MattDempsey.com Tumblog

Apple User Interface Fail

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:16:00 +0000

UPDATE - POST REVISED AT THE BOTTOM

It’s extremely rare that I have anything to complain about while using a Mac, Apple’s user interface design and copy is always top notch and totally clear. I rarely have to pause for a moment to work out what I’m supposed to be doing.

However, I recently began looking at ways to speed up startup and took a look at the applications that start on login:

Now, check boxes are usually used to say yes to something, when you agree with something or when you’re activating something. The text ‘These items will open automatically when you log in’ suggests that the items that you check will open when you log in.

The opposite is the case, since the checkbox column title says ‘Hide’. The un-ticked items are actually the ones that will open when you login.

How it should be done:

Less text and less confusion, I hope you’ll agree!

UPDATE

I was alerted by Dave Joyce’s tweet that my interpretation of this interface was actually incorrect, and I’d misunderstood what the tick boxes do. He says: “I disagree Matt. *All* the items in the list open when you login. The checked ones are open too, they’re just hidden.”

Although this was a mistake on my part, I didn’t understand the interface at the time and neither did several of my followers who agreed with my point, so I still think it’s too confusing.

Here’s a revision, the increase in copy isn’t ideal but is a worthwhile sacrifice for the extra clarity in my eyes. Let me know on Twitter if you think this is better, or if I’m still missing the point!

"I’ve always regarded life as a river on which I don’t try to canoe upstream too much."

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 12:57:24 +0100

““I’ve always regarded life as a river on which I don’t try to canoe upstream too much.””

- Jos Buivenga

Twitter's 'New Follower' Email Redesign

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:54:00 +0100

In May, Twitter redesigned it’s ‘New Follower’ email - we got follower/following numbers, a tweet count and a prettier email.

A step in the right direction, but ultimately the lack of information means I still have to visit the user’s Twitter page before deciding whether I want to follow back, which makes the email fairly useless.

Here’s a concept redesign for the email, which aims to change that:

We now have:

The user’s Location, Website and Bio, as on Twitter.
Following/Follower counts.
Average number of tweets per day (excluding @replies), based on the last 30 days.
Number of users you follow, that also follow this person.
Their 6 latest tweets that would actually appear in your Twitter stream (i.e. not irrelevant @replies)
Links to follow back or block the user from within the email.

The focus here is on functionality and making the content more useful, let’s try to forget for a moment that coding this for email clients powered by Microsoft Word would be a nightmare.

How would you make it better? Is this an improvement in your eyes?

I don't want to 'Sign Up'

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:38:45 +0100

Web conventions enable users to feel comfortable on the web because page elements on a new found site are similar to sites they already know. This is a good thing.

However, website owners often settle on conventions which could be appropriately adapted for the benefit of the experience. One such convention, in my opinion, is the term ‘Sign up’ and it’s siblings ‘Register’ ‘Join now’ and ‘Create Account’.

I have no statistical information to back this up, but I know that users hate signing up and hate filling in long forms. Some users decide against trying a new service or app purely because they can’t be bothered with the signup.

‘Sign up’ and it’s siblings automatically suggest filling in tedious forms with the same information you’ve already entered on 10 other sites this week. It’s a turn off.

Users don’t want to sign up, they want to DO.

If you’re a new Flickr user, you don’t want to create your account, you want to start uploading photos, so the ‘Sign Up’ button should reflect this.

If you’re a new Delicious user, you don’t want to register, you want to start bookmarking.

If you’re a new Facebook user you don’t want to Sign Up, you want to connect with your friends.

Changing the language like this is a huge step forward in my opinion, but might be seen as tricking the user if the button leads to the same sign up form anyway. Something I’ve noticed recently is sites that ask for signup after you’ve done what you want to do.

Airbed ‘n’ Breakfast

Airbed ‘n’ Breakfast have three links in the top right, exactly where you’d expect a Sign Up button if you were looking. They have a Sign Up button, but also have a big ‘Post a Room’ button. I’d be surprised if many people click Sign Up over ‘Post a Room’, because they all want to do the latter. Clicking ‘Sign Up’ presents you with a typical sign up form, but clicking ‘Post a Room’ enables you to enter the details of your room, then enter your sign up details. Users are much happier to give you their details if they’ve already done what they want to do.

Gumtree

On Gumtree (similar to Craigslist) there’s no sign up button at all, just an invitation to Post an Ad. Yes, that’s what I want, to post an ad! Of course, after you’ve written the ad you need to add your sign up info anyway, but this way you get to do what you want to do first.

This comes down to the fact that users hate filling in sign up forms, and particularly hate having to fill in all those forms before they’ve even had a chance to use the app or service. It’s a huge barrier to entry and on lots of sites it’s unclear why I need to hand over all these details just to have a look inside.

