Lena's web blog

H&M goes online, and kills the user experience by crude cross-selling

2010-09-16T14:03:00.010+01:00

E-commerce fashion geeks might be aware that H&M has just opened up to online shopping in the UK. Following success in Sweden, a country obsessed with fashion and fashion blogs, I bet you H&M HQ couldn't wait to test the waters in the UK. This afternoon on I headed out to H&M's UK site and here are some quick thoughts.

Ladies landing page
Landing page features the promotion of a red top. Curiously there is no CTA and the only link is the price, so far so confusing. What I do like though is the super strong use of imagery against white background. It's very H&M and follows their style template for billboard advertising.

Product selection
Eager to check out the offering of ladies clothes, I click 'Ladies' in the top nav and a left hand side nav column appears, 'dresses' selected. Having found a dress for £19.99 I click on the image and see a light-box (which doesn't dim the background) and - this is a problem - see the individual pieces which make up the product image I clicked on. In terms of usability, this is really bad. Cross-selling benefits aside, I clicked on 'Dresses', saw header indicating that yes indeed I am in the right category, but now see a mix of garments?

Lesson: If a user has selected product type by sub-nav, selected a garment within that category, then user should see a product page 100% focused on that garment.

After a bit of confusion, I click on the dress and get taken to check-out. Fine.
I decide to confirm shopping bag and expect to start the login and payment process. But instead, H&M display a light-box with seemingly completely unrelated products such as place mats.

I love H&M dearly, being Swedish means it's as much a part of your national identity as Volvo and IKEA. Therefore it actually hurts critising them. But I don't like it when companies overcomplicate fairly simple actions. If a user is interested in a dress, then let the user see the relevant information and make it easy to buy. Let's hope that H&M sort out these irritation moments so it become a joy and ease to click away and make some purchases!

Beautiful lonelyplanet.com

2010-09-14T21:12:00.005+01:00

Recently I have really fallen in love with lonelyplanet.com. The site practically bathes in informative and engagine content and uses strong enticing imagery. Find your destination in a multiple of ways (top nav, map, search box), learn about the country and city, share your opinion with others and buy lonely planet books.

This site is pretty massive in terms of content and you can spend hours on it. It is a little bit like BBC.com, which is no great surprise considering BBC owns 75% of lonely planet. If you're a fan of travelling and fancy spending a few minutes getting a good dose of inspiration, then do give lonelyplanet.com a go. Some good lonelyplanet.com site features:

*emphasis on search. Sites know their users use them, yet few make the search box a fairly integral part of the site. lonelyplanet.com's destination search box even uses inline validation, great!

*quantity engages. On each destination page, lonelyplanet.com features quantity of restaurants, sights etc. If you've got information, and have categorised it, don't be afraid to display and promote it.

*cross-sell when relevant! Make it easy for site users to buy relevant products when accessing site content. Test the CTAs and placement to see what works best.

What I would wish for, is better integrated user generated content. Whilst lonelyplanet is beautiful and good to use, personally I would only use it for getting inspiration and information. I'm sure most would find tripadvisor.com the site of choice for UGC and reviews.

How did I miss these sites!?

2010-09-01T20:59:00.003+01:00

Was going to write about the use of points when estimating future work requests but instead stumbled across three ridiculously adorable and quite frankly addictive sites.

Everyone now: 'Awww' 'ooooh' 'oh please can we purleease get one?'

http://www.dailypuppy.com/

http://dailyotter.org/

http://dailybunny.org/

Summer holiday

2010-08-10T13:41:00.003+01:00

This week I've recieved three blog updates from bloggers apologising for not being quite as blog-centric over summer. They felt that was fine, I think that's fine too. It's good to get a big of a break.

Someone told me the other day, the days off can be more productive than the hands on days. Because that's when you filter what you want to say and the next direction you want to take.

Expect to see more regular posts in about a week :)

What do you think about Whistles.com?

2010-06-18T15:43:00.005+01:00

A year ago I praised Asos.com for their fantastic site navigation, and in the same post dissed Mango.com's efforts.

So as a fan of clean and product specific e-commerce navs, Whistles.com kind of blows me away - although I'm not quite sure in what direction.

Enter the Shop and pick sale, you will find not a conventional drop down but one that's integrated with the garments. It's fascinating, beautiful but also kind of irritating as it's an involuntary brain exercise - when all I wanted was clothes!

I can't make my mind up. It's good what Whistles.com are trying something new, maybe it fits with the brand which had a bit of a revamp a few years ago. What do you think?

Zara.com sadly disappoints

2010-05-30T19:28:00.007+01:00

As a regular online clothing browser and shopper, I thought I'd spend a few minutes writing about Zara.com. I love Zara (the shops), but am not that keen on Zara.com (the site) - and I wish that wasn't the case! They could do much better and increase loyalty and revenue by focusing on their online products. Think Asos or Topshop.com that have done so remarkably well online.

So let's check our their site
Zara.com doesn't yet allow online shopping, at least not in the UK, but they're showcasing their products on a horizontal carousel.

Unfortunately, using a slider to view the full range of say 100 dresses takes its toll on the user's eyes. With only three dresses in view at the same time, it's a real pain for your poor eyes to scroll through all the clothes. Whether your site does e-commerce or not, it should be easier to overview the offering. That's the whole point of specifically browsing a certain category on a publisher's site! The best bit about Zara.com is their look book, an area of the site which matches its clean and sleak brand.

I've heard Zara's got an app?
Zara.com recently released their own iPhone app which got a fair bit of attention and a luke-warm reception as there wasn't much a user could do with the app except from look at static images of some of the garments. See Econsulty's 'Zara releases a pointless iPhone app' and you'll get the picture.

Is Zara doing social media?
Facebook: Yes Zara is on Facebook. Whilst they're not lacking a shortage of fans (currently over 2,6 millions), their feed leaves a lot to be desired for. Basically, it's a look book feed with no written engagement from Zara HQ.

Twiter: No.

Company blog: No

So, this is a bit of a disaster!
For a company that knows its customers well and has excelled in managing super quick turn-arounds (reportedly only weeks between HQ design desicion, manufacturing and store availability), I'm a little bit surprised that they haven't yet optimized their site or made a better effort on Facebook. Sure, Zara is doing well already so maybe excelling in an online presence isn't exactly vital, however it's kind of what customers expect nowadays.

What I would recommend
*Clear overview by product - grid system of images and product information is sufficient.
No scrollers or complications.

*Tell me more about Zara. Nowadays, corporate responsibility is a big deal. Promote what you do well, even in areas surrounding your product.

*Focus on the everyday elegance which you do so well. The beauty with Zara is that the clothes and they way they look can convey luxury - at high street prices. Include a visual blog and / or Facebook feed which won't be dependent on the many langugages Zara customers speak. Think The Sartorialist.

*In my ideal world, an easy to use e-commerce site.

Come on you Spaniards, you can do better I know it!

