ChaosScenario

Has the Age of Mobile Finally Arrived?

According to Nielsen, 40% of all mobile phones in the U.S. are smartphones, which are poised to overtake feature phones later this year, and although tablets are showing only a 5% penetration, as the cost of entry falls and Amazon throws its hat into the tablet ring, smart money is on a boom in the next few years. If you've been holding out on designing for mobile over the last few years, your time is up.

The good news is that your mobile site doesn't necessarily have to do the same things your website does. The bad news is that it could take some serious sleuthing to figure out what it does need to do.

The challenge for designers is that this is all very time consuming. Each platform is inherently different and has its own strengths and weaknesses. You can do some things better on a PC because of the additional space. You can do some things better on a smartphone because it's with you and connected when you need it. 

The market for personal computers is still growing in a down economy -- partly because it's still highly relevant for enterprise use, and partly because the market maturity leads to lower costs of entry than newer technologies. Along with the fact that it is a known quantity with established home and business uses, its low cost of entry makes it a safe bet people in the market for a new device. In short, the PC will evolve, but it is not going away anytime soon.

However, as more people adopt these mobile technologies, their expectations for a good experience will not deminish. If anything, they will demand better and eschew those experiences that do not take into account their mode of arrival.

If you want to attract planes, first build a runway.

If you want to attract people with enough disposable income to risk on a trendy device, build a remarkable experience for them for that device -- and give them the ability to share. 

Next time, I'll write about three mobile strategies to consider when planning your mobile presence:

1. Duplication
2. Replacement
3. Displacement

- Cam Beck

Can You Compare Apples to Oranges?

Looking for some ideas for using imagery to communicate complicated subject matter, I stumbled across this site that curates or creates infographics from around the Web. This post from Smarter.org shows that infographics are so great, they can even be used to compare apples and oranges.

Infographic by Smarter.org

Bon apetít!

- Cam Beck

Why this iPad Won't Kill the Kindle Platform (and how it could)

Many have already voiced glowing praise or strong disapproval of Apple's recently announced iPad.  Some proponents, such as Leo Laporte, call it a "Kindle Killer." Skeptics and haters call it "The next Apple Cube."

These judgments are premature, however. Whatever "magic" Apple has in store for the future, there's nothing in the first generation iPad that changes the market dynamics so completely that it will disrupt Amazon's economics with the Kindle solely as an eReader.

People who buy eReaders are typically going to take reading seriously. The advantages that they bring are best realized by certain types of people:

• Heavy readers who want to enjoy the improved economics that eBooks bring
• Heavy readers who want to conserve physical space
• Anyone who travels frequently and likes to read on trips

With these audiences, the iPad falls short for a number of reasons:

1. Nearly twice the cost of entry
The starting price for the iPad is $499. For the Kindle, it's $259. By way of example, assume the average eBook price is $10, with its hard-copy counterparts costing twice that. A Kindle owner must purchase 26 books before breaking even. An iPad owner would need to purchase 50. 

So for the heavy reader, the economics are hard to justify. For the casual or occasional reader, they are nearly impossible -- if they're going to use the iPad over the Kindle simply as an eReader.

2. Back-lit display
The e-Ink technology that drives most eReaders today has some limitations, but it minimizes eye strain compared to back-lit displays, such as what the iPad has. For heavy readers, this is a significant drawback. It means they can't read as much without their eyes getting tired. It may still be viable for those who are not heavy readers, but in that case, the economics make even less sense solely as an eReader, and except by virtue of wide market distribution, Apple's bookstore cannot promise much revenue to publishers, making the marketplace less attractive (especially as a closed system, as it likely will be).

At least the format is open-source anyway, so they don't have to reformat their books specifically for the iPad.

3. Shorter battery Life
10 hours is a lot of time to be reading. And the standby time the iPad promises is remarkable, but a back-lit display capable of showing full-color images, videos and applications comes at a price. With wireless off, the Kindle can go at least two weeks without a charge, so there's no reason to be tethered to a power source for travelers.

Marketing Differences

Because the iPad does a lot of things, it's hard to describe it using terms that are clear and understandable by a lot of people. The tagline for the iPad is "A magical and revolutionary product at an unbelievable price."

What's the frame of reference? It's a "product?" So is a refrigerator. And oatmeal. And manure. 

It's almost as if Apple believes an entire category can be created by adding abstract and glowing adjectives.

Plus, because the iPad does a lot of things, making promises about how many books it holds would undermine its uses as something other than just an eReader. And it is much more than just an eReader. It's a "product" that CAN be used as an eReader. Among other things.

