==================================================
WebWord.com Newsletter
"Usability & the Internet"
==================================================
List Owner
John S. Rhodes
John@WebWord.com
..................................................
September 27, 1999 Newsletter #31
..................................................
Table of Contents
1. A Deep Understanding of the Customer Experience
2. Epinions: Comment and Commentary
3. Formatting URLs for Use in Email
4. "www" Problem: Blame the Server or the Browser?
5. The WebWord.com Usability Weblog
6. Tidbits
7. What Can You Find at WebWord.com?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM #1
A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/hurst.html
A Deep Understanding of the Customer Experience
Mark Hurst is the Founder and President of Creative
Good, a company dedicated to understanding the
customer experience. Mark was named Netrepreneur
of the Year 1998, by InfoWorld Magazine. He throws
around some very interesting data in his interview,
and his ideas are fresh. I particularly like that
his views are larger than usability. He explains
how Creative Good looks at web strategy, customer
goals, marketing, and more. As you can probably
infer, it is worth reading for a variety of reasons.
Read the interview at:
--> http://webword.com/interviews/hurst.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM #2
Epinions: Comment and Commentary
In my last newsletter (#30), I wrote about Epinions.com,
a web site that pays you to write reviews. That is, a
registered writer racks up the pennies when registered
readers take a look at a review.
Here's what Brian Bishop <evolving.com> had to say:
"Here are my comments for the first newsletter that
I've received from you:
Shameless self promotion in the epinions section!
Plus, the links didn't work for me. Maybe the epinions
server was down, which is not your fault, but you rag
on Fatbrain for a broken link..."
(The links now work. I think that the server was down.)
Brian is right that I had some negative comments about
FatBrain. But, I also had positive things to say. It goes
with the territory. Second, as I told Brian, I presented
the links to my reviews as examples.
Just so we are all clear, shameless self-promotion happens
like this:
Get Registered at Epinions and Read My NEW Reviews!!!
Usability of the Optiquest V95 19" Monitor
http://www.epinions.com/cmd-review-12AE-58702C2-37E6C73C-bd3
Usability of the Palm III
http://www.epinions.com/cmd-review-177C-13D87C2-37EE51A2-bd1
In all seriousness, the Epinions model works for me. I
work on WebWord.com for hours and hours and I don't see
much in return. If I do the *same* work for Epinions, you
can still read my reviews for free, and I make a few
cents. I think it is a model we can live with. Also, if
I promote a review here or there, you can decide against
clicking to it. If you are against my actions, then please
don't click on the link. Otherwise, click away! Read my
reviews.
Feel free to let me know what you think.
Thanks Brian.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM #3
Formatting URLs for Use in Email
Pam Stefanowicz <http://homestead.com/woodwitch/> writes:
"I'm writing because I wanted to point out that the
format you use for URLs in your newsletter may not work
for all email programs. I use a free email account at
< http://www.amexmail.com >. I probably used that email
account several months before I realized that the links
in many newsletters weren't broken; rather, the email
program was including the ending > in the link. So if
you format the URL without a space before that last >,
I get a "File Not Found" page, e.g., Usability Reports
<http://webword.com/reports>; the amexmail mail program
underlined the last > in this URL. I notified Amexmail
customer service that they should correct their program
to not include the final >, but they haven't and there
may be other widely-used email programs that also
underline that final >."
This is a problem that I can't seem to eliminate. I advise
folks to do it this way: <http://webword.com> but it seems
that this method has its flaws.
Here's what I had to say a while ago:
<http://www.webword.com/867link5309.html>
My suggestions will work for most people, most of the time.
However, the bottom line is to be careful. Be as clear as
possible with your links.
Thanks Pam.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM #4
"www" Problem: Blame the Server or the Browser?
In my previous Newsletter (#30), I pointed you to an
article I wrote about people configuring their servers so
that you *had* to include the "www" in the URL.
<http://www.webword.com/moving/path.html>
Here's what Jim Corban (a software designer and former
Netscape UI designer) had to say:
"The problem you mentioned about web servers not
handling a URL when the 'www' is dropped isn't
necessarily the fault of a poorly configured web server
- it could also be solved by a properly designed
browser. Netscape Navigator automatically adds a '.com'
when a single word is typed into the address bar; it
could just as easily add the 'www' prefix."
Boom! Jim shoots and he scores. This is obviously an
excellent solution to the problem. You address the problem
at the root. And, by fixing the browser, you save a load
of pain for webmasters. I hope Microsoft and Netscape are
listening.
Thanks Jim.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM #5
The WebWord.com Usability Weblog
As I have mentioned previously, the WebWord.com home page
is being used to provide you with usability links, daily.
Here are some interesting news items and links I found:
It's time to be more human -- "Although world news
continues to be dominated by inhumanity, there are some
hopeful signs that computer technology is actually going
to become more humanized."
http://www.system-concepts.com/Editorial/vol5no4ed.html
User-Supportive Internet Architecture -- "We need to
change the foundation of the Internet to make it adapt
to human needs and millions of users."
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990919.html
Fonts and Reading Performance -- "There seems to be no
reliable differences between serif and sans-serif fonts,
or between aliased and anti-aliased fonts."
http://www.humanfactors.com/library/feb99.asp#screenfonts
The Top 10 Internet Myths -- "Word of mouth among
satisfied customers is the most effective way to build
traffic, and that can only be done by offering an
intensely personal customer experience that most sites
don't have."
http://fnews.yahoo.com/street/99/09/24/wrong_990924.html
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
ITEM #6
Tidbits
1. 1360 WebWord.com Newsletter Subscribers
2. 9 Epinions, that have been read 301 times
3. Least page views in a day for September: 236
4. Most page views in a day for September: 945
Feel free to pass this newsletter on to a friend or
colleague. Subscribe at <http://webword.listbot.com>.
|