Warmest Greetings,

:: Tuesday, January 06, 2004 ::

Peanuts, Yahoo!, Google, and dare I add, Usability?

It started with a peanut jar and the shock of discovering there was a change in it's design. This one incident has inspired an incredible thread on various aspects of usability, from design, to target market and everything possible in between. In Can You Get Too Usable? you'll find things like:

"Usability isn't necessarily about following the same set of guidelines, and the same structure all of the time. But, chances are that you'll come across a number of myths dealing with usability, and even some usability experts who will speak of place of things on a page in absolute terms. "

"Good web designers, like good writers, must be able to recognize their own blinders if they are to remove them. I'm honestly not sure if that is harder for the writer or for the designer. Unlike the writer, the designer should also always be a user, but they can't allow themselves to be just "a" user. They have to be ALL users, avoiding the habits that shrink a web site to just a few linear paths. If usability is about choices, the designer must be willing to constantly exercise and explore those choices. I think those who fail to do so are the ones guilty of wearing blinders."

"As I develop, in my work, a "user character" I literally tap into who these people are, including their home and professional lives. I fret over whether they're browsing from work during lunch hour, sneaking a peek when the boss isn't looking or suffer from Attention Deficit Syndrome. Believe it or not, those things matter to the site design and architecture."

From there we move to Yahoo! big news. Yahoo Gets Set to Give Google Run for Money

"First, Yahoo is expected to dump Google as the primary search technology on its site within a few months, a move that could come around the time Google is preparing a long-awaited initial stock offering. Some marketing firms, which help advertisers manage their online campaigns for search-related ads, say they have been told Yahoo will switch from Google to its own technology as early as the first quarter."

We knew it would be a fun year for SEO!

Google is getting lots of attention of course, but for SEO's working with SERPS, it's business as usual. One strong thread at Cre8asiteForums is called How To Prosper in the New Google

"I find it interesting that Google will start to use Teoma's "Subject-Specific Popularity" concept within its PageRank algo."

"All smart businesses use the success of of their competitors to improve their own products- the key is copying the right ideas..."

This, Looking For a Gig is hilarious. Check out the nifty accessbility convenience for font switching.

In today's spam stack I got one that I thought would help me through a slump in business right now (nobody thinks about website usability during the shopping season! Cough. Cough.) The subject line reads "Become a pro....pornstar".. Right. I can see the headlines now..."Usability advocate does more than teach you how to use the thing. She demonstrates it right in your own living room!"

Meanwhile back on this planet. I have a bit of news regarding my short-lived stint as a Contributing "Blog Author" at SERoundtable.com. I retired already and I just got there! Nevertheless I'll be dropping in with usability oriented posts once in awhile as a Guest Contributor to that blog.

:: posted by Kim Krause Berg on 1/06/2004 12:22:00 PM

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