The Kindle, by contrast, says it's a "reading device" and promises simply that it will hold 1,500 books. In other words, more than you'll read over the next five years.

That's much more concrete than "16GB," which is how much storage the entry-level iPad promises.

So, as an eReader, Amazon's Kindle enjoys the advantage of being able to be explicitly sold as an eReader.

Apple Raises the Bar for User Experience

Apple has done some things well. Even as an eReader iPad works in some important respects. The prevailing question is whether it works sufficiently for the consumer at their prices.

1. Intimacy
Though not flawless, the experience of reading a book on the iPad looks to be more intimate than with the Kindle. The page-turning metaphor is direct and closely resembles the experience of actually turning a page of a book. Along with the ability to deliver deeper content through color and multimedia (which is impossible with either the Kindle or a physical book), motivated publishers have the capability to engage consumers like never before possible.

2. Usability
The touch-screen interface allows Apple to dispense with the metaphors that drag down the Kindle. That makes interactions more direct and gives publishers and app developers more flexibility on how they choose to deliver their content. As such, students can hope that Apple's platform makes it easier to consume nonlinear books than the Kindle does. And since anyone with an iPod or iPhone is already familiar with the iTunes interface, assuming the experience of purchasing a book rises at least to that level of usability, there's very little reason to believe the experience would be any more difficult on the iPad than the Kindle.

3. Flexibility
The iPad does a lot of little things well, and it looks like it can be used to specialize or converge however its owner intends. It can be a personal assistant. It can be a gaming device. It can be used to stream music or movies (with the right app and know-how) from a media server. It can be used as a netbook computer (especially with the optional keyboard). It can be used as a home automation control pad. Or it can be used as all of these things.

The beauty and the curse is that the consumer controls what it will be used for.

The problem is that convincing the masses that something that CAN be used in such ways SHOULD be used in such ways relies on heavy, repetitive marketing, positive word-of-mouth, or consumers themselves having the imagination for its divergent possible uses. Oh, plus they must be willing to risk at least $500 on the prospects -- with no guarantee of success.

Here's where it gets exciting

I don't know how the mass marketplace will respond, or how much Apple is willing to reduce its margin to gain a wide penetration for the iPad if at first it does not take off.

But even if it doesn't, if Amazon is smart, they won't take this lying down. Nor will Sony or any other manufacturers of either popular eReaders or tablets. If it's successful, the iPad may either drive down the costs of pure eReaders and/or inspire the development of better interactions.

If that happens, people will be more willing to adopt the platform, the cost of reading will decrease, and publishers will be forced to participate in this space and -- hopefully -- embrace the efficiencies it represents for their entire industry.

Whether the iPad brings Apple financial success or not, Amazon will need to improve its interface (which is already very good for linear reading) and technology. The iPad (and -- perhaps more importantly -- the responses it will engender from rival tablet makers) will likely change users' expectation about how they should interact with books.

Even if Apple doesn't sell as many as they hope, I would still count the iPad a success if it resulted in widespread adoption and use of electronic readers in general. - Cam Beck

When can a comma cost you $2 million?

Little details matter. Ask Rogers Communications, Inc.

In 2006, this Canadian company witnessed firsthand how a single comma in a contract could cost them over $2 million.

What they thought they signed:
The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.”

What they actually signed
The agreement “shall continue in force for a period of five years from the date it is made, and thereafter for successive five year terms, unless and until terminated by one year prior notice in writing by either party.”

The second comma changed the meaning completely. Whereas Rogers Communications thought only the subsequent extensions could be terminated on one year's notice, the clause created by the comma meant that the initial 5-year agreement could be canceled by either party. Consequently, the rates they were obligated to pay shot up immensely within the 5 year period they thought they'd have the prices locked in. (Read the story)

Details can make or break your website
Hopefully you have good lawyers who will, among other things, indemnify you in case someone maliciously uses your software or website to build weapons of mass destruction. Like Apple's lawyers did with iTunes. (Read iWMD: Why No One Reads License Agreements)

But even with that important detail taken care of, the little details matter in user interfaces, as well. And failing to pay attention to them can be the difference between success or failure.

• Should that call-to-action be a button or a link?
• Should those calls-to-action be together or separate?
• Should the calls-to-action be of equal weight, or should one be given greater priority?

How you answer those questions depend on what it is you're trying to accomplish and what people are expecting to find. But on a high-volume or high-stakes site, if minding the details can improve your conversion metrics by just 5-10%, it could be the difference between profitability and a money-leaking ego booster.