So, be creative with your ‘Sign Up’ buttons and use wording relevant to the app, but maybe include a text based ‘Sign Up’ link additionally in the top right, for those who are looking. Secondly, if possible, ask for sign up details as late as possible and let users do as much as possible without requiring all that info. I reckon your user numbers will benefit.

What do you think?

"Advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable."

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:30:57 +0100

““Advertising is the tax you pay for being unremarkable.””

- Robert Stephens (@RStephens), founder of Geek Squad. (via @johnsbeharry)

Three year plans are bullshit, Dragons' Den

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:02:37 +0100

I’m a big fan of the BBC’s Dragons’ Den. For anyone unfamiliar, the program consists of wannabe entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to five hugely successful serial entrepreneurs with a view to secure investment for an equity stake in their business.

In every pitch, the Dragons demand a 3-5 year plan for estimated revenue and profit each year - those who fail to deliver these figures are looked on as unprofessional, disorganised and in most cases a bad investment. However, if the budding entrepreneurs predict revenue which increases fairly substantially year on year, without being too absurd, the Dragons are usually happy.

This annoys me for two reasons. Firstly, the majority of pitchers in the Den have no business experience whatsoever - they just have an idea that they think might be popular. They’re all looking for a cash injection but most of them also need the experience and knowledge that each Dragon holds, and their revenue predictions are usually an over-optimistic random guess.

Secondly, I believe a revenue plan for any business is a big guess. Sure, in some circumstances if you’re extremely experienced with the type of business and have tons of research behind you, you can probably make a fairly accurate guess, but in most cases it’s still a guess. This is hammered home in 37Signal’s “Let’s just call plans what they are: guesses”.

The Dragons need to stop getting so frustrated when those who stand before them don’t have an ‘accurate’ revenue plan, and start understanding that these are people with great ideas and not necessarily great business minds.

Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið. View in HD to experience the true...

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 15:00:00 +0100

Ólafur Arnalds - Ljósið.

View in HD to experience the true beauty. This would make an awesome iTunes Visualiser/screensaver. (Found via @JoshuaDavis)

Audi Economy Drive. Clever advert, really beautiful. (Found...

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 18:08:15 +0100

Audi Economy Drive. Clever advert, really beautiful. (Found via @bigspaceship)

Amazing shot by Jon Cartwright (via @fsamuel)

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:06:11 +0100

Amazing shot by Jon Cartwright (via @fsamuel)

"It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few..."

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:23:52 +0100

“It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds.”

- Paula Scher (via David Airey)

Someone really needs to put more thought into these before and...

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:11:08 +0100

Someone really needs to put more thought into these before and after photos.

Replace Google Notifier's ugly Gmail menu icon in Mac OSX

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:37:00 +0100

I decided long ago to leave Mail.app and totally migrate to Gmail for proper access to my email wherever I was. I use Google Notifier for Mac for notifications of new email which works really well, but the default icons really don’t fit in:

Apple’s menu icons are solid black with transparency, but Google Notifer’s ‘No Email’ icon uses grey gradients and solid white. Not cool. The ‘New Email’ icon is red which is acceptable since I want it to stand out, but the white and web 2.0-ish gradients are too much. The error state (appears when no net connection) is just horrible.

Luckily Google Notifier makes it pretty easy to change these icons, here’s what I have now:

To install:

Download the icons (4kb) and unzip
In OSX, Go to the Applications folder
Right click Google Notifier and choose Show Package Contents
Choose Contents > Resources
Drag the three new icons into the Resources folder, then quit Google Notifier and re-open. Tada :)

Hope it’s of some use to someone!

Business lesson #4 from my summer holiday - Reduce the barriers to entry

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:45:43 +0100

This is a follow on from Lesson #1, Lesson #2 & Lesson #3, read them first for the premise of the post.

Have you ever been to a hotel where you had to leave a deposit for potential damages as soon as you got there? Or where you could only have the air conditioning if you paid up front? I have, plenty of times.

You’ve had a long journey, suitcase in hand, you just want to sit back and relax, but you have to fork over €100 instead for a cost you hadn’t expected. That sucks. It’s a negative start to the experience.

At Aeollos, Themis let us know there would be a cost for the air con, but that we could pay at the end of the week. Such an obvious idea for customer satisfaction, but you’d be surprised how many get it wrong. It’s a barrier to entry, something that slows me down, something that’s annoying, a nuisance.

In a hotel in that situation, I have to pay otherwise I’ll fry. Websites are different.

Web services that ask for a ton of profile information before I even get in are missing a trick. It’s a barrier, a chore, a nuisance. Do you really need my home address to start my account? I know it’s easier for you to get my credit card details before I start my free trial, but it’s a nuisance for me so I probably won’t bother.

Let me in quickly with no hassle, and ask for the other stuff later, please.