Had this idea of the future

2010-05-20T16:02:00.003+01:00

Had this idea the other day, about what kind of device might one day replace laptops and even iPads.

The future is a folder
The folder is of A4 size with hardware inside the thin case. Its inside can when activated function as a keyboard.

Thin A4 screen papers are placed in the folder and can be attached to the case, so when tilted, the folder can function as a conventional screen and keyboard combo.
Each screen paper can store a certain amount of data. You can buy additional papers instead of buying and installing memory to a particular device.

The future is sharing
You can activate more than one screenpaper and they will all be based around the same 'PC' user account. This will come in handy when doing presentations or when gaming with your family.
If your friend has a future folder, you can attach one of your sheets to the folder to share documents.

Light and portable
No more clunky laptops.

Be proud of your pics
Simply slot one of the screenpapers into a frame holder and hang your pictures on the wall!

Does this seem realistic?

Are you on foursquare?

2010-05-17T22:15:00.005+01:00

In love with foursquare!

*I can in a stalkerish fashion know where my boyfriend is as he regularly checks in to pubs!
*It's childish fun to check-in and hope to become mayor!
*People who become mayors of US Starbucks branches can get discounts, lucky them.

Seriously excited about foursquare, so many opportunist both for retailers and for consumers.
It's products like these (augmented reality being another) that merge online with offline that feel so exciting right now. This is the future kids!

The simple life

2010-04-06T21:38:00.006+01:00

See, sometimes happiness can be just that. A new magazine, a bar of chocolate. Having recently acquired an iPhone has made me think of products that work, that make us happy, that we look forward to using and products which brings a smile to our faces. Turns out, our faves also tend to be quite simplistic and straight forward. Do you agree?

Favourite belongings:

*My iPhone. In particular the free Spanish apps which have helped me prepare for trip to South America. ¡Lo amo!

*My bike. It takes me places, keeps me fit and is a tremendous amount of fun to use. As a side note, it's an Africa Bike with backbreak, made to last forever steel frame and three gears. It's basic, but updated to fit today's needs.

*My X-pole (strictly fitness, naturlich). It's like being a kid again, throwing yourself upside down and trying to hang off it only holding on with a tight knee grip. Pole fitness helps you build muscles, get a strong and lean body, is seriously addictive and most of all works wonders for your confidence. It's just a pole and it's good fun.

And as this is a web blog, here are some sites which have taken my fancy lately;

*Soundcloud - 'SoundCloud lets you move music fast & easy. The platform takes the daily hassle out of receiving, sending & distributing music for artists, record labels & other music professionals.' Feels like a new HypeMachine, easy to use and easy on the eye.

*ZentoFitness - 'The simple, no-nonsense guide to staying fit while living life'
Kind of similar to Zen Habits and always brings a bit of perspective to your day. Clean design, straight forward posts and it all makes good sense.

*GOOP - Does what it says on the tin 'Make Go Get Do Be See' signed Gwyneth. Even The Guardian says it's a must-read. Each newsletter has a theme, be it 'Go', 'Do' or 'See' etc. The newsletters are very focused and very engaging to read, they are also very soothing and the blog colour palette is quite muted.

So, what is it about simplicity that makes it so 'in' at the moment? Political climate, tightening purse strings: I'm sure there are numerous socio-economical reasons. Maybe we simply want less stuff, but not compromising on quality.

I read that when Gandhi died, he only had 10 belongings including glasses and shoes. Few of us would be able to or want to cut back on belongings so drastically, but maybe there's a reason for why psychologists say decluttering is a good way to a clearer mind and better psyche. Maybe the quest for simplicity is simply no more than a late 90s Calvin Klein revival gone web, but this time I really think it's here to stay.

(Pardon the pseudo psychological stream of consciousness, just sat through Notting Hill and it was all so romantic and lovely)

Pimping a comparison table

2010-03-26T10:27:00.007Z

Thought I'd update the blog with what I've been working on lately over at LM HQ...

A few weeks ago we decided to give our credit card centre a quick update and decided to introduce these new features;

*status update above table
*expert video reviews for each 0% balance transfer card featured in our table
*video scripts to compliment the videos
*live chat with LM staff for those who need additional help when comparing credit cards

Here's a screenshot of our new credit card table as from our release two days ago:

Now I don't know about you - and obviously this is my 'baby' - but isn't it quite impressive having an in-house video team and staff ready to answer customer questions via chat? I'm pretty proud.

Here's an example of one of the videos created, you can find a unique video for each of the cards in our 0% balance transfer table:

About fashion bloggers

2010-03-23T13:43:00.002Z

In Swedish, ursakta [sorry]! Interesting thoughts on the Swedish fashion blogger phenomenon, but equally fascinating to watch a video blog shot whilst someone's driving - can this be legal!?

Bugs happen

2010-03-15T16:31:00.002Z

Great article by CrunchGear.com's Scott Merrill on bug testing, Toyota and communication, read it here. Makes me feel good about working for a website, things can always go wrong... but when you're dealing with people's safety it's kind of a different matter.

(Btw the LG Cookie is now on its way to Mazuma Mobile's HQ and that feels good)

No product manager could stand this phone

2010-02-15T22:15:00.005Z

This phone, the LG Cookie, is the worst phone I have ever had. Yes, it's even worse than a bad £29.99 phone I once bought out of desperation. Part of me thinks the reason for detesting this nasty piece of plastic so much, is because I'm a product manager. As a product manager, you're responsible for delivering kick-ass products that w-o-r-k. This phone doesn't. At all. There's no point listing what is wrong with this phone as it's late and I should go to bed.

Lesson learnt, if you're a PM who is fussy about delivering high quality products, buy good quality products. Rant over, have finally given into the iPhone.

If you've got Chrome, you need to get this

2010-02-08T11:04:00.004Z

Have you got Chrome? Then get TwitterReactions. By installing this extension, you can get tweets related to the site you're on at a click of a button.

1) Open up Chrome
2) Visit Chrome extensions
3) Install (takes a few seconds max)
4) Now browse any site you fancy, and click the 't' right next to the address field and voila! :)

Snnnasssy!

A very cheerful weather site

2010-02-05T16:42:00.003Z

The weather is a popular subject for many, so here comes a site suggestion; check out isitsunshine.com. Instead of BBC weather which often gets it wrong, or Accuweather which has a pretty cumbersome and dated looking site, check out isitsunshine which gets its data from reliable Norwegian weather group NRK.

Basically, enter your location and see oversized and cute graphic weather icons layed on top of your Google Maps. Move the slider at the bottom of the page to see how the icons change during the five day or so forecast.

What's so neat about this site is reliability (my dad swears by NRK) and detail. Handy for Londonites who want to get an overview of weather differences across town.

