Jakob Nielsen and the Fiery Tub of Money
Usabilty celebrity Jakob Nielsen has been the go-to authority on everything web-related for some time now. I have seen him in Boston, San Francisco and Amsterdam (I think). I have purchased, and been reimbursed for, several of his books. He’s a funny guy and a lot of laughs at seminars and yet I believe I am done with our friend. I think his principles have all been disbursed. I think, no matter what the future holds for us as web developers, he has said all there is to say on usability. I also can’t take his site anymore.
When I burst onto the web scene many years ago (I made myself laugh right there), Mr. Nielsen was a real help, and I appreciated his simplistic website and even understood his obvious dislike of designers. Websites in ’97 were full of (let’s face it) obvious mistakes, and having a guru to quote helped justify your design choices when dealing with clients. Continue reading “Jakob Nielsen and the Fiery Tub of Money” »
Obama’s Facebook Application
I was writing a post about Project’s Agape’s new Facebook application that allows people to raise money for causes directly on Facebook (through the new Facebook Platform). Unfortunately, the application is still really buggy so I was unable to get the data I needed for the post. So while I was messing around in Facebook I decided to write a quick post about what the Barack Obama team is doing with their custom Facebook application.
After you install the application, an Obama video and a few recent headlines appear as part of your Facebook profile. See below.
Two Journos Tout NowPublic
Last night I attended an interesting journalism workshop at the Cleveland Park Library here in Washington, DC (hat tip: FishbowlDC). Nationally known writer and photographer Bill Adler and former MSNBC chief Washington correspondent turned freelance multimedia journalist Brock Meeks pitched the citizen driven hyper local news site NowPublic to attendees.
Approximately 35 people attended. Some were older while others — like me — were younger. Mothers brought their kids who had iPod ear buds in their ears. Black, white, etc.
Adler and Meeks were just two normal blokes. They weren't trying to appear "civilian," but they simply were themselves sans the scripted made for a TV newscast spiel dolled up by foundation powder from a compact. This tact helped them assert that journalism is not just for the professionals.
Adler who moderates the Cleveland Park listserv with its 5,254 members wants to transfer the reporting about the neighborhood from that forum to a Cleveland Park NowPublic portal since the site enables anyone with access to the site to view the news. In fact, the Associate Press is now buying NowPublic content — text, pictures, video, and audio — for use on its wire services. It will pay content producers a fee for the right to use their media; the AP won't buy exclusive rights so that NowPublic contributors can use or pedal their work elsewhere.
Adler and Meeks also provided handouts about how to use NowPublic, how to write a story, where to get information for news stories, some journalism basics, and other anecdotes like, as Meeks says, "Short is sacred" and "No story is insignificant."
With the AP partnered with NowPublic, it is not that unlikely that your work could appear in a major paper or broadcast. However, NowPublic also makes it available to your most important audience – your neighbors.
UPDATE: Meeks has an audiovisual slide show of the event on his site.
New Huffington Post to compete better with Drudge and the Guardian?
Just over two years after its launch, The Huffington Post is expanding its offerings. Arianna Huffington explains in her blog post announcing the update last night that, "But the main reason we've grown to the point where we need to expand is you, the HuffPost community. The blogosphere is a constantly evolving conversation, and we're blessed to have such an active, passionate, and vocal readership." Continue reading “New Huffington Post to compete better with Drudge and the Guardian?” »
Link Roundup 5/29/2007
Website that showcases the best and most interesting ad campaigns from around the globe.
User Generated Ads Don’t Pay Off
Frank Shaw from WagEd offers his take on a recent NY Times story that exposed some of the flaws of ad campaigns relying on user generated content.
FatDoor Launches Social Network for Your Neighborhood
Mashable has the scoop on a new social network aimed at building connections on the local level.
Democrats Have an Early Lead … in the Web 2.0 Race
Nice quotes from Rob Bluey, but I’m getting a bit bored with this particular story line.