January 2011
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Moving slowly but surely to workingnicely.com
Hope to find you there! workingnicely.com
December 2010
2 posts
Nice Christmas power-of-blogging story →
Christmas presents from those with a little extra to share to those without anything for their children this year.
900 gift cards were sent out by 683 people who were so thrilled to help. 435 people who needed small Christmas miracles received small donations for medicine, food and presents under the tree for their children. No large corporations got involved. No one only offered to donate if...
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Designing for women, designing for people: fight...
What does “designing for women” mean? Does it have to be different to designing for men?
There’s a good article in the New York Times about Erica Eden, industrial designer at Smart Design.
It shouldn’t be so refreshing, this is 2010 afterall, but the “pink girl version for girls” is still so frustratingly ubiquitous!
Also referenced is this case study on...
September 2010
4 posts
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Consumer, aesthetic, dark, cerebral or thrilling: ... →
Are there identifiable dimensions and demographics of media consumption? According to one study, yes, there probably are.
People who fit the “Consumer” dimension are likely to enjoy anything that involves people and relationships:
daytime chat shows
romantic films
pop music
cookbooks
The “Aesthetic” dimension enjoy creative and abstract material such as:
poetry
...
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Interactive music videos for a personal user... →
The Arcade Fire have released a single with a video featuring YOUR hometown!
Yes, type in your place of birth, load it up and, thanks to Google Maps, see your hometown as the back drop to the story.
You can even write your younger self a postcard.
We all automatically associate song lyrics with our own lives, but the video enables us to do this one a visual level too, deepening and...
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The internet for women: a productivity and...
Women of all ages are getting more and more into social networking according to a recent study by comScore, “Women on the web: How women are shaping the internet”.
The study mainly focuses on American women and draws some both predictable and unexpected conclusions.
Twitter is used by more women than men, but it is used in different ways. Men enjoying tweeting more and finding...
August 2010
2 posts
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Online check in and usability question and answer
1. Q. When is a flight between two Spanish cities considered Irish Air Space?
A. When it’s with Ryan Air.
Usability problem: Wrong mental model.
2. When does an airline website ask you specify:
A. Your nationality
B. Your ID number
C. Country of issue of your ID
…and not warn you that A and C must match for you to be able to board a plane?
A. When it’s Ryan Air.
...
July 2010
8 posts
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Creative Culture Blueprint from Adaptive Path
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“Within two weeks, people basically get addicted to walking and working,”...”
– Why a tread mill under your desk, faffing about and moving around are better for you than a lumbar support chair.
Your Office Chair Is Killing You Bloomsberg Business Week
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Watch3D atlas of the universe
Philosophical debates aside, amazing visualization of the universe.
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May 2010
2 posts
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April 2010
1 post
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Is it easier to lie when writing than speaking?... →
…at least according to this blog post about some psychology tests done by Charles Naquin from DePaul University.
This is explained by moral disengagement framework, i.e.
“…people resolve guilt and responsibility for transgressing self-imposed moral standards is by distancing themselves psychologically from the consequences of their actions”.
February 2010
2 posts
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Cognitive Fluency "Easy = True" →
Cognitive fluency a measure of how easy it is to think about something.
High cognitive fluency is increased by clearer fonts, repetition and rhyme. These give the user a sensation of the familiar, the trusted, the easy-to-be-believed and stability.
Whereas low cognitive fluency or “disfluency” can be interpreted by the user as being innovative and lead to more abstract and careful...
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Watch“Sign up is not about filling in forms. It’s about motivation.”
Presentation by Joshua Porter, sample from his book, Designing for the social web.
January 2010
2 posts
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Digital Britain: 2 steps forward, sometimes a... →
http://data.gov.uk/ “Unlocking innovation: Working with UK Public Sector information and data”
- Great initiative to put under-utilised government data “collected by governments and paid for by tax payers” too good use.
- What is more, it’s a refreshingly well-designed, easy-to-use site. -Modern and well-written.
Articles from the Guardian Technology:
Tim...
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“How did you get the idea for YouTube?
Everyone must know this story by now. We...”
– Chad Hurley
So many successful digital products design follow the same pattern: the “inventor” is a frustrated user that takes simplicity seriously and therefore take good design decisions. Those that hurt but help.
(via maximocastagno)
December 2009
2 posts
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November 2009
7 posts
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“Theatre improves customer service. How? By teaching people to communicate...”
– Kevin Spacey (paraphrased) in the FICOD (International Digital Content Fair, Madrid, 2009).
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Great CSR program? Great website? Great CSR...
If you have got a great Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, you might as well shout about it.
Turns out there are a few too many PDFs out there for many websites’ potential to be realised.
So, what can you do?
In a nutshell transparency, two-way communication and interaction build credibility. A long-term approach, with past results and future objetives, does even more so.