Product management blog recommendation

2010-02-02T16:05:00.005Z

Today I've come across some right ugly sites. Sites which feature savvy content, e-shopping sites which are near to impossibly difficult to use. Whilst it's easy to write and point fingers, I figured it'd be more zen to actually promote sites and blogs that get things right. In fact, that'll be the focus of this blog in 2010.

My first recommendation of the year went to Ronnestam.com and the second one is a 'double thumbs up' to my lovely colleague Carl Knibbs and his blog. Other than his excellent content on product management, what makes his blog so special?

1. Personality
It includes hand-drawn illustrations, made by Carl himself.

2. Consistency
The illustrations are there for every post.

3. Honesty
Loving the unapologetic banner 'updated - now and then'

White websites

2010-01-28T16:29:00.004Z

We can all think of one website which is largely based on a white background, but other than that, here's a nice list of clean white website design. Sometimes I love sites which are OTT in style and colours, but today I'm all for white clean crispness. See it as a January design detox.

Re-tweet and share boxes

2010-01-15T14:29:00.002Z

Those two boxes on Mashable.com's article snippets (like the revamp by the way!) contain re-tweet and Facebook share boxes. I mean... do they fill a function, other than making Mashable.com look busy and active? There can be many reasons for re-tweeting... good and bad reasons. I like easy to find links that will help me export content, but I'm not sure on the big count... Reminds me of old websites with visitor counts that looked like old alarm clocks.

Do tweet and FB count boxes bring added value when reading an article?

The first recommendation of the year

2010-01-12T12:50:00.003Z

(on this blog at least :) )

Check out Johan Ronnestam's blog www.ronnestam.com. I've recommended him before and I'll recommend him again. Brilliantly written, savvy, smart and everything you'd like a digital blog to be. As an added bonus it's written with the heart on his Swedish sleeve.

Some great blog posts by Ronnestam;
*Brand and communication predictions for 2010
*Packaging concepts that bring boring objects and products to life
*How a comic strip can make you cry

2009 is almost over and out

2009-12-18T16:23:00.004Z

2009,,, what a year. Other blogs have summed up the web activities pretty nicely so I'm just going to add some personal thoughts.

*Spotify
Thank God for Spotify. Seriously... imagine your day without it? It's such a luxury to be able to listen to such a wide range of music for free. 2009 was also the year when I really gave up on testosterone indie music and switched to female artists. Lady Gaga, Madonna (OK 20 years late here), Mary J Blige, Fever Ray, Shakira... it may not be to everyone's taste but there it is.

*Twitter... of course!

*Youtube tutorials
Learnt some dance moves just by following and watching Youtube tutorials. Saved me some dance class cash!

*Niche'd sites and forums
Because everything gets so much more relevant. Relevant is so much better. Those who know me know which sport I'm talking about :)

*Competitions
Enter! As long as you don't have to sign your life away to win something, I'd say do it. I did two weeks ago and won a digital camera.

2010 should be a good web year where we hopefully utilize the wonders of the web to learn, become better and last but not least, have fun!

Let's just take a moment to grasp the wonders of the Internet

2009-12-14T10:42:00.000Z

http://www.onlineeducation.net/internet/

Created by Online Education

Still alive :)

2009-12-04T10:00:00.002Z

That flu was EVIL! :) But back! Latest web fascination? Kind of 10 - 15 years too late... a dedicated forum to a passionate hobby. There's this sport forum which I've been spending time on, and it never ceases to amaze me how lovely and supportive forum members can be.

Got a question? You'll have an honest and encouraging answer in a matter of minutes.
Want to help others? They will appreciate it.

Sometimes it's easy to forget just how helpful community sites can be when the users share the same passion. Again, not a revelation to the web world per se, but it's hit a personal note :)

Back to life

2009-11-19T16:41:00.003Z

... after a few days off sick. Yucky flu!

ps Quico.com's revamped their site! I like. Check out their virtual village :) Tres cute.

Weekend recommendation

2009-11-13T09:52:00.003Z

... read 37signal's 'Getting Real' for free here. Or whenever you've got time, it's definitely worth a read. As 37signals say;

"Discover the smarter, faster, easier way to build a successful web-based application."

(This book is so full of smartness it can apply to way more than just apps)

Don't be ad greedy

2009-11-11T13:21:00.002Z

Want to witness the worst case of expandable ad-overload? Head straight to Rodeo.net (Swedish magazine). I can count 3 seemingly auto expandable ads covering the entire homepage, there may be more but I can't see through the multiple layers of ad content. NOT a smart move. This is possibly the worst ad execution I've ever seen.

The young Swedish and female fashion bloggers

2009-11-10T10:56:00.003Z

I'm Swedish and regularly check Swedish blogs, in fact, fashion blogs.
Did you know that 28% of 16 - 18 year old Swedish females have their own blogs?
Fashion blogs in my home country has come to dominate media and have huge loyal followings.

'Young women dominate the blogosphere and to them, blogging has become a large part of their internet experience.'
(from Swedish report World Internet Institute)

The top blogs are;
*Blondinbella - the life of ambitious and glamourous Isabella Lowengrip
*Kissie - young fashionista, expect pink and an abundance of blonde hair

These girls have become a force to reckon with; their readers love getting daily updates and become inspired by these girls' seemingly glamourous lifestyle. And the bloggers? They're on front pages of fashion magazines and raking in advertising revenue. Good for both.

So why isn't this female blogpower sweeping across the North Sea to the UK?

If you haven't checked out this site already...

2009-11-09T15:27:00.004Z

... do so now. SmashingMagazine.com is a site I'd definitely recommed you adding to your bookmarks. It's clean, enjoyable and smart.

Good if you're info;
*graphics
*usability
*fonts
*CSS
or just plain old inspiration. LOVE it.

User testing result on a wall

2009-11-04T15:27:00.003Z

Here's something interesting. Fine Art graduate Gabriel Blido carried out market research, asking fellow Swedes what kind of art they appreciate. Based on the outcome, he painted this picture above (the pie-chart fold wasn't part of the actual picture, added to illustrate the nature of this project). I wonder how many of Gabriel's group of people would actually want this on their wall - even though they kind of asked for it?

This is such a smart project.

Whilst user testing is extremely important, your product shouldn't be based only on user feedback. Users have ideas for sure and I stress it is really important to listen to them, but they probably don't want to do the actual decision making or styling. Trust your instincts and learn from yours and others' expertise.

(More on this project here, in Swedish.)

Product manager test

2009-11-02T17:09:00.004Z

The Pragmatic Marketing site has published a test which highlights your effectiveness with certain business areas such as sales, tech etc.
Example question;

It’s hard to believe that in these difficult times you find yourself with two job offers. Both jobs offer similar base pay and benefits, and both jobs provide a very good fit for your career goals. Your gut is already telling you which one you want. Clearly, you are drawn to the job that offers:

A chance to work with really cool technology
Preferred stock options that could be worth a lot when the company goes public or is acquired
A great big bonus if your product meets its revenue goals

Quite amusing and intersting as it's focused on the product manager role.

