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=================== Good Experience - 04 Mar 08 ====================
By Mark Hurst
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Tuesday, March 4, 2008
- On the "digital sabbath"
- Cell phones are not (just) fashion
- For more reading...
- 6 Job Openings: CA (2), NYC (2), FL/Toronto/Germany(2)
- Fun Stuff
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On the "digital sabbath"
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Mark Bittman, whose food writing I've enjoyed for some time in the
New York Times, admits that he has a problem: too much information
and no way to deal with it.
His solution? Declare a digital "sabbath": no e-mails, no
Blackberry, no electronic media of any kind, for one day a week.
His column is here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/fashion/02sabbath.html
After several months, it's beginning to pay dividends. As Bittman
says, "nothing bad has happened while I've been offline; the e-mail
and phone messages, RSS feeds, are all there waiting for me when I
return to them."
This would be a good first step for many people - after all, over
40% of surveyed workers feel they are nearing the "breaking point"
from their information overload - see my post on that stat here:
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010346.php
And yet.
Even with a digital sabbath, people are still overloaded and
stressed six days out of seven. Wouldn't it be better to solve
one's overload *permanently*? Especially as information overload
increases, people will be looking for a better solution than a
temporary respite, once a week.
They may not know it now, but millions of people are in dire need of
the basic skills of managing information - what I write about in
"Bit Literacy" - http://bitliteracy.com - though there will surely
be other books soon on this same topic.
A sabbath is good and healthy, but people mostly need help for the
other six days of the week.
- - -
Post a comment:
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010353.php#comments
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Cell phones are not (just) fashion
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From the NYT, how cell phone companies are trying harder to connect
with customers:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/business/29cell.html?pagewanted=all
It's good news, and not entirely a surprise. Apple's especially
user-friendly iPhone is doing so well that competitors are finally
being forced to listen to their customers. Sure, these companies
have employed diligent user experience teams for years. But often it
takes hard sales numbers to get management to start really listening
up.
The story also mentions the Motorola Razr, a phone that sold very
well for awhile, then dropped out of favor. It's pretty obvious why:
the Razr was a fashion statement, not a usable device. (Motorola
phones have historically had poor interface design.) Fashion is a
difficult, volatile business to be in. In contrast, a great user
experience is a competitive advantage, and in the tech industry that
means creating tools that people can delight in using, not just
flashing like a piece of jewelry.
If I was advising Motorola or Nokia, I'd be wary of too much
research into the emotional depths of customers - what mood a color
puts them in, that sort of thing - and make sure that there's a
focus on delivering on customers' unmet needs. Can you make a call?
Can you turn off the ringer easily (without it making noise)? Can
you take a picture easily? Pretty obvious stuff, and most cell
phones aren't very good at it.
Yes, it's also important to focus on physical design - shape, color,
etc. - that's part of the iPhone's appeal, after all. But I wouldn't
focus exclusively on this - otherwise you're just in the fashion
business.
P.S. It's also nice to see Nokia prototyping green devices, like the
"remade" (see articles pro and con below), a phone made from recyclable
materials. Still, though, if it's hard to make a call or take a
picture, it's going to be hard to sell to customers.
- - -
See also:
- iPhone and Nokia's attempted copy
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010002.php
- Poorly designed Samsung cell phone
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/001269.php
- Motorola's poor usability (from 2006; presumably they're improving)
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/001066.php
- Two articles on the "remade" prototype. Pro...
http://www.grignani.org/thoughts/2008/02/remade.html
...and con:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/greenwash_watch_18.php
- - -
Post a comment:
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010348.php#comments
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For more reading...
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Radio interview of yours truly:
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010352.php
Lexis-Nexis on information overload in the workplace:
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010346.php
And finally, in response to last week's column on "big or pure"...
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010342.php
...Seth Goldman, cofounder of Honest Tea, responds:
http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/010351.php
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Job Opening: eBay (Senior/Lead Interaction Designer)
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Company: eBay
Title: Senior/Lead Interaction Designer
Location: San Jose, CA
Create the interaction paradigms that shape the future of online
experiences and gain the recognition that eBay is a thought leader
among the Internet giants. We're looking for talented Interaction
Designers with 5+ years of exp. and an excellent understanding of UE
design for the Web, tech trends, design skills.
