I really enjoy attending User Experience events. This is one place where I can tell people that I am an Information Architect, without them looking at me and say: So I guess you design houses then?

Trust me, I get that quite a lot at other social gatherings, like birthday parties, weddings and high school reunions…

So, I was at this Los Angeles Designers Meet up recently and a young lady in her mid 20s asked me a question that I have not thought of in recent years.

Her: What would be THE one principle that you have stood by throughout the years in your line of work?”

(I deep thought about my past 10 years in the User Experience field and replied)

Me: Well, it has to be KISS Usability or Keep It Simple Stupid Usability.

(I went on and elaborate)

Me: In fact, it’s easy to make things difficult but it’s difficult to make things easy.

But the key when it comes to usability is to focus on just one thing.

I then shared an article that I’ve recently read, with her. It’s called “Choice Kills Usability” by John Rhodes and here are some key points from that article:

“One of the easiest ways to improve usability is by focusing on just one thing. When you present something to the user, be sure that it’s just one thing. All too often we try too hard to offer people several options.

The reason many people love Google.com is that it offers just one thing: Search. A single-minded focus has enormous implications. Users can clearly understand what Google is about and what it does. Even new users to Google are instantly put at ease because of the outlandish simplicity.

There are branding implications as well. When people think about search they think about Google and when they think about Google they think about search. This brand strength translates to billions of dollars of market capitalization…”

“…billion dollar companies down to gritty little sales pages can benefit from ultra focus. When you eliminate clutter and choices, usability invariably goes up. When there is a single purpose of a web page, product or service everyone wins.

Next time you’re thinking about giving your customers 100 choices, think about the effort that it takes to investigate each decision. Think about the cognitive effort required to sift through option after option. Look, if you “know” there is one best choice; eliminate the junk and focus, focus, focus.

Choice kills usability. Not always — But when you are in doubt about adding features, choices, and options, take the safe path.

Provide a clear vision. Be practical. Focus for usability. “

So, next time, when your customer wants the “About Us” link to be repeated on the header, footer and again on the infamous quick-links section, just because they said it is not prominent enough. Think again, try to recommend a solution that focus and make that “one link” more obvious and prominent.

The footer definitely has much greater use than just repeating what’s in the header and so is the quick-links section. I guess that may be a topic for my next chat up and a blog to follow.

Search engine marketing is an integral part of the online marketing mix. People perform billions of searches each day and they find your website, voilà! (It’s not quite as easy as ‘voilà’ but you get the idea)

Now forget search engines for a moment and think about some other online options available to search for information; YouTube, Facebook, forums, Digg, multimedia searches through Google & Yahoo, del.icio.us, and the list goes on. Your consumers are not limiting themselves to just search engines when they search on the web.

So how do you ensure you will be found through these alternative channels? Do you even want to be found through some of these channels? It depends. Take a step back and indentify your audience. Where do they hang out online? How does your audience find information online?

Developing a social media marketing strategy and understanding how to manage your online reputation is critical. Observe how you are being perceived online, learn what your audience is reacting to, and then participate in these communities. You could generate cool content that could hit the front page of Digg or maybe start a group on Facebook.

If for example I work in the marketing department at Audi I might want to check out Audi related viral videos on YouTube, various car enthusiast forums to see what people are saying about Audi, and generally understand how my product is perceived across various online channels. From there I can decide how I want to position and market to these consumers. In this case I might want to target people searching for ‘Audi R8 video’ on YouTube or someone looking for a user review on a popular car forum.

As the internet is becoming more and more dominated by user-generated content we need to adapt and learn how to penetrate new channels. If you aren’t adapting you might be limiting your marketing efforts and also missing out at a lot of fun!

I’d like to report on a weekend after-dinner conversation that reminded me how critical the structure of language actually is. Too often I write off those late school nights I spent with Foucault and Saussure as irrelevant to my day-to-day work as a marketing content developer - but no more!

This renewed passion for structuralism even promises to put myself in a more natural dialogue with my fellow computer scientists. Needless to say, I’m a sucker for intersections and interrelations, and I hope the paraphrased pseudo-transcript below serves to open up a new nexus or two for its readers! Note: names have been changed to protect those involved in the inevitable event that I’m misquoting them!

Christy: Did you hear that scientists proved the human brain is programmed to process language according to structural patterns (“cat” is either the sound made when someone says the word or when someone signs the word) and semantics (“cat” is a furry creature that says meow)?

