WebWord

The Voyeur Web — “The purpose of this article is to explain the voyeur web. The central idea is that it is easy to view what other people are doing and experiencing on the web. A list of voyeur tools are provided.”

Comment: When I wrote this, I didn’t realize that searches for “voyeur” would drive so many people to WebWord. When that search is conducted, I doubt those folks are looking for usability news and information. The lesson is simple. Be careful how you label, title and tag what you write on the web.

One Versus Two Spaces After a Period — “In late September 1998 I asked several people what I thought was a simple typographic question. I was thinking about doing a quick eye tracking study with a colleague and I wondered if there was any empirical research available that showed that a single space after a period was “better” than two spaces, or vice versa.”

Comment: This is still quite popular. I think it will remain popular for a very long time. The lesson is that good content is good content and it is worth the effort to do it right.

Attack of the Back Button — “Getting stuck on a web page can be painful. The back button doesn’t always work. While there are many ways to escape from web pages, many users don’t know the tricks. A company can stop hurting users by doing more testing, using proper development methods, and being aware of the issue.”

Comment: Most people who read this this actually want to disable the backbutton. That wasn’t the intent of this article. The lesson is that when you write, you don’t always know the consequences.

JavaScript and Web Site Usability (Interview with Danny Goodman) — “Embedding JavaScript into an HTML page can bring the page to life in any number of ways. Perhaps the most visible features built into pages recently with the help of JavaScript are the so-called image rollovers: roll the cursor atop a graphic image and its appearance changes to a highlighted version as a feedback mechanism to let you know precisely what you’re about to click on. But there are less visible yet more powerful enhancements to pages that JavaScript offers.”

Comment: Javascript is alive and well, that is certain. (Hail Ajax!) This interview with Danny Goodman is still full of great stuff. He’s a champ.

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.”

Comment: Google is always a popular topic. What I really like about this article is that I was waaaay ahead of the curve. I reference this article often when I talk to other folks about Google.

A Business Case for Usability — “This is a business case for usability in an organization. It is based on academic research, industrial research, case studies, consulting experience, and common knowledge found in the usability community.”

Comment: This is required reading for folks who need to know why usability is a smart business move. The lesson here is the article itself.

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 8th, 2006 at 12:22 pm and is filed under Usability. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.