UX Review: Designing Interactions:The Internet

Chapter Takeaways

Ethnography before design.
People don't want to interact with computers, people want to get something done.
Three ways we think of interaction: manipulation, locomotion, and conversation.
Immediacy is not appropriate for some contexts - efficiency vs. serendipity.
Your building tools can become your product.
Not being able to get your product acquired may be the best thing to happen to you.
Design for people and the money will follow (this isn't so clear any more with the plethra of fantastic free apps struggling).
Content companies can present interesting design challenges.
Prototype and iterate.
Introducing new services away from the main site can be insightful (though risky).
Consider monologues vs dialogues (thinking web 2.0).
Visual design should work with Interaction Design.
Even arbitrary content can fit certain settings.

Stu Card (2002) referring to the search opportunities provided by the Internet: "It's as if I have a strap-on cortex!"

Terry Winograd

The Internet or the Web?

Internet: set of protocols for communicating between machines.
HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) was created for the Web.
Internet was first developed for computer-savvy people.
The Web was by physicists to communicate their preprints and papers along themselves.
Then a surge of growth started to expand the web.
Not being able to attract

Ubiquitous computing versus the Internet

For the last 20 years, we've used the desktop and mouse. Very efficient for large quantities of text.
Next, people don't want to interact with computers, people want to get something done.
How do you make computers become invisible?
Integrating computing by the inch (PDA), foot (notebook) and yard (big display).

From direction manipulation to "bring there"

3 main ways that we interact: manipulation, locomotion, and conversation.
Conversation: command line.
Manipulation: GUI.
Locomotion: Set of places I can go and be, rather than objects I can do things with.

The immediacy advantage

Google

The culture is very user-empirical driven - "I don't know, let's put it up and experiment and see what people do."
With the internet, prototypes can reach millions of users immediately.
Devised the search engine for people, not for money.
When adding ads asked, "What the way we can give something that's useful to users without getting in their face too much?"

Larry Page and Sergey Brin

Successful Searching

Started with an interest in data mining, the study of patterns and relationships in data, and went on to develop PageRank, a software tool to compare one Web page with another.
Added a search engine called BackRub.
Search has originally been a validation test for PageRank, but it all turned around - search becoming the primary focus, and PageRank becoming one of the tools that made it work.
Project became bigger and Larry & Sergey began to need for hardware.
Failed to interest the major portals of the day and reluctantly decided to make a go on their own.
Raised a million dollars and in 1998 incorporated Google.
By the end of the millennium, more than 3 million searches/day.
Google started to express unique company culture - lava lamps and doors for desks. Very sophisticated computers though.
In 2001, hired new CEO, Eric Schmidt, in order to start making profits.
Will add new services off the main page, rather than on, so that it can get its own traction first.

Google Truths

Focus on the user and all else will follow. That user may not be you. Talk to them.
It's best to do one thing really, really well.
Fast is better than slow.
Democracy on the Web works.
You don't need to be at your desk to need an answer.
You can make money without doing evil.
There's always more information out there.
The need for information crosses all borders.
You can be serious without a suit.
Great just isn't good enough.

Steve Rogers

Now is head of production for BBC New Media.
In 2002, lead the team that designing the new homepage for BBCi.
Industrial Designers, making VCRs for Philips Electronics. Realized it looked good, but no one knew how to use it! Worked to improve the interaction/usability.
Started the Philips Multi Media Center in CA to look at impact of digital media on product design.

BBCi

BBC has one of the most visited, one successful sites in the world. Massive amounts of content.
Statements within the BBC at the moment was "Move from monologues to dialogue."
Engage services for people who are not used to digital media: Need to make sure that site is intuitive to explore, people can find what they was easily, simple ways to comment etc.
Do lots of ethnographic research.
Moderation, especially on kid chat rooms, to ensure safety.

The Homepage

Tough information architecture challenge to organize all that massive content.
Gave anchor points by creating an internal consistent nav bar.
The search bar considers that the visitors are British and assumes their search terms to be in British English.
Made sure that the graphical design reflected the same professionalism and intimacy.
Made the page adaptable - colors of the areas you visit most often brighter, while other dim.

Mark Podlaseck

Philip Glass decided he wanted a Web site.
Agencies wanted million-dollar project, so Mark decided to do it.
Mart is at IBM's T. J. Watson Research Center.
Research director was sympathetic, believe that there are a lot of large databases giving people navigation problems.
This could be generalized for access and browsing, as well have high-profile cultural appeal.
Composer and designer/programmer.

The Glass Engine

Magical music place.
Looked at TV & radio first, that nice feeling of flipping through a series of arbitrary content without having to make any decisions. (serendipity!)

Navigation

"How do you represent a bunch of different attributes in a way that if you learn the representation of one, it works for all the rest?"
Listened to customer call requesting types of music in order to determine relevant attributes.
Prototyped and usability tested.
(Author praises the final to look like the work for a professional graphic designer, but I disagree).

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