Mike: They also located the specific areas of the brain where those functions occur, too. So fascinating! Before, it was believed that the capability to recognize structural patterns was developed over time but not innate to the human brain.

Mandy: So, you’re saying that structural patterns are necessary to a human’s experience of verbalized or sign language?

Christy & Mike: Yes!

Mandy: Wow. I wonder if I could use this to support an idea I had about punctuation and standardized usage rules affecting an individual’s experience of language – reading or hearing it.

Christy: I’ve always thought that punctuation and usage rules DETERMINE how one reads language – aloud or in one’s head from a page – so, I think that could work. What do you mean about “experience” though?

Mandy: Well, even though someone may not realize a comma is in the wrong place or that the word “your” is used incorrectly for the conjunction of “you” and “are” (which should be “you’re), I suspect – or would like to believe – that their brain recognizes the error to some degree and experiences the error on a level somewhere between subconscious and conscious. Like with html code, if the bracket is missing before “b>”, the output will not be the intended bolded text.

And, if this is true, then I also suspect that a company or product that defines itself with language rife with errors contributes to individuals’ experiences of that company or product – experiences that ultimately shape conscious belief or actions – being impacted by those errors or conflicted in some way at the very least.

Mike: I think it’s bigger than that, actually. I think usage and punctuation errors impact the explicit meaning, even if it’s not as blatant as the Oracle at Delphi’s story when the Oracle told its questioner, “You will go you will return not in the battle you will perish.” If you put the comma before “not,” the individual will live. If you put the comma after “not,” the individual will die in battle.

Mandy: Hmm. So even if the stakes aren’t as high as death, meaning is sacrificed when punctuation and standardized usage rules are ignored. Guess we’ve just provided job security for proofreaders everywhere.

Jake: Well, let’s just keep this between us until I sell all my Derrida books on eBay. Cool?

I don’t know about you, but I would LOVE a new 17″ Macbook Pro! So, how do you win a new Macbook Pro? Enter the Day JCR Cup 2008! Simply create a content-centric application and submit it no later than midnight September 30th, 2008. Detailed information (more so than what I’ll cover in this blog) can be found at:

http://dev.day.com/microsling/content/blogs/cup.c.html

JCR/JSR 170/Content Management:

You may be asking yourself, ‘what does JCR stand for?’ JCR stands for the Java Content Repository. Day Software (Day) has been an emerging leader in the field of Web Content Management (WCM) and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) for over a decade now. In an effort to not only promote themselves more amongst the Open Source Community, but also in promoting the concept of Content Management Systems (CMS) (I know, I know, let the acronyms fly!), they created the JSR (Java Specification Request) 170.

The Apache Software Foundation created an open source, fully compatible version of JSR 170 by creating the Jackrabbit project. Day’s commercial implementation of JSR 170 is the Content Repository Extreme (CRX). Day’s flagship WCM, Communique, is a set of API’s built on top of the CRX.

One of the neat things about this contest is that it gives developers a chance to obtain a free, trial version of the CRX. When you sign up for the contest, a trial key is emailed to you. The contest page has links to documentation, quickstart guides, FAQs, mailing lists, and all associated technologies needed to build out a complete CMS.

One final note before I end this blog… I’ve been developing with Day Communique for over 5 years now. I am VERY curious to see what the new version, CQ 5, will look like. I have a sneaky suspicion that all of the technologies involved with this content (JCR, SLING, etc.) are a good indication of what CQ 5 is going to look like…

Until next time…

Todd

While at a recent conference that EMG was speaking at I was approached by an individual who wanted to discuss a web redevelopment project. As we were discussing what he wanted I started to ask questions about why he wanted it. What was the goal associated with the project? After thinking about it for a while, he simply stated that he wanted an “updated web site.” Ok, but why? What is it that you’re looking to do? This individual did not come from an e-commerce background, nor was his web property as simple to define as simply “generating more sales.” The trick in this case was helping to define what the individual wanted the outcome to be of the web redevelopment. From there I was able to ask additional questions:

• Are you looking to generate leads?
• Are you looking to generate more site traffic in which you sell ads?
• Are you looking to increase sales?
• Are you looking for visitors to download information?
• Are you looking for visitors to find information to assist in an offline purchase?
• Are you looking for visitors to find support information?
• Are you looking at running an affiliate site?