...
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Accessible design is all about attitude
“Instead of asking how something should work if a person cannot see, he says he prefers to ask, “How should something work when the user is not looking at the screen?”.
Mr Raman, computer scientist and engineer at Google, and blind since the age of 14, as quoted in the New York Times.
“Some of Mr. Raman’s innovations may help make electronic gadgets and Web services more...
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iPhone wireframe stencils to download →
A website with everything you need to prototype for the iPhone.
It even has stencils for wireframing to download for (Powerpoint or Keynote).
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October 2009
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WatchTim Brown talks about what he refers to as “Design Thinking”.
There may be more to it than first appears, but I’m not sure he’s talking about anything other good user-centred design.
Culture and context is key. Human need is the place to start.
Get users involved in participatory design.
Learning by making: Prototyping helps ideas evolve quicker and better. Prototype...
August 2009
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Facebook user types →
People use Facebook in different ways. According to CNN.com/technology, 12 of these user types are extremely annoying!
…though does that mean all facebookers are annoying!?
July 2009
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Text messaging aids community health workers →
Community Health Workers were walking 60 to 100 miles just to be in touch with staff at St Gabriel’s hospital in Milawi, a hospital with 2 doctors and a catchment area covering a quarter of a million people.
Over a 7 week period, 75 Community Health Workers (CHW) were trained to send text messages before returning to their communities.
The SMS solution is low-cost, but highly-efficient:
A...
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Old PCs get new life breathed into them for a... →
$100 OLPC Laptop Becomes a $5 PC
“What we are doing is taking a bunch of old machines that barely run Windows 2000, and turning them into something interesting and useful for essentially zero cost,” says Walter Bender, former president of the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project.
The new Sugar on a Stick download features 40 software programs, including core applications called Read,...
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Why you should always use dark text on a light... →
There may be some circumstances where white text on a dark background maybe effective without necessarily sacrificing legibility, of course really it’s a question of contrast, text size and letting the user have the freedom to make the adjustments she feels necessary, but this is a pretty persuasive way to get the point across nonetheless!
June 2009
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Surprising Twitter stats from Harvard Business... →
“…the median number of lifetime tweets per user is one.”
?!
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Computerized Play Helps Elderly Stay Sharp →
Video gaming continues to expand into new markets including all sorts of demographic profiles and subject matter. Continuing on the same theme as yesterday’s link, The Science Daily tells of the benefits of play for the elderly.
“The researchers knew that play can help ageing people stay cognitively fit and stimulate much-needed social interaction. What they hoped was that they could...
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Video games to relax to?! →
Well, makes a change from teenage boys and shoot ‘em ups hogging the gaming arena, I think Nintendo are on to something!
“There are some who believe the audience expansion movement is beginning to fade. We still have a long way to go in expanding the gaming population.” said Nintendo boss, Satoru Iwata.
And, according to the Guardian: “…the [new] Vitality add-on –...
May 2009
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What's fast, edible, ecologically-sound and... →
A formula 1 racing car powered by chocolate. This is innovation! “It is the first Formula 3 racing car designed and made from sustainable and renewable materials, putting the world first by effectively managing the planet’s resources.”
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Petition: equal access to e-books →
AbilityNet reported in April that:
“Amazon intended to release its next version ebook reader the Kindle onto the market with built in text-to-speech.
A great step forward do I hear you shout, a chance for ebooks to reach new markets? Access to reading for people with sensory or physical needs, support for people with Dyslexia. All true ….. But….
The publishing industry didn’t see it this way...
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More and more human-device interaction →
BBC Click report on some of the technologies exhibited at the Science Beyond Fiction conference in Prague.
Examples include an eye - or gaze - tracking system that warns drivers of potholes or other dangers without distracting them, cars that adapt to your mood, and shoes that can simulate the sensation of walking on snow!
For any Europeans out there, the European Commission is apparently...
March 2009
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Ada Lovelace Day 2009
Female role model in technology: Chloe O’Brian, 24 Why: She’s the best in the game and a good person. Chloe combines a family and loyal friendships with a high-flying career. She’s dedicated, professional, doesn’t pass the buck and there’s no tech geek that can beat her.
I think she’s a great role model for younger women. Just about every other film or...
February 2009
1 post
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Free web analytics webcasts tomorrow →
Weds 11 and Thurs 12 Feb
January 2009
6 posts
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Slum children teach each other how to use a... →
- inspiring Delhi “Hole in the Wall” experiment.
…chief scientist Dr Sugata Mitra carved a ‘hole in the wall’ that separated the NIIT premises from the adjoining slum in Kalkaji in 1999. Through this ‘hole’, a freely accessible computer was put out for use and with no prior experience, the children learnt to use the computer on their own.
- from the India Express
Listen to...