The trouble with personalization
“Personalization has rarely been implemented well. Its failure is usually because of a lack of understanding of customer behavior.” (Gerry McGovern)
All posts from
March 2006
Web 2.0, Reframing Web 1.0
“By framing the web with a particular metaphor, certain concepts are established as the main unit of currency, so to speak. Those concepts, in turn, force us to think about structure in a particular way.” (Dan Brown Greenonions)
Peter Morville Presentation: Ambient Findability
Also, including a conversation with Peter Morville at SXSW 2006 Studio SX – “At the crossroads of ubiquitous computing and the Internet, the user experience is out of control, and findability is the real story. Access changes the game. We can select our sources and choose our news. We can find who and what we need, when and where we want. As society shifts from push to pull, findability shapes who we trust, how we learn, and where we go. In this thought-provoking talk, best-selling author Peter Morville explores the future present in mobile and embedded devices, GPS and RFID technologies, search algorithms, findable objects, evolutionary psychology, and the long tail of the sociosemantic web.” (SXSW 2006 Interactive)
SXSW 2006 Interactive Panels Podcasts
“Please enjoy our recordings of this year’s Interactive Programming. Including Bruce Sterling, Craig Newmark, and Jason Kottke.” (SXSW 2006 Interactive)
Six degrees of reputation: The use and abuse of online review and recommendation systems
“This paper reports initial findings from a study that used quantitative and qualitative research methods and custom–built software to investigate online economies of reputation and user practices in online product reviews at several leading e–commerce sites (primarily Amazon.com). We explore several cases in which book and CD reviews were copied whole or in part from one item to another and show that hundreds of product reviews on Amazon.com might be copies of one another. We further explain the strategies involved in these suspect product reviews, and the ways in which the collapse of the barriers between authors and readers affect the ways in which these information goods are being produced and exchanged. We report on techniques that are employed by authors, artists, editors, and readers to ensure they promote their agendas while they build their identities as experts. We suggest a framework for discussing the changes of the categories of authorship, creativity, expertise, and reputation that are being re–negotiated in this multi–tier reputation economy.” (Shay David and Trevor Pinch – First Monday 11.3)
What is a folksonomy?
“Folksonomies convey information on multiple levels, including information about the people who create them, and they therefore invite human engagement. If you agree with somebody’s classification scheme, no matter how bizarre it might seem to others, you are subtly but strongly encouraged to explore other objects that this user has tagged.” (Beyond Folksonomies)
Presentational Visualization 
Towards an Imagery-based Approach of Computer-generated Presentation Visuals – “Computer projection is certainly the worst thing to happen to presentation skills since the invention of the overhead projector.” (Till Voswinckel) – courtesy of alessandrosegalini
Change Architecture: Bringing IA to the Business Domain
“Using the paradigm of change architecture, IAs can become more aware of the idea that when we step onto the business stage of a project, we will first need to unfreeze aspects of the situation and the environment, and ultimately make the path from recommendation to action visible to the participants. ” (Bob Goodman – Boxes and Arrows)
Four Modes of Seeking Information and How to Design for Them
“The most important issue is not whether you notice a mode of seeking information that fits into one of these categories, but that a range of modes exist. Observe how your users approach information, consider what it means, and design to allow them to achieve what they need.” (Donna Maurer – Boxes and Arrows)
When you need to localize and categorize
“The creation of a localization taxonomy can become a significant piece of an entire CMS implementation project, particularly when your regional offices are in control of their local taxonomies and want to serve local customers in the best way. As you have seen, the concepts available for simple application localization are insufficient for the localization of complex international content. To get it right, you must be prepared for a substantial amount of analysis and the price tag that comes with it.” (CMS Watch) – courtesy of columntwo
Library Clips
“This blog is a space for me to share some ideas, thoughts, and feedback from a librarian’s point of view. (…) Like most people I’m interested in blogs, rss, social bookmarks, wiki’s, etc. so I’ll use this site to ask questions and discuss ideas about these topics and wishlist features.” (John Tropea)
Apple Style Guide: 2006 version
“The Apple Publication Style guide provides editorial guidelines for text in instructional publications, technical documentation, reference information, training programs, and the software user interface.” (Apple Developers Connection) – courtesy of usablehelp
And The Winners Are…
Sixth Annual Weblog Awards – “It’s now the sixth year of the world’s most established weblog awards, the Bloggies. Personal Web publishing never stops growing, and that means this year the public will have more contenders than ever to select from when choosing the year’s best weblogs. 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 have their champions; now it’s time for you to do your part for 2006.” – congrats to all.
Tagging 2.0 at South By
“It’s more interesting to find a like mind than just a resource.” (Christian Crumlish – tagsonomy)
Websites reflect true face of an organization
“A website shows the true face of the organization as never before. A website is increasingly the place where customers get that vital first impression.” (Gerry McGovern)
ETech Preview with Peter Morville
“Nicole Simon interviews him on different ways to think about findability, how Science Fictions inspires him, the internet of objects and what sense it makes when shuttle busses use GPS.” (ETech 2006 podcasts – The Podcast Network)
Viridian Note 00459: Emerging Technology 2006
“A tech world that talked about ordinators, instead of Artificial Intelligence, probably would have produced Google in about 1980.” (Bruce Sterling – Viridian) – courtesy of petermorville
The truth about Google’s so-called ‘simplicity’
“The truth about Google? It isn’t simple. (…) I am sick and tired of hearing people praise its clean, elegant look.” (Donald A. Norman – uiGarden.net)
NerdTV Archives
Interviews with Doug Engelbart, Dave Winer, Andy Herzfeld and other illuminaries – “NerdTV is a new weekly online TV show from PBS.org technology columnist Robert X. Cringely. NerdTV is essentially Charlie Rose for geeks – a one-hour interview show with a single guest from the world of technology.” (Robert X. Cringely – NerdTV)
Visceral design: Do looks matter?
“A master chef labors to make the food delicious, but also takes great care to make the visual beautifully appealing. Norman argues in his book that the emotional aspects of a design may often be more important to the design’s ultimate success than the practical elements.” (Garr Reynolds – Presentation Zen)
