WebWord.com Newsletter Issue #35

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ISSUE #35

5-December-99

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                WebWord.com Newsletter
              "Usability & the Internet"
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                      List Owner 
                    John S. Rhodes 
                   John@WebWord.com
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December 5, 1999                    Newsletter #35
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Table of Contents

1. The WebWord.com Guru Interviews
2. A Quick Review of Homestead.com
3. Two New Epinions
4. Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity
5. The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual 
6. Get Your Daily Usability News Fix
7. Another Word on ProWebSite
8. What Can You Find at WebWord.com?


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ITEM #1

The WebWord.com Guru Interviews

About 2 months ago I took over 20 of the WebWord.com
interviews I have done and turned them into an e-book.
I didn't announce them earlier because I've been doing
some sales and marketing testing behind the scenes.

Despite the fact that the interviews can all be read
for free on the WebWord.com web site, a large number
of people have bought the e-book. The feedback has 
been great. People are very happy with the e-book and
have had many kind things to say.

Here are some of the important details (good and bad):

1) The book can be downloaded through Fatbrain.com for
   only $3.95 (US dollars). Many people have told me
   that I should charge more, but I'd rather keep
   the price low. It encourages people to make a
   "donation" to WebWord.com.

2) The file format is PDF, meaning that you need 
   Adobe's free Acrobat Reader to read the file. 

3) Not that is a huge advantage, but I do believe that 
   some folks can write off the cost of the e-book 
   as a training expense.

4) The file format yields four problems. First, you 
   need the (free) Reader. Second, some people behind
   firewalls cannot download the e-book. Third, the
   links don't work. Fourth, there aren't Mac and 
   Linux versions.

Despite these (huge) problems, sales have far exceeded 
my expectations. And, some "important" folks have said
some kind things about the interviews. Usability guru 
Jakob Nielsen even points to the book from his site, 
and he recommends it on Fatbrain through his Nielsen 
Norman consultancy: 
http://www1.fatbrain.com/FindItNow/Services/home.cl?from=DTU738&store=2

The feedback that I've enjoyed the most comes from Peter 
G. Svensk, a Commerce Product Manager with Excite@Home:

  "I think it's the best four bucks I've ever spent 
   online! "

So, if you'd like to have all the WebWord.com Usability
Interviews in one single document, this is the best 
way to do it. And, as a gesture of good faith, if you 
buy the e-book and want to use the links, I can send 
you the Word 2000 or full HTML version. Send me an 
email with your request and I'll be happy to honor 
your request (after you get the book please).

Please follow this link to buy the book:
http://www1.fatbrain.com/asp/BookInfo/BookInfo.asp?theisbn=EB00001426

p.s. Thanks for allowing me to do this bit of promoting.
Given the excellent feedback I feel comfortable telling
you about this opportunity. The e-book is a steal when
you think about it. It also gives you a chance to 
support WebWord.com, which of course is completely 
free. Thank you!


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ITEM #2

A new WebWord.com report is now online:
--> http://www.webword.com/reports/homestead.html

A Quick Review of Homestead.com

My brother has a simple web site dedicated to Command
and Conquer, a real time strategy game. For a personal
site he gets decent traffic. He also has a very small
number of loyal readers. He's pretty happy with his 
site, and his free hosting provider.

His web site is hosted through Homestead.com, and he 
used their web development tool to create it. I asked 
him if he'd like to review Homestead.com and point out
some of the usability successes and failures of it. 

Now, the report isn't the best I've ever seen. It has 
several flaws, and you might wonder why I posted it on
WebWord.com. First, the review might help you decide to
check out Homestead.com, since it is free. Second, there
are a few things in the review that I found interesting.
It has some usability flaws that relate to both the
service and the computer that my brother uses.

However, the coolest thing about the interview is that
my brother is only 12 years old. (In case you are 
wondering, I'm quite a bit older than he is). 

So, if you want to know what "some kid" thinks about 
a free web hosting service, give his report a read:
--> http://www.webword.com/reports/homestead.html


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ITEM #3

Two New Epinions

I've written a review of the Leatherman Micra (a small 
version of the Leatherman Tool). 
--> http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-review-3ABE-14ECA120-38406CCF-bd1

I've also written one for RoadRunner (which is a high
speed cable access provider)
--> http://www.epinions.com/cmd-review-2812-B2BFCBD-3827757F-bd1

                      --Sidebar--

As you know, I'm a fan of Epinions. They been doing a
great job working with their reviewers, and the site
continues to evolve. They recently revamped their rating
system. It works quite a bit better now. Their reviews 
were rated from "Not Useful" to "Very Useful" (which
is ambiguous). Now, they range is from "Don't Recommend"
to "Highly Recommended". The language now isn't perfect, 
but it is better.

