Warmest Greetings,

:: Thursday, October 02, 2003 ::

I still don't trust them. LookSmart launched its own Pay-Per-Click ad service today. Andy Beal covers it well in his blog, LookSmart launches Pay-Per-Click search service. LookSmart claims "Advertise your site on the LookSmart Network and reach 77% of US Web users." Note the word "US". Does this mean 77% of US Web users search via LookSmart? Really? Hummmm.

Special note to Kalena Jordan on blushing. It's those baby hormones! Secret note to Chris Ridings. Sorry. Couldn't resist more baby talk.

I'm a pain in the ass, aren't I?

Some usability finds:

Balancing visual and structural complexity in interaction design - How visual simplicity can harm usability by Henrik Olsen. I printed it out, 'cause it's long. It's a step or three past the usual usability stuff in that it offers some fresh food for thought. "Usability has become an important aspect of many web projects. For people with little experience in interaction design it's tempting to rely on what you see and what people tell you. Clients, co-worker, managers, and prospective users will want simplicity and will complain about information overload if your screens look crowded. But as we have seen, there is more between heaven and earth than meets the eye."

For my UK friends >>> Usabilitynews.com is targeted to you.

Website testing doesn't need to be expensive. Yes, it costs more to bring in the Human Factors folks and I'm a HF devotee because the work they do is so intriguing. But, if you just wanna know what's not working well or why online sales fizzled, affordable reviews are available at Site-Report.com There's many packages to choose from and services are not limited to websites. I help out at Site-Report.com and would love do some Internet software application usability/user interface testing for clients. It's where my interest and career in usability was born, after all.

Rant. In the US news a report came out saying kids don't have nearly as much homework as is thought or often complained about. They didn't survey my house! I spend an hour a day, minimum!, with my 4th grader. My 8th grader does most of hers in school because she plays Field Hockey and they have strict requirements for homework and grades for players. Her leftover homework is done in the evenings and I often don't see her unless she wants help studying for a test. The 5 year old has homework too, but thank goodness it's fairly easy stuff and the other kids like to help him. Yesterday I spent 2 hours with one kid on homework. They send home stuff that requires parent involvement. I even have to do math problems and SHOW MY WORK, like my son does! I didn't have this much homework when I was growing up. That study is crapola.

For Rush Limbaugh
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 10/02/2003 10:25:10 AM

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