Interaction

I was watching Don Norman’s talk from UX Week ‘08, and I’m not a member on Vimeo or anything, but the blurb at the comments section below was really nicely done. It really is encouraging me to be part of this, and this is an interesting example of “persuasive technology”.

For one, it’s almost static. There’s no “wizard of oz”-guy behind the system trying to get potential recruits to interact with the site.

Then, it’s partly contextual - because the video is a conference talk, it makes it even more appropriate to contribute to the conversation (I don’t know if they did that on purpose).

Thirdly, it’s placed appropriately in the comments section, although it doesn’t even say it’s a comments section. How did I know it? Well, I just assumed it. Most of us have gotten to a point of getting used to seeing comments as a trail below the main content. It just got picked up by Vimeo and used very subtly but very aptly.

Although it didn’t sign up immediately (because I wasn’t intending to participate in the conversation), I think someone who was interested in taking part in the conversation would, and that’s the point – making it easier for users to accomplish their goals – cordially, contextually, and effectively.

boon :: Feb.08.2009 :: affective interaction, websites :: No Comments »

I am overjoyed that Gmail now offers Themes, not just to spruce up my mailbox, but that it also provides some kind of look and feel variation that adds to the experience of an already great email service – different, but great. Like iGoogle, some of the themes offer a “dark/day” background to denote the time of day – a nice reminder, definitely adds to the experience, doesn’t get in the way.

I’m using it to process all my mail, and I’m glad I made the decision to do so. Google’s commitment to the service has been excellent, and I added the Calendar tab to my sidebar a week ago and I like it. Not all of the lab features are what I need, but I think if the teams are listening to users, that’s a really good way to go.

Not every function, interface change, feature, design has to be usable. It can be enjoyable too. Remember Emotional Design – Why we love (or hate) everyday things. Gmail is my everyday thing, and I want to love it, and I do.

That’s what it’s all about, really.

boon :: Nov.19.2008 :: affective interaction, websites :: No Comments »