The Web is your petri dish
If at all possible, don't rely on experts to tell you that something has to be one way or the other. Test early and often. Don't be afraid to try new things.

Work diligently on the details. In bits.

• Is the headline effective?
• Is the language on the button inviting?
• Does the button look imminently clickable?

Let the data speak for themselves. You may want experts to design the page and the test, but you don't need an expert to know that a 15% conversion rate is better than a 10% conversion rate.

There are plenty of cost-effective experiments you can run to help you get the most bang for your buck, including A/B split testing and informal low-cost usability tests.

However, the characteristic you must first have is a willingness to fail. Because only through failure can you foster a willingness to search for the problem and design experiments to help you improve. - Cam Beck

Why Function Requires Imagination

"Good design is design that not only achieves a desired effect, but shapes our expectation of what the experience can be.” - Astrida Valigorsky via InspireUX

 
- Cam Beck

Round rock by postmoderngirl
Racing car by Ian Muttoo
Doughnut by uncleboatshoes

Alright, Amazon. I'm sold on the new Kindle. Now can you deliver?

When the first Kindle was launched, I admiringly took a look at the features it offered and considered some ways it could be improved. Others had some of the same ideas.  Although the next-generation Kindle that Amazon announced today doesn't implement all of the suggestions, it improved in two ways that convinced me that I could really use this device to become more productive.

2007 suggestion:

Enable audio and ability to listen in car. This would kill my need to buy a traditional book again, and would be well worth the cost. In fact, I'd pay three times as much for each book if the audio version were included, in spite of the difficulties above. Then I could listen to books on my commute and read and reference books elsewhere. I'd even repurchase the books I'd already bought just so I could listen and/or read on my own terms, in my own time.

Kindle v2 improvements

Read-to-Me Feature - Now Kindle can read to you. With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you. You can switch back and forth between reading and listening, and your spot is automatically saved. Pages automatically turn while the content is being read, so you can listen hands-free. You can choose from both male and female voices which can be sped up or slowed down to suit your preference. Anything you can read on Kindle, Kindle can read to you, including books, newspapers, magazines, blogs and even personal documents. In the middle of a great book or article but have to jump in the car? Simply turn on Text-to-Speech and listen on the go.

Audiobooks - With Kindle, you are able to download and enjoy more than 50,000 audio titles from Audible.com, including bestselling audio books, radio programs, audio newspapers, and magazines. Due to their file size, audiobooks are downloaded to your PC over your existing Internet connection and then transferred to Kindle using the included USB 2.0 cable. Listen via Kindle's speaker or plug in your headphones for private listening.

I should mention that a couple of my 2007 criticisms were off the mark. For instance, owners would be able to access their entire library online, so if they lost or destroyed their Kindle, their library wouldn't be at risk.

Although I still recognize the social nature of discovery and therefore believe in the utility of temporary book sharing (peer-to-peer and library-to-user)  the practical side of me says that publishers will never agree to it as long as they fear poaching, which is always. However, their Whispersync technology may eventually prove me wrong.

All said, even with a $356 price point, the Kindle may be the must-have device of 2009. Hopefully Amazon will be able to overcome the manufacturing difficulties that plagued the launch of their first device. - Cam Beck

Missed Opportunities and Distributable Content

Every year around Independence Day some news websites like MSNBC.com create mini-citizenship tests  -- almost as if to prove how dumb we all are with respect to our own laws and history. Perhaps because journalists are in the habit of conducting idiotic and meaningless polls to develop news out of nothing (Such as "Which Presidential candidate would you rather invite to a barbeque?"), they consider polls such as this one to be satisfactory in the fulfillment of their public service. This particular execution, however, practically screamed for an opportunity for the online community to share their results with others. Sadly, it isn't something MSNBC seemed to consider worthwhile.

Undoubtedly, this poll is being passed around. The fact that I'm writing about it talking proves that, and I'd wager that at least some of the people who read this will likely take the test to see how they fare.

But then what?

MSNBC, like a lot of companies when given the opportunity, don't make it easy to share the results in a way that would entice people to share it.

Conceptually, the idea isn't that difficult. It's been done before (See "What's Your Blog's Reading Level?" or "How Many 5 Year Olds Can You Take in a Fight?"). The design can be mediocre (such as this hack-job I threw together), and people would still have fun with it.

As you can see, it can even be branded to serve as a sort of "product placement" within the content of someone's blog or MySpace page, which is more likely to be seen and used than if it were simply a display ad.

