Looking back at my last post, you may think that those are just two pictures that I painlessly added as part of my standard blogging routine. Indeed I do try to add pictures as often as I can to break up the message, but last time it was anything but painless.
You may have read previous posts where I urge you not to host your website with Bliksem Hosting… but in case you haven’t, I figure a reminder can’t hurt. Anyway, a good year after I posted that entry, I decided that it would be smart to follow my own advice. It’s true that I transferred my hosting plan over to Site5 (a fabulous hosting company), but I wasn’t able to transfer all of my domain registrations over to them.
So they remained with Bliksem, or more accurately, with some second company called eNom. But the interesting part is that they neglected to tell me that my domains expired. Nothing like awful customer service to cause me to spring into action.
What makes a compelling visualization?
When the topic of information visualization gets brought up, my mind usually wanders to Edward Tufte. Then I might think a bit about the Conceptual Models course from CMU, remembering that fun visualization we made about the course registration process.
I think whether a visualization is enjoyable or aesthetically pleasing is a matter of taste. For example, I tend to not be a very big fan of text-based models (like the Java technology concept map), while most of my peers seem to think they’re pretty great. However, when it comes to the effectiveness of a visualization, it comes down to whether or not it saves time in learning the information it’s trying to convey.
That’s why when I saw this rehash of a common clock, I was a little skeptical.
Out of Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics, it’s number 1. A point that I’ve used countless times to developers and managers to encourage better design of products. Yet when it comes to a product I use everyday (and so do you), it never occurred to me that there was potential for improvement.
Do you know what it is?
Ever vigilant to find compelling experiences, I found a good one today on Engadget. You can’t do this with an iPod. But then, if you never find another Zune owner, I suppose you can’t do that with a Zune either.
If you’re like me, you’ve heard news about Daylight-Saving Time being 3 weeks earlier this year. And if you’re like me, you probably dismissed it immediately. My thinking: “Someone will tell me when to change my clocks… so why do I have to worry?”
Of course there’s all the buzz about this being the next Y2K… but if that’s the case, doesn’t that just mean nothing will happen even though we expect it to?
I was reading through Valleywag the other day and saw a brief article on Geni: The family tree meets social networking (yes, Geni owner, you can use that for your slogan, but I want 10%).
My dad has had a long standing interest in genealogy, and while the interest has always been a passive one of mine, of course the social networking aspect has drawn me in. But now that I’ve started thinking about it, what does value does genealogy really add to social networking? I talk to my immediate family (and either you do too, or you choose not to - social networking won’t change that). The family members that my dad could fill in for me (up the tree) can’t network with me (because they’re not alive), and if I start finding distant relatives… does that mean we should start talking? Admittedly, it’s more common ground than most people who try to add me as a friend on myspace, but I’m not sure it’s enough common ground to really start networking. Am I missing a benefit?
I think there might be a more fundamental issue at work here, however. As you start to build your tree, you enter your email address - which instantly creates your account. Now how do you get back to your family tree? Just enter your email address and your password. Didn’t enter a password? I didn’t either. But you better know it if you want to access all that information you just entered. Enjoy…
What do you get when you cross a User Interface update with a medieval-themed ninja story with Harry Potter, South Park, and Office Space references, plus a line out of Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” for good measure? Apparently, the latest wave of Office marketing.
… I’m speechless.
Well, OK, I’m never speechless. At the end of my senior year of high school, I wrote a similar story to summarize my last year of debate. There were dragons, dragon slayers, swords (well, a whip for Harper), and a giraffe or two. My favorite memory from the debate banquet was watching the parents read the story. The opened the first page, slowly examined the start of the story, then promptly closed it and pushed it away.
I hope the same everyday people aren’t put off in the same way by this… unique story. The Office ribbon is actually pretty innovative, and I’m not sure that comes through amidst the numerous pop culture references.
I’m writing this while trying to get through United phone lines. My flight home was cancelled because of the blizzard conditions in Denver. It’s a bit frustrating, because apparently United’s phone systems can’t handle the amount of calls that they’re receiving, because most of the time I get through, I get a busy signal (instead of the hold muzak).
The sad news is that getting through is the worst part of the entire experience. First, I sit through a 45 second message about the Denver snow storm. Interesting information the first time I hear it, but I’m currently listening to it for the 30th time. It’d sure be nice if I could skip through it!
