"Borrowing" other peoples good ideas...
How Teenagers Consume Media
20 November 2009 permanent url
A research note written by a 15-year-old Morgan Stanley intern that described his friends' media habits has generated a flurry of interest...
Teenagers:
- do not use Twitter ... texting Twitter uses up credit, and they would rather text friends with that credit
- cannot be bothered to read pages and pages of text while they could watch the news summarised on the internet or on TV
- are "very reluctant" to pay for music and most had never bought a CD, with a large majority downloading songs illegally from filesharing sites
- have mobile phones but features such as video messaging or video calling are not used - because they are expensive
- resent intrusive advertising on billboards, TV and the Internet
Alternative to Comic Sans
3 June 2009 permanent url
Friends Don’t Let Friends Use Comic Sans so why not try some alternatives?
How to get the website you deserve
8 May 2009 permanent url
What do you get when you distribute publishing rights to people who can’t write, don’t care about what they write, think metadata is a country bordering Outer Mongolia, and will never, ever review or remove what they publish? You get the website you deserve.
Technology is important, even critical, but we still need quality people to manage websites if we want those websites to deliver value to the organization.
Gerry McGovern: Website management: you can't automate everything
Timely reminder that good websites (and web applications) are about content and helping users to get stuff done, not just about the technology platform.
Writing headlines
6 May 2009 permanent url
Precise communication in a handful of words? The editors at BBC News achieve it every day, offering remarkable headline usability. ... Around the world in 38 words. The average headline consumed a mere 5 words and 34 characters.
Jakob Nielsen: World's Best Headlines: BBC News
- Italy buries first quake victims
- Romania blamed over Moldova riots
- Ten arrested in UK anti-terrorism raids
- Villagers hurt in West Bank clash
- Mass Thai protest over leadership
- Iran accuses journalist of spying
Nielsen reminds us that headlines must be short, rich in information scent, front-loaded with the most important keywords, understandable out of context and predictable.
Its really useful to see such a clear example to help other writers know what to aim for.
Why requirements stink
1 May 2009 permanent url
Here’s a requirements list: Make a $5 car that goes 500 miles per hour, weighs 10 lbs, and is invisible. Those are very clear requirements. They’re also impossible. No matter how well defined these requirements are, or how happy the customer and the VP is with them, the project is set up to fail.
scott berkun: Why requirements stink
Need to get away from the mindset that a "perfect" requirements list or specification is all thats needed to deliver a good product!