In soccer the purpose of the sport is to advance the ball down the field, and kick the ball into the opposing teams goal. Web projects should have a similiar purpose and goal associated to them before beginning any project. After going through the above questions I was able to find out the why. Before you start or engage on a new project sit down and map out the strategy associated with what you’re looking to accomplish. Simply getting a new web redevelopment may look visually appealing but it may not align with the primary goal of your web property. Look to define the goal first, and then have the project align based upon that goal, rather than during or after the project.

So last week while at a partner conference for ECM leader Interwoven up in San Francisco, I was able to pop over to the Web 2.0 conference right across the street, where EMG happened to be exhibiting for the first time.   After spending just 20 minutes talking with my colleagues in the booth as well as a few attendees here and there, I began to notice something very peculiar.   Never in my life has there been a greater diversity of industry, age, culture, interest or human specimens under one roof then at this conference.   It was an anthropologists dream.   Now, regardless what you may feel about the term “2.o” in general, you have to admit that never has such a buzz phrase fostered such indulgence and interests since I can remember… OK, don’t judge on that one.    I guess the fascinating part for me was just how individuals, companies and the conference hosts themselves had spun the 2.0 genre to include so many things.   From major media providers to small technology start ups to interactive agencies to the biggest names on the Internet - everyone has found a way to exploit, nay I say, capitalize, on the phrase itself.   But has it worked.   Let’s ask the eighty-year old woman slowly shuffling down the walk way about just why she is here shall we - oh wait, where did she go.  Never-mind, I was bombarded, humbled and entertained by the gamut of other conversations I engaged in.   From the genius start-up entrepreneur looking to change the way the web fosters communication as we know it to the stoic academic that was just looking for some great debate to the individual from the SF Parks & Recreation department and his dramatic testimony on the future of the parks and social networking.   Everyone had an opinion.     Well good for them, because regardless of how you feel, there has been a noticeable shift in those that are standing behind the school of thought that demonstrates the web as a true business unit and aren’t going to settle for anything but more accountability, more engagement and more advancement around this extremely young medium.   So I say, hats off to all you(us) weirdos, evangelists and experimenters on the edge of digital sanity.  You are the beacon for my faith and the direction you will take us.

So I’m just finishing up one of the most fascinating books that was given to me by one of my colleagues, Amanda Vande Brake. The book is The Culture Code. Without going into hundreds of lil nuances and details, the basic summary is that the book takes a psychoanalysis rollercoaster and multi-layered adventure into how a consumer’s individual unique culture, personal experiences and life patterns define the way they respond to brands as well as to marketing in general.

I think the most fascinating portion of the book was in fact not the outcomes, but simply the process and journey that author, renowned cultural anthropologist Dr. Clotaire Rapaille, takes his test subjects through as he delves into how their own behaviors, thoughts and relationships with various test products (i.e. cars, ceral, wine, etc). Him and I share a common belief. Ignore what people “tell” you in a workshop, survey or focus group because more often then not they lie, are easily influenced or just don’t really remember or have an opinion on the information you are trying to get out of them. Instead, Dr. Rapaille says to focus instead on the common structure of stories that your test subjects reveal.

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C++ has come a long way since 1985. It was the first, practical implementation of Object Oriented Programming (OOP) and has consistently evolved to keep up with modern standards. C++ has journeyed through the fire and flames to hold its title as the best programming language to use if a program needs to be performance savvy. The programming world is changing once again and C++ is evolving with it. Multicore processors and advanced threading architecture is now built-in to a lot of computers allowing for programs to run faster and run programs concurrently. In my opinion this is great for a number of reasons. Sometimes a program is so large that it requires the use of multiple processors to keep performance up. For instance, perhaps Blizzard has a web server that requires multiple threads to be processed concurrently by the local machine to ensure performance for all of their end users! Normally, we would look to higher level languages like Python or Java for a task like this, but C++ is evolving. New frameworks are being built to incorporate better threading models and even allow compilers to make use of multiple core processors, or multiple processors!

More information on the topic can be found here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3528799355371049884

This video is about 90 minutes long and it goes over a lot of the cool new features that C++ is going to have for multiple core processor, or multiple processor, machines!

I grew up with languages like C++ and I am happy to see them evolve to keep up with modern standards. Hopefully, it will continue to do so.