Here's my result and I think it's kind of correct. How about you? Let me know! :)

'Technology and Sales. What a rare combination. You will never lack job opportunities. But will your products make money?'

Time to join Confused's social network?

2009-11-02T12:49:00.005Z

Matt Hunter from Confused has recently launched a new Ning network called Show Me The Money aimed at professionals in the price comparison field. Guess I'm one of them so should I join?

Their first blog post says; 'We've been playing with the idea for a while but now we've decided it's about time we created an industry forum. Where else can we flirt, fluant and do other things starting with f?'

Could be entertaining and insightful, or are they after company secrets? ;)

Clicked on 'sign up' link... the sign up page features this copy which kind of puzzled me a bit;
'Promote a financial product or service through major price comparison sites in the UK - or get a white label comparison service on your site'

Wassup here??

A question of gut

2009-10-26T15:59:00.009Z

Paula Gray from Association of International Product Marketing & Management (AIPMM) argues for the importance of user testing in an article published a month ago;

'Ask yourself how deeply you know your customers and what they want. Do not relegate customers to the status of "data". If you do not get to know your customers well, your competitors will.'

I'm wondering, is there an ideal equation between user testing and PM gut?

Paula blogs how she went to a webinar where the speaker stated that most companies follow their gut instincts and too often, and as such ends up with unsuccessful products.

For a small / medium publisher, understanding your audience may not be too difficult a task. But even if you can 'see' and understand your audience, you need to listen to their ideas when you're developing a new product. Preferrably after you've done your competitor analys and have started thinking about how to develop the product. And if you have time and resources, after product has been developed and launched to further tweak it.

Of course, there are only so many topics you can cover when user testing, the rest - are down to not just expertise and previous experience, but that three letter word which some might not like but I quite do - gut. I think we need to bring some gut back and lose some fear when developing products.

More on this topic
For more reading about understanding your customers, I'd recommend reading about 'Personas' (which are very valueable when a company thinks about its customers and community, Chris Cummings talks about them here) and checking out Carl Knibbs' blog. He blogged about generating product ideas a while back.

Friday surprise!

2009-10-23T17:23:00.002+01:00

Woop! Check out the top right hand corner of The Guardian's 40 years of the web project - moi quoted!

Google Wave curious

2009-10-22T12:04:00.004+01:00

Super curious! Want to try Google Wave now :) Anyone used it?
I love it how they're so ambitious, wanting to improve emails.

Another great clean landing page

2009-10-14T17:25:00.003+01:00

This is my kind of home / landing page. Clean, informative and instructive. This site, reklamfritt.se, encourages you to say no to paper based direct marketing.

I like the discreet top nav, I like the main box split into copy (left) and video or slide (right).
I also like the neatly styled three steps below. The call to action button is of perfect size and due to it not sitting in the middle of the page, you have to take in more copy before you can click - which denotes a site where message is equally important as action.

Free with flair

2009-10-14T16:02:00.002+01:00

Two sites, one mission (giving and getting for free) but boy two totally different executions! I wish a designer would give Freecycle a free make over. God I want to use Kashless straight away, but sadly only available in the states.

Photoshop on the iPhone - great news!

2009-10-12T13:41:00.003+01:00

For someone who hasn't got an iPhone (can't justify it the cost) but often borrows one from boyfriend I'm so excited to hear about the new free Adobe Photoshop app! Who cares if it's only out in the states yet, give it a few months and I'll be snapping, editing and uploading to Facebook with great ease.

According to TheNextWeb.com, this app has the following features;
*Basics: crop, rotate and flip
*Colour: exposure, b&w, tint etc
*Filters: sketch and soft focus
*Effects: blur, vibrant pop etc

It kind of reminds me of the old days where I used to work at Nikon. Their camera range is split into consumer, prosumer and professional. This new app is for consumers whilst the full Photoshop is often aimed at prosumers and professionals.

This is the future! Free, smart, portable, easy to use!
Companies - don't be afraid to offer free. Offer some basic products for free and premium products at a cost!

What happens online, stays online

2009-10-07T20:28:00.004+01:00

Today I was approached by a paper, asking if they could quote me on a comment I made a few months ago on their site. At first I couldn't even remember my own quote :) Then it turns out, I had said it, I just couldn't remember it. Was just astounded... that my silly quote, out of many others, will be used for this project.

(The picture above is supposed to symbolise detectives and detective work, such as this guy finding me online. OK it's a long shot...)

So whilst watching The Hangover set in Vegas, it really hits home that what happens online, stays online.

Future Brand Communication

2009-10-06T13:19:00.001+01:00

Johan Ronnestam strikes again. Some of these points you may already be familiar with, but I'd recommend anyone interested in web products and communication to take a look at this presentation. Engaging, smart, and encouraging. Let's push things forwards!

Future Brand Communication

View more documents from Johan Ronnestam.

New homepage

2009-10-06T10:06:00.000+01:00

Pretty neat, non?

Net-a-porter mistake

2009-09-27T19:59:00.004+01:00

Net-a-porter.com, I love you. I love you dearly. But for such a nice and clean landing page, I'd recommend making each individual image of a shoe click-able, linking through to the specific product page. Just to make it easier for users to find the shoe they like the idea of, such as the Jimmy Choo on the top right hand side. Think NAP could be missing out on a few clicks from click-and-card-tastic ladies.

When crisis strikes

2009-09-25T14:23:00.003+01:00

Sometimes you work on product development, and you realize that something ain't quite right.

1) Get a nice neat summary of what's going on. All too easy to end up with an oversized Outlook inbox full of 'what's going on emails' from team.

2) Present problem in a clear and digestable way to the stake holder.

3) Work on solutions. No need for panic.

These sort of situations may be difficult whilst you're in the midst of it, but they're what makes you develop and become a better product manager.

This tool will change your life

2009-09-16T11:23:00.004+01:00

Wow quite a sensationalist headline there, but I've come across (thanks to colleague) an extremely useful product...

Welcome to Axure.com.

What is Axure.com?
A really handy and efficient tool to quickly produce HTML wireframes.

If you're spending time wireframing in say PowerPoint, only to re-do them in Photoshop, only to code them to take them online - especially when working with forms - then Axure's really going to save you hours.

Basically, download the free trial and start playing around. What's so good about this, is that you can upload it as an HTML. Colleagues can have a go testing and using the pages as if they were live HTML mocks.

Selling points from Axure's website which I fully back;

Design efficiently.
Experience your design early to test ideas.
Engage stakeholders to gather valuable feedback.
Automate specifications avoiding tedious documentation.
Enable design collaboration.

I can't stress enough how good this tool is.

Blurring the lines

2009-09-07T16:19:00.004+01:00

My boyfriend's just got an iPhone and it's amazing just how convenient it is for browsing sites. And being able to use it on the go. Of course this is no news, but when you really think about it... it's fantastic seeing lines blur between the previously stationary (yes I'm including laptops here) PCs and smart palm devices.

