How is it that some designers and developers who rely so heavily on the good design of their iPhones, Androids, and other consumer technologies still deliver solutions that aren't easily understood without a manual, special training, or a call to the help desk?
Read MoreDoes the world need another blog post that attempts to explain the differences between agile and waterfall methods in project management? Maybe not, but I was asked to put one together anyway. So now I share it with you.
Read MoreFew human projects are more carefully planned than those involving manned spaceflight. We can assume that the flight of the Discovery, the ship dispatched to Jupiter, has been planned to the very last detail...with the exception of the most important aspect of the mission: finding whatever there is to find near Jupiter. That the mission's planners could not have known what would be found there must have been considered a significant unquantifiable risk.
Read MoreI have a visceral reaction to the use of "click here" in interface design. I feel like a rubber band should be snapped on the wrist of the content author every time it happens. I've never seen a great reference that sums up why it's a bad idea and what the better alternatives are.
Read MoreThis is an old favorite of mine: a slide I put together for a presentation describing the role of the content strategist in major website redesigns. Of course, the sentiment in this slide is true at any stage of a website's lifecycle. Please make sure you're not just churning out sausages that no one wants.
The marketplace is flooded with books and articles that emphasize the importance of personal brand management. Now that the means of mass communication are in everyone’s direct control, we’re all expected to show our skills in action, not simply through a static CV or résumé, but through an ongoing stream of social media and blog posts. Prove that you know what you say you know...continually.
Read MoreThe Internet demands to be fed. Your career likely demands that you feed it. You are what your Internet record says about you which is why we're all personal brand managers now. We have to prove that we're active, that we go to interesting places and do interesting things. We're competing against the next fellow who's aggressively marketing himself. We redouble our efforts to catch up. On one hand, this is a boon to those who are looking to stand out. On the other, it's a new infringement on personal time as we're leashed to a data vortex that demands constant intake.
Read MorePrivate citizens are using the power of their mobile devices to influence the programming decisions made by commercial news and entertainment outlets. They’re using it to record and break the news themselves, augmenting -- or even circumventing -- the established media.
Read MoreYouTube opened a new conduit through which marketers could reach consumers but what they created wasn't just a new video distribution channel like some alternate form of television. They've gone beyond simply offering a different technology for message transmission. YouTube allows marketers to harness the consumer base itself as part of a modern strategy. The once passive receivers of television and radio advertisements have, through YouTube, become part of the salesforce.
Read MoreWe spend a good part of our days filling out screen-based forms. Some forms are easy to fill out because a thoughtful designer has taken best practices into account. Some forms are painful because they create confusion over what's expected. They're ambiguous or they require too much typing. Here's a snippet of wisdom that I wanted to save for later use: ditch the placeholder text.
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