It’s always an interesting discussion when you sit down with a prospective client for the first time and the first things out of their mouth is, “so we have all these great ideas, but we’re not sure if they are any good, and we really have no clue where to start”.    Many of these ideas stem from the over stimulation of creative and experimental media we are bombarded with on a daily basis.   We think to ourselves, what would I respond to, what really works.   But how do you decide where to start, what to do first, and how much budget or simply human resources should you dedicate to new ideas.   Notice, that I’m not detailing what type of ideas, since they can pretty much be anything - spanning from whether or not to attempt a viral-based or social networking campaign to whether or not to put a new arcade room in your office (wink).  

A few weeks ago, I was part of EMG’s executive retreat in which we were determining the future of our agency and how we could continue to effectively set ourselves apart from the competition, continue to grow soundly and profitably and how to remain at the forefront of what many consider cutting-edge marketing and technology strategies.   The format that we followed in order to achieve this came from a fantastic book called “Blue Ocean Strategies”.   The premise essentially is to make your competition irrelevant by creating and developing a new uncontested marketplace.    Sparing you the details, there is one central theme to this concept.  Using “value innovation” as a guiding rule for determining which ideas to move forward with.   Value innovation is simply a different strategic logic and mindset.    It places equal focus and weight on both value and  innovation.    

Value without innovation tends to focus on “value creation” - or otherwise something that is not sufficient to make you stand out in the marketplace.   Likewise, innovation without value tends to be considered market pioneering or futuristic, however it often shoots beyond what your audience or consumers are ready to accept, engage or even pay for.     So next time the light-bulb goes off or a think-tank, or even dare we say a COMMITTEE is formed, take into account this concept of value innovation to determine the best ideas to support and commit to.

Allow me to take you back to high school English class, when all but the bravest of introductory paragraphs began with a deeply thought out quote snatched from the thickest book to be found in the non-fiction nether regions of the library (or media center - for the younger ones in the bunch).

“The effects of technology do not occur at the level of opinions or concepts, but alter sense ratios or patterns of perception steadily and without any resistance. The serious artist is the only person able to encounter technology with impunity, just because he is an expert aware of the changes in sense perception.” - Marshall McLuhan, “The Medium Is the Message,” Understanding Media

Brilliant, right? The last few weeks, I’ve been revisiting some texts I too hastily read back in the day, and when those words went from page to perception for me yesterday, I was utterly floored. I’m pretty sure I made some sort of sound of astonishment to mark the occasion, too. I mean, come on. Not that I fully grasp the fullness of McLuhan’s statement even 24 hours after I read it, but it’s clear the implications of just this single set of words and ideas are massive - for EMG, for my role and responsibility within the company as well as for me personally not to mention what this means for everyone who considers themselves a serious artist (whatever this means should be saved for a later post!).

Now, since I’m writing a blog post and not the novel I’ll never write, I’ll stick to the first couple ideas McLuhan’s prophetic prose brought forward for me - specifically regarding EMG as an organization. First off, EMG functions best when all three of its operational efforts - Strategy. Artistry. Technology. - are organically giving and taking, working toward unified project-specific goals, and McLuhan’s belief’s about the Artist and his or her unique ability to identify and respond to Technology’s impact on the user illustrates the wild need for Artistry when developing effective Technology solutions. And, if what McLuhan says is true - that a “serious artist” is the ONLY person able to engage in technology without being significantly changed by the technology itself, an artists’s input and inquiries from a user perspective is vital to an effective process for us and an effective end product for our loyal client.

This leads to another thought, and this one’s about why the EMG team works as well as we do together. Artists of all kinds have found a 9-5 home at EMG - painters, musicians, composers, essayists, directors, producers and even a quilter or two to start a short list - and up until now I thought our good rapport had more to do with personalities than job function. But, after considering the artist’s role and responsibility for shaping technology, an artist at EMG is in his or her element - continually shaping technology from a place of difference as McLuhan proposes. So, it’s okay that the user scenarios we propose in meetings seem to come from left field sometimes, and it’s okay when we need assistance from time-to-time understanding what seems so logical to techies and analysts because it’s essentially an artist’s job to see things differently. As artists we are - for better or worse - hardwired to be in tune with the way an audience accesses or perceives a message or process as much as we are equipped to create artful products to best serve these sense perceptions - in their endlessly unpredictable and dynamic glory.