The execution of it just requires technical skill that the folks at MSNBC.com surely have at their disposal.

What's more, the results aren't exactly useless. Something like this can be fun and still inform people about some things that they didn't (but probably should) know. People don't get -- and many of them resist it anyway -- all of their education from a stale textbook. 

Don't know the term of a U.S. Senator? You will after you take the test.

Why aren't more companies (and schools) taking advantage of this powerful tool? - Cam Beck

Absolut-ly Overblown

Recently Absolut has found themselves in the midst of an uproar about their new Reconquista ad.  The ad, pictured here,  created by  Teran/TBWA in Mexico City, was designed to appeal to the Mexican consumers specifically without any ties to the current election and the much debated issue of immigration reform. Absolut said the ad was intended to recall "a time which the population of Mexico might feel was more ideal."

Conservative columnist Michelle Malkin posted the ad on her site while and hundreds of people have voiced their own ban on Absolut.  One reader had the following comment:

Absolut -

I run a bar in Pt. Richmond, California - where the Kaiser Liberty Ships were built during WWII. After seeing your ad Campaign where you show a western map of the United States in which California is part of Mexico again, I’ve decided to do the following…

1) Never carry Absolut. Ever.
2) Lower the price of Ketel One vodka to $2 a shot indefinitely to build loyalty.
3) Print a copy of your ad and put it above the Ketel One drink special.
4) Tell all my friends and family what Absolut thinks of the United States of America and our right to enforce border laws.

I am on the front line of illegal immigration and its effects. Where are you? Oh yes, Sweden.
Good riddance.

Sincerely,

Matthew Rogers
Pt. Richmond, Ca.

My take on this is that people are just itching this political season to find anything they can jump on to point the finger at someone else.  Clearly this ad wasn't a power play to infiltrate American politics and insinuate that Mexican borders should include Texas and all of the western states.  Even if Teran/TBWA and Absolut were completely malicious in their intent, how are so many people offended by this ad?  Mexico is as much a threat to the United States as MC Hammer is likely to have a comeback. In the end, Absolut has to love all the press they've received off the ad even if some nuts are up in arms. - John Herrington

The Art of Execution

Thanks to Mario Vellandi's Twitter post I stumbled across this execution that has viral possibilities (think Dove evolution) written all over it.  Let me know what you think of it as I don't want to spoil anything for you. - John Herrington

The Biggest Decision You'll Make this Year - Mike Huckabee

Now that we've taken a look at all of the presidential hopefuls, I'd be remiss to leave out one of the most followed Vice Presidential candidates, Mike Huckabee.  I joke, which seems fitting for Huckabee's campaign.

• Hillary Clinton (Part 1)
• John McCain (Part 2)
• Barack Obama (Part 3)

Design

Logo – Huckabee doesn't really have a consistent logo, but I'll review what is present in the header.  There appears to be falling stars which makes me think that I can make a wish.  Huckabee also, like Senator Clinton, reminds us that he's running for president by simply putting "President" underneath his name.  I think it's a bit presumptuous that he left off the "for" before "President."

Color palette – maroon, blue and yellow. Like McCain, this seems like an odd color combination.  I think the maroon is an homage to his beloved Razorbacks.

Personal pic – Unlike any of the other candidates, Huckabee seems a bit humble to not show a personal pic in a fixed position on the site.  It's true that other pictures take up the hero shot on the homepage, but the one up today is not Huckabee's best angle.

Navigation –  Here's another horizontal navigation, but there's no secondary links from the top bar.  While some might see this as a simplistic design, it strikes me as quite a surprise in that it seems like when running for the President of the United States there would be plenty of things to link to.   

Calls to action – There seem to be quite a few different calls to action on the homepage from Read More!, Build our Base, Become a Ranger and Contribute.  None of these particularly stand out too much.

Order of importance – based on navigation

1. About Mike
2. Newsroom
3. Issues
4. Blog
5. Get Involved
6. Contribute

Order of importance – based on layout

1. Texas for Huckabee
2. Help Mike Today!
3. Ways You Can Help Huckabee!
4. Recent Blog Posts

What’s missing - While the site is a clean design, it still leaves much to be desired.  Based on how the sections of the site are labeled it seems that Huckabee definitely needs help.  The 3 outlined steps are to 1. Join the team, 2. Build their base or Become a Ranger! (not as awesome as it sounds) and 3. Contribute.   The third option is most important as it is highlighted with a yellow font color.  Overall, the design reminds me of my days when I first started using Dreamweaver and Photoshop. While both programs offer a ton of ways to make things look cool, when you try them all out on the same site it looks like crap.  My guess is that Huckabee has a precocious grandson.