I also like that Epinions provided me with my own web 
site. I need to make some more modifications to it, 
but they let me change some colors, and change some 
of the graphics. The site is still Epinions' but I do
feel a bit more ownership now. It is a nice way to 
reward reviewers. 

In any event, here's the URL to the Webword.com version
of Epinions, if you're interested:
--> http://webword.epinions.com

One last thing. If you are interested in joining 
Epinions as a reviewer, it is fast and easy. This is your 
chance to tell the world that certain products are 
really hard (or easy) to use. You can sign up through 
this page:
--> http://www.epinions.com/welcome.html?member=webword


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ITEM #4

Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity

Jakob Nielsen has written a new book about web 
usability. As you probably know, Jakob is one of the 
most popular and influential usability professionals.
He's been cited in many, many journals and articles,
He's written some of the most popular usability books, 
and he's considered by many people to be "the" guru
on usability. I stop by his website, useit.com, often.

The book is going to be available very soon (Dec. 10th), 
and I have to admit that I'm very excited about it. 
Here is a condensed version of the table of contents:

1. Introduction: Why Web Usability?
2. Page Design
3. Content Design
4. Site Design
5. Intranet Design
6. Accessibility for Users with Disabilities
7. International Use: Serving a Global Audience
8. Future Predictions: The Only Web Constant Is Change
9. Conclusion: Simplicity in Web Design

If you are interested, you can buy the book from here:
--> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/156205810X/wedwordcom

If you need more of a reason to get the book, you can 
read some of the reviewers comments here:
--> http://www.useit.com/jakob/webusability/blurbs.html


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ITEM #5

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual 

I interviewed Chistopher Locke and David Weinberger
about 5 months ago. They are two of the 4 authors of the
Cluetrain Manifesto. 

Here's the interview:
--> http://www.webword.com/interviews/cluetrain.html

They have turned the Cluetrain Manifesto into a book.
Like Jakob Nielsen's book, which I just mentioned above,
the book isn't quite out yet. However, you can pre-order
it, if you'd like:

--> http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0738202444/wedwordcom

Once I get it and read it, I'll write up a review. But,
I can tell you now, that these guys have a clue. This is
bound to be a very cool book.


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ITEM #6

Get Your Daily Usability News Fix

Don't forget that you can get news from WebWord.com
just about every day. I update WebWord.com almost every
day with the latest and greatest usability news. I 
often throw in some news about web design, online
marketing, web strategy, and that sort of thing too.

To get your daily WebWord.com news fix, subscribe here:
--> http://webwordaddiction.listbot.com/


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ITEM #7

Another Word on ProWebSite

ProWebSite.com is the web hosting service that stuck to 
me, as I wrote about in this report:
--> http://www.webword.com/reports/prowebsite.html

Well, as you might have guessed, ProWebSite didn't
like that I wrote the report. 

I don't feel bad that I wrote the report and it says
nothing but the truth. Further, I told them that I was 
very unhappy and that I planned on informing many, many 
people that they killed Webword.com for 3 days and that
their service was horrible. 

Recently they have offered to host my site for free for 
a year. I didn't accept. They still owe me for 2 months 
of service I did not get (so, they owe me about $25). I
admit that I did not request this money, but they should
have offered to me without asking. In cases like this,
money talks. 

They have made attempts to contact me, and they have 
said they are sorry for the suffering they put me 
through. I accept their apology, but I want my money 
still. And, I don't want to have to call them about it. 

I think someone from ProWebSite now subscribes to this 
newsletter, so I hope he/she is able to get a check 
sent to me. And, I don't plan on making any revisons to 
the report until I am reimbursed. 

Here's one last comment. They blamed their reseller for 
the poor service I received. Well, then perhaps they
should not have resellers. Or, they should change their
service to better serve customers.

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ITEM #8

What Can You Find at WebWord.com?

Articles (Moving WebWord)
<http://webword.com/moving/>

Expert Interviews 
<http://webword.com/interviews/> 

Recommended Books
<http://webword.com/books/booksindex.html>

Newsletter Archive
<http://webword.com/archive>

Usability Reports 
<http://webword.com/reports>

Recommended Web Sites
<http://webword.com/hotsites.html>

Free Stuff
<http://webword.com/freestuff.html>

Friends
<http://webword.com/friends.html>


---- End of WebWord.com Usability Newsletter #35 ------

(c)1998-99 by John S. Rhodes. All rights reserved.

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