No Sign-up Necessary (the strikethrough method)

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:16:28 +0100

No Sign-up Necessary (the strikethrough method):

Interesting article on two services using ‘no sign-up necessary’ as a boasted feature.

Business lesson #3 from my summer holiday - Personalisation goes a long way

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:31:00 +0100

This is a follow on from Lesson #1 & Lesson #2, read them first for the premise of the post.

Half way through our stay this letter came underneath our door:

And the day before we left, this came through:

Sarah, our rep, was provided with a pre-printed message to add her name to. She also took a few extra seconds for a quick personal message and a smiley face - she didn’t have to. She probably does this for everyone, but it didn’t matter.

I get so many emails that are obviously pasted to tons of people and aren’t written specifically for me, and I instantly take less notice of them. Starting an email with ‘Hey Matt’ is a much better way to gain my respect than ‘Dear valued customer’ or without addressing me at all.

If you’re replying to a support request with a completely canned response, I understand. But if you take 30 seconds to adjust it slightly to wish me luck with my particular problem, or so it makes sense for my issue, those things really go a long way for me.

It all comes down to this: In an age of automated responses, taking the time and putting in the extra effort to personalise is almost always noticeable, shows you care, and makes a big difference.

Business lesson #2 from my summer holiday - Be there if I need you

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:07:00 +0100

This is a follow on from Lesson #1, read it first for the premise of the post.

Shortly after we arrived at the hotel, Themis (the hotel owner) invited me into his office where he went over some of the things I should know about the hotel. He gave me a pre-printed card with the hotel contact info on. He added the area code I’d need to use to call from my mobile, and underlined his personal mobile number which he leaves on 24hrs. He told me if I had any problems at any time, no matter how big or small, to call him and he’d sort them out.

At a large hotel, you’d expect someone to be on the front desk 24hrs ready to help if you have any issues, but Themis had given us his personal mobile number if we needed his help 24hrs a day. Gestures like that make you feel like you’re in good hands.

I’d bet that 95% of hotel guests never need to use that number, and of those 5% a tiny minority ever need to call when he’s asleep. I’d also bet that 100% of the guests appreciated the gesture of a 24 hour personal mobile number.

If you provide a service where your customers might urgently need your help, maybe you should consider giving out a number you’ll keep on 24 hours a day. If you stress that it’s only to be used for emergencies and that it’ll wake you up, then it probably won’t be misused. Less than 1% of users will ever use it, but 100% will appreciate having it, and it’ll make them love you a little more.

Business lesson #1 from my summer holiday - Be a 'Me' not a 'We'

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 22:17:16 +0100

A few weeks ago my girlfriend and I booked a last minute holiday with Thomas Cook at the Aeollos Hotel in Halkidiki, Greece. It cost £815, including flights, accommodation and transfers. This was no 5-star hotel, yet it was probably the best hotel experience I’ve ever had.

The hotel was clean and well furnished, but wasn’t huge or impressive. What set it apart from the expensive hotels I’ve stayed at before (courtesy of my parents) was the personal customer experience.

The hotel was run by a lovely couple, Rita and Themis. In a large hotel you never know who the owners are and who ultimately makes the money you’re spending. Large hotels are run by a mass of managers and duty staff who make their wage and then go home. For Rita and Themis, their small hotel is their life. Besides a couple of maids and friendly bar staff, they do everything. It’s paramount for them that you enjoy your stay, because it’s them who are immediately affected if bookings dry up, not a higher up unknown.

Lots of successful web businesses are run by one person and have a small group of users. These businesses use ‘We’ and ‘Us’ on their marketing sites and support emails instead of ‘Me’ and ‘I’ because they think pretending to be bigger makes them appear better and more impressive. Maybe they’re right, a web service with multiple employees must make enough money to pay those employees, so must be successful right? That creates instant credibility.

However, a real ‘we’ is often a large, faceless company. It might have multiple support staff who simply work for their wage and then go home. They do their job and never go above the call of duty. You don’t know who they are, and they won’t remember you.

A ‘me’ is a small, faced company. The owner is usually passionate and enthusiastic about their business, because if they weren’t they’d probably be doing something else. Your customer experience is directly proportional to the owner’s income, and therefore usually increases the lengths they’re willing to go to make you happy. You know ‘Jonathan’ because he always sends you the emails, always answers the phone and always helps you out when you need it, and he knows you too. That’s really powerful.

If you run a web business on your own, consider being very open about the fact that it’s just little old you. It’s rarely done on the web because it’s so easy to hide, but personally I think being a ‘me’ is a huge selling point.

Starting my Tumblr account with a butterfly from London Zoo. 18...

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:07:06 +0100

Starting my Tumblr account with a butterfly from London Zoo. 18 of the 400+ photos I took on the day are in this Flickr Set