With smart apps, and the future mass market launch of augmented reality products, I wonder just how much our lives will change?

Basic thoughts I suppose, but web sites and product managers shouldn't underestimate the power of truly mobile internet. How can your site or product be used when on the go? Are there any advantages to using your product when in an office or when shopping on the high street? How will you be able to adapt and crack new markets?

Read this and your forms will rule

2009-09-02T10:41:00.004+01:00

My lovely design colleague Jamie sent me a really useful link today about inline validations when building a form. This link has given me plenty of inspiration and will help us build a hopefully excellent web form.

Anyone working on a web form should read it.

Well written, perfectly demonstrated and it all makes sense.

Here it is, Inline validation.

Calling all wireframe lovers

2009-08-31T22:19:00.003+01:00

Here's a classic worth checking out if you're new to product management and want some ideas on wireframe execution. I [heart] wireframes which is the name of the blog, illustrates the different styles of wireframing. Just goes to show that there's no one set visual technique you have to follow. As long as you can clearly demonstrate content and structure without including actual copy or other 'distractions'. My fav? Here.

From party to work

2009-08-25T17:24:00.001+01:00

Learnings from last week

2009-08-25T09:41:00.002+01:00

Nice start of the day, time to continue working on mapping out features of a brand new product. Project points that (once again) made good sense last week:

*Meet clients face to fact
In this digital age it's easy enough to communicate via IM, emails, Google docs etc. But I swear once you meet your clients and partners face to face, the project will be so much more efficient. Really, really try to arrange a meet up.

*Prep work will take longer than you think
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. The planning needs to take place and ideas will inevitably change and you've got to accomodate to changes. It'll be worth it once you go live (37Signal's idea of getting something out sooner than later and adding once its live, works for some products but not all).

Cycling sites and blogs

2009-08-22T15:06:00.009+01:00

Since the tube strike earlier on this summer, I've taken up cycling to work. From door to door it's just more than 5 miles which gives me a good 30 minutes exercise each way. I'm really enjoying cycling; the fresh-ish air, the freedom, I save money plus get a good work out. But as with all things, there are also downsides. I've been inches away from a car bonnet (driver turned out on main road and didn't see me), door (driver chucking open a door without looking) and mad pedestrians who risk their own lives and others by stepping out from pavements without looking.

So whilst it's fun to gain experiences offline, it's nice to share them online.

Here are some of my favourite (London focused) online cycling sources:

Bikeradar.com
This site is a mecca for any cyclist with news, forum, shopping links etc conveniently split into commuting, family, road and mountain biking sections. Now few sites bring out the forum geek in me, but bikeradar.com does. I'd recommend the commuting forum where the 'your rants here' boasts an amazing 76661 views. A few days ago I posted a question on a certain bus lane and had 10+ answers half an hour later! This site and forum in particular is definitely worth visiting. Better to take any rant out to an understanding community than to your friends and family!

The Guardian's bike blog
Trust the Guardian to deliver good quality content and an abundance of hot tempered blog comments! The blog concists of posts on different subjects (safety, racing, commuting, politics etc) by a range of cyclists. The blog is quite 'us' against them which is kind of enjoyable and indulging to read. But the comments often spiral out of control and depart from the initial subject which makes for good and amusing reading.

Recent posts cover exploding tyres (yep happened to me), Copenhagen (lovely city with ideal cycling conditions) and how police should police roads not pavements (216 comments and counting - personally, I think bikes should stay on the road). Classic Guardian good stuff.

TFL's Cycling
Transport for London's cycling section is particularly useful to those new to cycling as it contains handy maps available to order for free and advice to get you going. Before I picked up the courage to hit Lillie Road, Piccadilly and other roads I ordered some of the free maps which contain colour coded cycling routes depending on level of difficulty. You can get 10% off bikes, equipment and clothing at Evans via TFL (voucher here) but the voucher expires end of August so good time to get your stuff now.

I wish I had an Android phone

2009-08-18T15:26:00.002+01:00

Not for aesthetic reasons, or for showing off at the pub, no just for Layar.com's free augmented reality browser.

All Layar needs to do now is just extend the amount of content and this product will be explosive!

Congratulations Layar.com for pushing the boundaries.

A double thumbs up to Gwynnie and GOOP

2009-08-16T11:36:00.005+01:00

Today's Guardian.co.uk's promoting an article which confirms what GOOP readers always have known, Gwynyeth Paltrow's publishing project is a success. It's lovely to see The Guardian celebrating her success, especially considering her idea was at first mocked by many.

For those not familiar with GOOP, it's Gwyneth's zen based site to provide thoughts and advice on a wide range of topics, tagged by 'make' 'go' 'eat' 'do' 'be' and 'see'.

Content - and celebrity status authorship aside - when just looking at the actual product, it's no wonder that GOOP has been a success.

GOOP is consistent. The navigation is 100% crystal clear. After a few GOOP emails, you immediately notice the structure;

*Tag (eat / do etc)
*Introduction to the subject
*Gwyneth's opinion
*3-10 opinions of her acquaintances often with spiritual backgrounds.

All delivered in a very simplistic layout where there should be no distractions but copy.

For those wishing to learn more about GOOP, the address is http://goop.com/.

Starbucks sponsors news section on NYTimes.com

2009-08-14T16:06:00.004+01:00

One of my favourite media darlings, Starbucks, has done something new and sort of strange.
It's sponsoring a section of four NYTimes.com articles, visible on an article page such as this.

When I saw this unsual MPU I immediately presumed the 4x news articles were all related to Starbucks. Basically just another ad, made to look like an editorial piece.

Surprisingly, only one of the four articles actually link back to Starbucks. The other links are genuine NY Times articles. Strange in that it challenges your perception of an ad - who owns what? Sneaky but also interesting.

Starbucks are blurring the edges both online and offline!

YouTube tutorials

2009-08-13T21:34:00.003+01:00

Lately, I've started using YouTube for quick tutorials. It's like a whole new (budget!) world's opened up.

A month ago, I was thinking of taking up a short course or two, but the problem was they were all around £300 and I wasn't sure what subject to go for. Now £300 is a lot of money so to help me figure out what I should do, I've started checking out YouTube tutorials.

Here are some tutorials which personally interest me;

Have just taken up belly dancing at the gym and oh my god it's the best arm work out! My gym membership is sadly about to expire so I'll follow the guidance of these toned twins and get a workout for free.

If I stumble upon an extra piece of cash, this is where I want to put it = MICRO KORG! There are plenty of fun microkorg tutorials out there, to give you an idea of what you can achieve with the synth before you buy it. I like. I want. NOW!

I've been meaning to do a basic course in Italian, but can't really justify the cost espcially if I feel it's not for me. Here's a really basic video I came across on YouTube, there are probably better ones out there. But not bad to really train the basics.