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Content

About Mike - This section of the site has a good amount of info on Huckabee, unfortunately the video that is intended to inspire reminds me more of a home movie.  On the flip-side, one of the most impressive things I've learned about Huckabee is that when he was diagnosed with Type II diabetes in 2003 he lost 110 pounds. He then went on to complete four marathons over the next two years.  The other interesting piece is that Huckabee plays the bass guitar in a "rock-n-roll" band, Capitol Offense.  Here's the thing, with the exception of Sting, how many bass players are the leader in their bands?  Huckabee seems more like a wingman than a commander in chief.  Huckabee's the guy that forwards you the Chuck Norris jokes, he's fun to hang out with but you're not following him into battle.

Developer Log - One of the most bizarre parts of the site resides in the subnavigation in the About Mike section is this Developer Log.  Here, a voter can see important things like on 12/18 at 6:19 PM they "Added Filter to Ranger Endorsements public display" and on 12/11 at 5:30 PM "Rangers can add their own links to their dashboard, making the dashboard a potential home page for supporters."  This is hilarious to me.  Why on earth would you put this mundane information up on the site?  Like I said, it feels very amateur, like the developer wants everyone to know the progress he's made on the site.

Become a Ranger - one of the biggest disappointments to the site is that when I tried to "Become a Ranger" I was met with a Chuck Norris-like server error scissor-kick to the throat.

Newsroom - The problem I have with this section is that the Press Releases and Recent Articles aren't titled very distinctively and they don't lead me to want to click on them at all.  The video archive, which shows a screenshot of the video is a let down in that I can't just view the video on this page.  I would have to click on the link of the video and which then takes me to YouTube.  They've listed the Author, Keywords, and Date, but the problem is that all of the entries are from the same person with the same keyword.

Issues - Huckabee has chosen to rename the issues with his own personal spin, which makes quick scanning of the issues very difficult.

Blog - Here I see another missed opportunity, in that the Blog only highlights campaign events and videos instead of providing content and engaging people in a conversation.  This content is just recycled from what could be displayed on a videos page and an upcoming events page.

What’s missing -  There simply isn't much to the site as the content is severely lacking compared the other three candidate's sites.  With that in mind, I will say that 29 Things You Didn't Know About Huckabee is my favorite part of the site.

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Use of technology

The site was built on Coldfusion, which was a hot development framework back in 2001, but is seen as outdated by many in today's advertising space. Now, on to the social networks.

MySpace - 38,854 friends, 12,269 comments

• Barack Obama - 295,556 friends, 46,073 comments
  
• Hillary Clinton - 182,641 friends, 18,691 comments
• John McCain - 44,931 friends, 5,814 comments. 

Facebook - 56,839 supporters, 8,898 wall posts

• Barack Obama - 627,718 supporters, 83,325 wall posts
• Hillary Clinton - 110,460 supporters, 37,456 wall posts
• John McCain - 59,342 supporters, 5,804 wall posts

Eons - N/A

• Hillary Clinton - 297 friends, 3 badges
• Barack Obama - 216 friends, 1 badge 
• John McCain - 3 friends, 0 badges

YouTube - 4,113 subscribers, 461,353 channel views,184 videos uploaded

• Barack Obama - 30,595 subscribers, 12,180,341 channel views, 705 videos uploaded 
• Hillary Clinton - 9,829 subscribers, 1,304,419 channel views, 252 videos uploaded
• John McCain - 2,613 subscribers, 589,518 channel views, 166 videos uploaded
  

What’s missing - The social networking piece of Huckabee's campaign caught me off guard because I thought that most people, like me, would want to befriend the former Governor even if they didn't want to back his presidential run.  I mean, c'mon, he knows Chuck Norris! This sponsorship by Chuck Norris was the best and worst thing Huckabee could've done for his bid.  It was the best because it garnered 1.8 million views on YouTube alone, but it's possibly the worst because it's hard to take the guy seriously.

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Overall

Well, Mike, I hate to do this buddy, but your site just stinks.  With the other candidates it literally took me days to review all of their content and put it into bit sized nuggets for our readers while you provided the nuggets as your content.  It's a shame because you seem like a really nice guy, you just should have spent some money on an interactive strategy. 

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Thanks so much for your attention in these marathon posts! My hope is that you found some useful information that might help you in your decision for the next president of the free world.   

- John Herrington