To respond, email your resume to: jbender@ebay.com
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Job Opening: Open Text (Product Designers)
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Company: Open Text
Title: Product Designers #OTAJSJH15942
Location: Waterloo & Toronto CAN, Tallahassee US,Munich & Kempten DE
Open Text is seeking passionate people motivated to effect change.
Product Designers research, identify, and solve complex software
design problems in an innovative, highly collaborative environment,
translating high level requirements into designs that deliver
compelling experiences that solve business problems.
To respond, e-mail your resume to recruiting@opentext.com
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Job Opening: Open Text (Product Designers - Technical)
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Company: Open Text
Title: Product Designers - Technical #OTAJSJH15943
Location: Waterloo & Toronto CAN, Tallahassee US,Munich & Kempten DE
Are you an expert in BPM, SAP, RM, or ECM? Interested in working on
complex design challenges such as clustering and global deployments?
What about helping define what API usability means and engaging with
a developer community? Open Text is seeking passionate people highly
motivated to effect change.
To respond, e-mail your resume to recruiting@opentext.com
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Job Opening: lab256 (Interaction Designer)
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Company: lab256
Title: Interaction Designer
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Lab256 is an early-stage consumer Internet company with a mission to
revolutionize the ways that fans find and enjoy their favorite live
events through a comprehensive and easy-to-use search experience.
We're looking for a rock star interaction designer to join our team
who can ideally also help with visual design.
To respond, email your resume to jobs@lab256.com. Contractors ok.
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Job Opening: DraftFCB New York (Senior User Experience Architect)
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Company: DraftFCB New York
Title: Senior User Experience Architect
Location: New York, NY
Draftfcb seeks dedicated and motivated senior-level information
design professionals who are interested in advancing their skills
and career. You will develop well-conceived and successful
information design solutions for our clients based on thorough
audience research, business and functional requirements.
Email resume and samples to renetta.welty@draftfcb.com
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Job Opening: Creative Good (Customer Experience Analyst)
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Company: Creative Good
Title: Customer Experience Analyst
Location: New York City
This is a full-time, entry-level position intended for recent
college grads. Creative Good is looking for a customer experience
analyst in the NYC area. Experience in business analysis or
marketing strategy is a plus. Nice-to-haves: Art History major;
holistic, strategic thinking; having read "Bit Literacy."
More info, apply: http://creativegood.com/team/job0307.html
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All recent job openings...
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See all recent job openings here:
http://goodexperience.com/blog/archives/cat_job_openings.php
Post a job opening:
https://goodexperience.com/jobpost
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Fun Stuff
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An alternate opening to Star Wars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z25t-PQDn5A
Whale spill (warning, graphic photos):
http://www.truckspills.com/whale_spill.html
(Part of the larger truckspills website, tx to boingboing.net)
http://www.truckspills.com
Trains of Western Australia. The Web is now complete:
http://www.webace.com.au/~chook/trains/pn2.html
My online game picks:
http://goodexperience.com/games
- - - - - - - - - - - -
Until next time,
- Mark Hurst
mark@goodexperience.com
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contact info
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ABOUT MARK HURST
Mark Hurst, founder of Creative Good and Good Experience, has been
advocating for good experiences for over ten years. He also writes
this newsletter.
Mark Hurst's bio: http://goodexperience.com/about/mark.php
Contact Mark Hurst: mark@goodexperience.com
Mark's book, "Bit Literacy," solves information & e-mail overload:
http://bitliteracy.com
Gel (Good Experience Live) conference:
http://gelconference.com
Uncle Mark 2008 Gift Guide and Almanac:
http://unclemark.org/unclemark2008.pdf
If you want customer experience consulting, contact Creative Good:
http://creativegood.com
PRIVACY POLICY
http://goodexperience.com/about/privacy.html
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