Vogue blogs

2009-08-10T20:41:00.004+01:00

Vogue's started blogging! Fingers crossed that the blog will be a success.

What works
Their quality of writing is obviously great - Elle, Grazia et all, I'm sorry but nothing beats a big fat Vogue magazine and a nice cup of coffee. Also, the photography's great so high hopes for this blog.

What doesn't work
It's a ridiculous decision to let right hand side content occupy around 60% of the page. Not only does it make for awkwardly thin reading pane, the page is too busy to let you concentrate on the actual prime content of the page ie the blog. In fact, I can't stand reading the blog, the layout's almost hurting my eyes. Please Vogue, fix!

Generally I prefer wide blogs, I manually edited the blogger html to make the blog wider. I think it looks much neater :)

Modern technology and the office

2009-08-09T19:56:00.005+01:00

Have just spent a nice and very warm London afternoon soaking up the sun... nice. Monday tomorrow, which isn't a bad thing, but during the summer months most office workers probably wished they could work from home or at least in a more relaxed environment.

What's the future of today's office landscapes?
With the introduction of laptops, wireless internet and now iPhones and other smart phones, stuff can now get done with better mobility. Many blogs advocate reducing the amount of casual office meetings to spend more time on getting actual work done. Now, I like meetings and I think it's really important to communicate face to face and not just over IM. But to what extent is productivity relying on today's office locations?

I wonder how offices would function if say one day a week was spent working from home or on the move?

I love the social interaction at work and let me just make this clear - I would not want to (only) work from home. But it's interesting to ponder on how modern technology might affect the worklife of the next generation.

What do you think? Will netbooks and iPhones allow you to do just as much but from home? Would you be more or less focused if you spent a day working from home?

Back

2009-08-04T20:15:00.002+01:00

I think I want a horse... Have just come back from holiday back in Sweden where I was lucky enough to go on a long and seriously fast ride in the woods. Nice to disconnect (well I kept some tweets going) from the online world and go back to basics. To the woods, the rivers and the fields.

Holiday!

2009-07-24T16:18:00.002+01:00

Lovely, another week of holiday coming up :) This time heading up north to Sweden.
Will be quiet on the blog for a few days...

One of the best blog posts I've come across in a while...

2009-07-22T13:07:00.002+01:00

This blog post by MadeByMany is so important. Read and have a think about it.

The Starbucks rollercoaster

2009-07-21T10:11:00.005+01:00

Now, time to post about Starbucks again, the craziest coffee shop chain worthy of its own soap opera. Whilst Nero's a classic black americano (no sugar), Coffee Republic an empty cup, Starbucks is a grande mocha chocha double cream with some stirring and social media topping.

OK so I've previously blogged about Starbucks' being one of the top social media brands, and their excellent CRM scheme.

This is why it's time to talk about Starbucks again
*Engagementdb.com has ranked Starbucks the world's most valuable brand "based on how they leverage social media to interact with customers."
It's interesting that Starbucks is the only coffee chain that is time and time again involved in social media. Can you think of any other coffee outlets that has made such an online effort? I can't - but do let me know if you can! Starbucks doesn't need to offer users an idea store, but they do. Starbucks doesn't need to be on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc, but they are.

*Starbucks goes whitelabel and I don't like it
Clever @saradotdub told told me (via @denvan) that Starbucks is planning on opening up new coffe shops without the Starbucks branding to slurp your black stuff - but with no mentioning of Starbucks. The idea is to go back to the local scene and try ditching the mega brand image. Is it just me smelling paranoia?

Now I'm all for diversifying and mini-brands (think Virgin, Tesco with its Metro, Local, Express, even McDonalds with its cafe spin-offs), but I appreciate honesty and transparency. By stripping the Starbucks wallpaper, the customers are basically taken for a ride. Sure Starbucks, try out your new concepts. But keep the logo and play with the theme and message instead.

Future week day 3

2009-07-15T22:30:00.006+01:00

In day 3 of future week, I'm talking about 'cross reality' today picked up by the clever folks at ReadWriteWeb. You can read their full post here.

"x-reality affects worlds both real and virtual to the point that its platforms have a meaningful and discernable effect upon that particular world."
Beth Coleman

So, what's cross reality?
Cross reality is when the real world senses your digital activity. ReadWriteWeb likens this to walking into a book shop. Say you have stored a book wishlist somewhere on the web, or indications of what types of books you might be interested in. As you walk through the door, sensors would connect with your mobile phone; which in turn indicates if the shop has your favourite books instore and maybe even giving you highly relevant offers.

Should cross reality excite me?
Yes, I believe it should. We all know the benefits of online (offers, targeting etc) but we haven't yet seen our digital and real world truly connect. Imagine all the personal discounts you could get in shops! Money saving tips to engage with wherever you go. A home that responds to your every need. A car that starts up with different settings depending on season and day. Everytime you cross a sensor, your cross reality world will change. So the more you make of your online persona, the richer your real life might be.

Can we use cross reality products now?
As far as I know, no. But it's in the making.

To those thinking this sounds pretty interesting, I would strongly advice reading the excellent essay (it's a serious piece) by Beth Coleman @Massachusetts Institute of Technology, available free of charge here.

Future week day 2

2009-07-14T15:22:00.003+01:00

Today's the second day of future week and in this post I'd like to push Sara Williams' blog post 'Smart mobs and smarter media'. She went to see renowned futurist Howard Rheingold give a speech on intelligence theories and what lies ahead for media.

Sara gives excellent food for thought, adds a humanitarian perspective and I recommend taking a good read.

"Could the internet and mobile technologies come together in a new way to bring about change for people who have previously been excluded from the entire exchange because they couldn’t (meaningfully) put pen to paper, much less hands to keyboard? It’s something to think about."

With most of us media people sitting in modern open space offices, often delivering products for people like ourselves, it takes a while to reprogram your mind to think how new digital tools may help developing countries.

Future week: Augmented reality

2009-07-13T19:51:00.009+01:00

Welcome to... future week! That’s right! This week I’m going to stretch my mind a little bit and think about what the future holds for web and digital. [Gah I can't seem to change the font!]

Recently, no doubt thanks to the innovation and success of the iPhone, it feels like change is in the air and we’re storming towards the digital future. Today I’m starting with something which has interested me greatly recently, and mixes real life with digital in a way never done before.

Augmented reality

“The basic idea of augmented reality is to superimpose graphics, audio and other sense enhancements over a real-world environment in real-time.” From http://computer.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality1.htm

Step 1 to getting around the AR concept is probably to watch a video. There are quite a few videos out there that demonstrate AR possibilities. Here’s one (finding out where the nearest London underground station is).

Areas which would benefit from AR

*Leisure / tourism: This is where things could get serious. Imagine you’re out and about, and looking for a restaurant or a cinema. With augmented reality, you can see screen based offers applied to the real world. OpenTheFuture illustrates what your AR high street might look like here. Imagine when the ad space opens up!

