anniversary, I found this
article on Lagos. amazing what tourism can do. Well worth a read.
http://www.outpostmagazine.com/archives/08/trouble.html
This is horrible and wrong and more amusing than dancing Jesus. isn't
technology wonderful?
http://www.geocities.com/dubyahump/
Five Crappiest tech Jobs
http://www.forbes.com/asap/2000/1127/129.html
posted by Christina Wodtke 1/15/2001 07:26:29 AM
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