From: Gleanings To: consumers Subject:

From: Gleanings To: consumers Subject: Gleanings: only two industries refer to their customers as users… OPENING THANG great […]

From: Gleanings
To: consumers
Subject: Gleanings: only two industries refer to their customers as users…

OPENING THANG

great thread on which countries are getting online and which are not, and some interesting insights on why:

http://www.acm.org/archives/wa.cgi?A1=ind0012c&L=chi-web#8
and
http://www.acm.org/archives/wa.cgi?A1=ind0012c&L=chi-web#9

I know in France the number of folks who use the internet (as opposed to minitel) went up dramatically once the ISP’s went to flat rate unlimited access. the charge for local calls still hampers them, though….

Oh, and I put up some Tufte quotes from Monday’s seminar
http://eleganthack.wpengine.com/blog/

CUSTOMERS MATTER

very important ideas in this article.
Information Week: The Customer As Co-Developer.
http://www.informationweek.com/816/16uwcl.htm

this is one of the key premises of carboniq.com– the customer should be embraced as a codeveloper. they know their own needs better than anyone….

ZDNet E-Business: Hilton.com: Help when and where you need it.
Hilton.com creates an especially good customer experience. The hotel site
delivers help that specifically relates to the page customers are on, making
it easier for them to complete the reservation process without having to
contact a customer service representative.
http://www.zdnet.com/ecommerce/stories/evaluations/0,10524,2662374,00.html

EVENT

PRACTICING INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
February 2-4, 2001
http://www.asis.org/Conferences/Summit2001/

“Practicing Information Architecture” is the second in the ASIS&T-sponsored
series of conferences, the largest gatherings of information architecture
professionals. This edition balances practical applications of information
architecture with the big-picture thinking and sparring that electrified the
April 2000 meeting.

“Practicing Information Architecture” features:
* a keynote by Jared Spool of User Interface Engineering
* case studies of IBM.com, United.com and other sites
* presentations addressing such key issues as IA tools, IA metrics, and
content management
* opportunities for break-out sessions and discussions with other
information architects
* an ACIA pre-conference seminar on thesaurus design (separate registration
required)

Early registration closes on December 29, 2000. To register or learn more
about the program, visit the conference web site:
http://www.asis.org/Conferences/Summit2001/

For more information about ASIS&T, the American Society for Information
Science and Technology, visit:
http://www.asis.org

APROPOS OF NOTHING

www.biggerhand.com today asks who is hotter, jakob neilson or tufte

FEEDBACK

Dave Rossi (http://www.jivefly.com) gives permission to print this, his note to Mark Hurst after reading the latest Good Experience

“hiya mark,

i’m compelled to write if only to beg you to lighten up!

while self-anointed gurus like jakob nielsen can get away with it, i find it hard to believe that any internet strategy firm that cares about its clients could espouse the virtues of yahoo’s and amazon’s design strategies as a panacea for all. it has been and continues to be proven that different site strategies, including varying degrees of rich media and visual design, work for different firms in varying degrees. a once size fits all model for user experience does not equal good strategy. jakob may not believe it, but the people who pay the bills have the stories to prove it.

don’t agree? go to a major motion picture website and look at a promo for an upcoming movie. think a bunch of blue links would work here? would you
consider that *not* a good experience?

i’m with you 100% on ease of use and good navigation that enables quick completion of tasks. but when it comes to many successful sites on the web, the technophobic, they’re-coming-to-get-us, almost luddite mentality you seem to have taken does not fit.

dave rossi”