Clever lastminute.com is already tapping into the market; they have created an iPhone app called NRU which is likely to make information and money saving tips easily accessible on the go.

Think tour guides charge too much? Stan Schroeder at Mashable.com has recently written about a product called ID App which recognizes objects you point your iPhone towards. No more 'we have to check this out on Wikipedia when we get home' - just check the info there and then!

*Military -big business

*Gaming: Nintendogs goes real. Why see fun characters on a predetermined background set, when you can view them in your house?

Also, how about inviting second life characters into the real world? Check out a demo video here.

*Education: Ideal for medicine students!

For more reading on AR, http://www.howstuffworks.com/augmented-reality.htm.

I like the sound of this! Can I start using AR products now?

Yes you can, if you have an Android phone. iPhone users will unfortunately have to wait a little longer.

iTunes Live is bringing back the craze to competitions

2009-07-09T17:06:00.007+01:00

Ever thought there was no pointing entering competitions? Think again: I swear people seem to win iTunes Live tickets left right and centre. Only a few minutes ago, one of the girls in the design team just found out she's won tickets for Bat For Lashes.

From the iTunes Live site: "The iTunes Festival is a new type of music festival. Free to attend. Running for the entire month of July and to be enjoyed from anywhere in the world via the web."

Who'd turn down free tickets to see the likes of Kasabian and chart topping La Roux? Free night + top music = could it get any better!?

So, what do you need to exchange in order for a chance to win?

1) Go to http://www.facebook.com/iTunesEU
2) Become a fan of iTunes by clicking the button
3) Click "win tickets"
4) Pick the night you'd like to attend and hit "apply"
5) ... here's the catch ... First name, Surname and Email are all required fields.

It's interesting how iTunes have chosen Facebook over other social media tools such as Twitter. My guess? Facebook offers such added value for member capture (see point 5 above) that Twitter wouldn't have been able to - excuse the pun - compete. Any other big brands out there that have used Facebook cleverly (and successfully) for member capture?

When a product isn't as successful as you'd hoped

2009-07-08T20:46:00.003+01:00

Life can't always be rosy.

Imagine spending time on developing a new product and when it goes live, no one minds it - in fact quite a few people like it - but the clicks just aren't there.

It's... frustrating. When you're passionate about ideas and product development, you want all users to love it and hopefully click like crazy.

So it's back the drawing board. Has anyone out there got a method for backtracking and figuring out what went wrong + ideally, how to make future products more successful?

Back in the UK...

2009-07-07T17:05:00.014+01:00

Back in the UK after a lovely holiday. Silver fake Birkenstocks (prefer Faith's version, softer base) don't quite cut it in rainy Soho.

Buhu.

Whilst my body's in the office, my mind is at times drifting off accompanied by the soundtrack of the trip.... Going on a serious European roadtrip with 11 kiwis meant some serious European music education. Unfortunately the CD didn't go down very well and was quickly replaced with Kings of Leon and surfer style music. Let me know if you can think of any better music from the following countries!

Holland - 2 Unlimited. Techno techno! PS if anyone knows Car Hotel in Amsterdam = they're thieves! Now a Nintendo DS short...

Belgium .... really couldn't think of any Belgian music? I know there was a 90s band called Deus but can't remember any of their songs. Nope nothing.

France - Air. "Surfin on a rocket..." Also, Smoke City's french singstress whispering / singing Underwater Love. Anyone else remembers the Levis ad?

Luxembourg - Placebo (OK wouldn't listen to them now, but was in my teenage years an obsessed fan and therefore knew that Brian Molko was raised there).

Germany - Kraftwerk "Autobahn" - obvious choice if you're going 140 kph with the top down :)

Switzerland ... again couldn't think of any? Celine Dion in the 80s Eurovision? The guys would have killed me!

Italy - half Italian Lady Gaga. "Eh eh, nothing else I can say..." The video is very US / Italian and features a lot of vespas. What a lovely summer song!

Ready for an adventure

2009-06-19T09:56:00.004+01:00

Time to wash some skirts, iron some tops, pack some flip-flops - it's time for a European road trip! Normally when going on holiday, I go to one destination and research it quite well using TripAdvisor and other travel + accomodation sites.

This time, me and the gang will be zapping through European cities and beaches and not one single planned destination has been researched.

There's a certain appeal with not researching and preparing (yes for once!) and seeing where life takes you. Can that sort of attitude apply to working with web products? Maybe, maybe I'm thinking of intuition. You can spend days, weeks and months researching. What have others done? How was their experience? Should we do something similar? Only to find that you're focusing on has done instead of could do. Anyone agrees? Maybe you need to detach yourself from every day thinking to see possibilities and hopefully get a step ahead of others.

Hopefully this trip will dust out old Lindstrom and kick-start some new ideas.

Au revoir!

Importance of photos in blogs

2009-06-17T13:51:00.004+01:00

[ no photo - yet! ]

How important are photos (preferrably taken by blogger) on blogs? Fashion bloggers often upload snaps of outfits and inspiration, and personally I find blogs with snaps a lot more engaging than text blogs. Photos give the readers an insight into the daily life of the blogger. And I think that's really important to grow a loyal following and add a bit of oompf to posts.

Maybe it's just me, what do you think? Do photos make a difference on personal web blogs?

Daring to do your own thing isn't commercial suicide

2009-06-15T16:13:00.003+01:00

Whether you're working for a website, doing your own project, setting up a new company... or just thinking about life in general. Doing your own thing and breaking from the norm may be what sets you apart.

Why do what everyone else has already done; whilst you're working on rebuilding existing products, someone else out there is shaping up the future which you'll probably copy later on.

A bit philosophical for a Monday afternoon, but listening to Fever Ray on Spotify just made it so clear. Fever Ray album release was heavily promoted in main stream magazines, 5 stars thrown left right and centre. Sure you can't deny the music is a bit left field, but still enjoys greater commercial success than many middle of the road bands.

Better than the tube

2009-06-11T18:38:00.002+01:00

Cycling home from Soho to west London. Taking a break in hyde park.

What level is your Twitter love at?

2009-06-11T17:29:00.007+01:00

PuristProductManagement commented on my "would you pay for Twitter followers" post yesterday;

"I think as users are in the "falling in love" phase of Twitter they get hooked on more and more followers."

So to those that are forming a loving relationship with Twitter, what stage are you at?

Stages of a healthy relationship

(taken from www.buzzle.com and yes these were written for physical human relationships, but can sort of be applied to Twitter)

1) Wooing your love
"... an obvious indication you wish to spend more time with each other"
--- when all is Twitter-tastic

2) Emotional attachment for each other
"He/she would be the first person you ring up to convey your happiness or share a sorrowful moment"
--- that's why Twitter is so popular on mobiles!

