WebWord.com Newsletter Issue #62

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ISSUE #62

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                WebWord.com Newsletter
           "Industrial Strength Usability"
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                 Newsletter Editor
                   John S. Rhodes 
                     John@webword.com
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September 24, 2001                  Newsletter #62
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Table of Contents

1.  WebWord Partnerships
2.  Donation Gravity
3.  Google 2.0
4.  Complicate Your Web Site
5.  From Banners to Scumware to Usable Marketing
6.  Book Review: Don't Make Me Think
7.  Top Usability Research Information Sites
8.  Posting Comments on WebWord
9.  What Can You Find at WebWord.com?


       
4756 subscribers 

        Tell a friend. Pass this along to 
        a colleague. Recommend WebWord now!
        

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ITEM #1

WebWord Partnerships

I am happy to announce two new strategic partnerships. 
First, I am working with Jamie Katz of Tech-Engine to 
provide WebWord readers with an Information Technology 
Career Center. Take a look!

--> http://careers.webword.com/


Second, I am working with Scott Butler of OvoStudios. My 
job is to send you to OvoStudios to learn more about 
usability laboratories. In the next several months, Scott 
and I will working to help you better understand how a 
usability lab can help you collect data, capture video, and 
publish reports. 

If you are curious about usability labs, I strongly suggest
that you visit the OvoStudios web site. Tell Scott that 
John Rhodes of Webword sent you!

--> http://www.ovostudios.com?webword


Cheers,

- John

p.s. 4,756 subscribers. We're getting close to 5,000!

John S. Rhodes
WebWord.com -- Industrial Strength Usability
http://webword.com
john@webword.com




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ITEM #2

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/gravity.html


"Donation Gravity"

In light of recent terrorist attacks on the United States, 
Amazon.com set up a page to collect donations for the Red 
Cross. Over the course of about two and half days, I 
recorded the donation activity on that page. An analysis of 
the data revealed that the average amount of money donated 
by each person steadily increased (i.e., donation gravity). 
This manifestation of donation gravity is discussed, along 
with several usability ideas that can help you design a 
better online donation web page.

Note: The average donation to the Red Cross via Amazon is 
currently $39.05. That is wonderful.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/gravity.html




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ITEM #3

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/googleclient.html


"Google 2.0"

People using Microsoft's Internet Explorer are now being 
redirected to Microsoft's MSN when they make certain kinds 
of mistakes. This means that Microsoft is taking control of 
another part of the user experience. This article discusses 
how Google might be able to help users and solve a few other 
problems others along the way.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/googleclient.html




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ITEM #4

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/complicate.html


"Complicate Your Web Site"

When you're designing a transactional web site, you need to 
complicate it with extra steps and customization. Anticipate 
the most likely problems, provide clear error handling, and 
build informative confirmation messages to keep your users 
happy.

Note: This is by Joshua Ledwell, a WebWord guest author.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/complicate.html




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ITEM #5

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/scumware.html


"From Banners to Scumware to Usable Marketing"

Advertising online is not going away. Indeed, it is only 
going to grow. Unfortunately, most online advertising is 
abusive and some marketing techniques are just downright 
devious. Fortunately, there are ways to improve online 
marketing by following some basic usability principles. By 
using usable marketing techniques, both users and companies 
will benefit enormously.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/scumware.html




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ITEM #6

A new WebWord.com article is now online:
--> http://webword.com/moving/krugreview.html


"Book Review: Don't Make Me Think"

Here is a quote from the review...

"In summary, I have to say that I wish I had read this book 
ages ago, when I first became interested in web site design. 
It distills into one easy read the basic ideas that I've 
spent years accumulating through hard-won experience. I 
recommend it highly to anyone just beginning to try to 
understand what makes web sites usable. Furthermore, I think 
it's a worthwhile use of time for those who have been at 
web design for a while because it serves to remind us of 
the important basics that solve the vast majority of web 
site usability problems."

Note: This is by Dick Miller, a WebWord guest author.


You can read the new article here:
--> http://webword.com/moving/krugreview.html




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ITEM #7

Top Usability Research Information Sites


Charles L. Mauro, Editor TaskZ.com, sent me an email today 
that was really quite nice. He informed me that WebWord was 
selected as one of the top ten usability sites for the 3rd 
quarter of 2001. The list is pretty good, check it out today.

--> http://www.taskz.com/top_sites_1.htm




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ITEM #8

Posting Comments on WebWord

I thought that folks would be interested to know that the 
comment posting system on WebWord is working very well. I 
am particularly happy that people have been posting comments. 
I can tell that some WebWord readers have been waiting for 
this functionality for a long time.
 
Below are some examples of news items that generated a lot 
of postings. Said another way, these were popular.


Usability in Ireland: We're Just Getting Started
--> http://webword.com/weblog/00000116.html

Perception of Usability
--> http://webword.com/weblog/00000169.html

Spicy CHI-WEB Thread (Nielsen / Google AdWords)
--> http://webword.com/weblog/00000274.html

Focus Groups in Asia: A Management Guide
--> http://webword.com/weblog/00000252.html

Microsoft Redirects Users to Their Site
--> http://webword.com/weblog/00000208.html


By the way, these discussions are not closed. Feel free to 
post your thoughts. Enjoy!




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ITEM #9
    
What Can You Find at WebWord.com?


WebWord.com Services
>> http://webword.com/services/index.html

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

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

Career Center
>> http://careers.webword.com/

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

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

Weblog Archive
>> http://www.webword.com/weblog

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

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



----- End of WebWord.com Usability Newsletter #62 -----

      (c)2001 by WebWord.com and John S. Rhodes. 
                 All rights reserved.

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