3) Strenghtening your bond of friendship
"Considering your partner as a friend is also a sign of acceptance"

4) Dealing with flaws
"Short tempers and attitude problems are some things you have to deal with..."
--- anyone else thinking Fail Whale?

5) Commitment levels between the couple
"The stage of commitment is reached when couples realize they have common goals and would want to spend every bit of joys and sorrow with each other"

Twitter is so lovely, useful and fun (not to say addictive) that I think I've reached level 5. Have you?

(Thankfully, there was no final point, so as long as Twitter exists and as long as the love remains, we'll be happy ever after.)

Would you pay for more followers on Twitter?

2009-06-07T18:05:00.005+01:00

One of the latest Tweets I just received;

"10,000 Followers, EASY!: http://tr.im/nI5e"

The tr.im link goes to MyTweetFollwers.com. This site gets you follers, but you are also required to follow others. However - if you pay $20 per day you are estimated to get around 400 new followers a day.

Now as much as I'd like to see a sudden influx in followers, I kind of think you need to "earn" them - if not out of kindness to people who will see your updates in their feed.

I can understand that to some companies, this sort of tactic may be no different to outdoor display advertising where it's all about branding and getting your message across.
But to individuals, I struggle to see why anyone would see the value in MyTweetFollwers.com's chargeable service.

Fun and clever blogger Nicole Lipscomb tested this product and even though she didn't mind the free version, she states her in conclusion,
"I would stick to the organically old fashion way of getting followers - by connecting with them first."

How much does follower quantity mean to you? Can you see a need for paying for followers?

Thoughts on The Apprentice episode 11

2009-06-04T20:45:00.009+01:00

Currently watching the latest Apprentice episode on BBC iPlayer (great product by the way).
Not as good a season as the previous ones but still very watchable. Some points which they've touched on so far during the last half hour;

*Unique gift
Lorraine often refers to her intuition - never underestimate intuition! As we get older and more experienced, I hope our intuition gets more and more fine tuned. It's quite inspirational to work with people who can "see" things and will steer the right way.

*The mistake moment
Sandalwood - the fragrance Paula and Yasmine mistakenly thought cost a few pounds, and in reality was £700. I think I'm not the only when making decisions, I sometimes think "hope this won't be a sandalwood moment"... So far so good, but the look on their faces when the penny dropped almost made my stomach turn. Let's all hope we'll avoid these moments in our personal and professional lives!

*Getting on at work
Strange how Kate says she doesn't enjoy working with women. I sit with three amazing ladies on my pod and I can't believe that she'd like to avoid working with women. If you can't work with people, it soon becomes a tricky environment for all parts, not good.

*Ruthless?
Most apprentice candidates seem to think ruthlessness leads to success. I think and hope that's not the case. To win me over, the candidates need to have a touch of charm and likeability.

I really hope the success of the Apprentice hasn't skewed people's perceptions on ambition and the strive to promotions and job offers. Even though there's a real job role going, it's a TV show and things would work differently in reality. But then again I can't deny I enjoy the most bitchiest episodes most! So the PMs at BBC got the editing right. It's the perfect comedy / drama mix...

Finally! Customer support can now be more accessible

2009-06-03T10:43:00.010+01:00

Ever visited a company's customer support site and simply just given up? No clear user journeys, no phone numbers, no means of contact. Is it just me who feels like most support sites are built to deter you from getting in touch?

Well it's time to rethink customer support. Step in Getsatisfaction.com.

Getsatisfaction.com is a fresh, new and people powered customer support tool which offers exciting options for companies who either don't have the facilities to build an official support site - or just want to try something new.

A snapshot of brands on Getsatisfaction.com;
Adobe
Spymaster (total addict by now)
Twitter

How to submit a query
So if you're a user and you've got a problem with an Adobe product, submitting a query is very similar to posting a standard Q&A post online.

1) Post
-ask a question
- share an idea
- report a problem
- give praise

2) Refer to a product

3) Tag

DONE. Perfect, so easy.

How to get the support you asked for

Once your query is published, members of the site and company staff can respond. It's basically a Q&A site. Here is a support case I found for using Adobe Flash, it shows you just how straightforward Getsatisfaction really is.

NOTE - this is an unofficial customer support site. Something which some companies are not particularly thrilled about. 37signals feels the site is misleading their users. Will be interesting to see how this plays out....

Can iList compete with Gumtree?

2009-06-02T11:02:00.009+01:00

Classifieds with a twist
New classifieds site iList.com allows you to post and view listings from people within your social networks.
By integrating social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace, iList.com can make your listings spread like wild fire across your the spheres and easily reach your contacts.

Now, when using other classifieds such as Gumtree.com, do you really want your nearest and dearest to see what you're selling - and sometimes - at what price? Well... maybe. After all, many Gumtree posts already end up as links on Facebook or in an internal company email.

Thinking about it, iList are probably on to something by connecting sales with social. The early listings on iList are pretty horrendous (I wouldn't advice anyone to click on the one about the plague!) but you can't deny it's a pretty snassy product to get word spread quickly.

Microsoft releases Bing - search overtakes social 2009?

2009-06-01T09:26:00.005+01:00

Search is getting bigger... and bigger... and BIGGER by every month of this year.
From Twitter revolutionizing real time search, to Ask Jeeves returning to the scene and now Microsoft's new search engine Bing - it's getting fairly obvious that 2009 is the year of search engines. Search may not sound as jazzy and hip as social, but search is no doubt a big player in this year's media market.

Bing seems like a pretty neat search engine - I believe its success will be strongly related to the layout and result structure in that it's very similar to Google;

As I'm strongly into personalizing my online experience - my main question is - how can I change the Bing background picture? And how much more would I love Google if i could swap the white background for something altogether more colourful?

Three power blogs worth checking out

2009-05-29T13:39:00.004+01:00

Fancy broadening your blog horizon?
Start by taking a look at some of the blogs on the Advertising Age's "Power 150" blog list (which is updated daily).

It's definitely worth taking some time every week to catch up with thoughts and trends on other professions within advertising and media. Marketing gurus - check some tech blogs. Product managers - check out some marketing blogs.

Like

Nr 9 Logic + Emotion
A lovely blog by David Armano which balances as the name says logic and emotion. Any blog which dabbles with emotions will from the word go make me feel more engaged and enticed to follow. His latest post is on the unspoken 50/50 Twitter (following v follower) rule. I'm sure I'm not the only who felt a pang of "yes" when the followers count exceeded the following...

Nr 33 Copyblogger
Now this blog is buuusssyyy. Each post usually has more than 100 comments, what an aspiration!
"Now that blogging has become the smartest strategy for growing an authoritative web site, it’s your copywriting skills that will set you apart and help you succeed."
Anyone would benefit from checking this blog once in a while.

One post called "Screwed Up Your Blog?" is particularly interesting. It focuses on how you can turn your blog around from something that just didn't quite turn out as expected - to something much more successful (regardless of how you see success);

"If you’re new to blogging, the best place to start is copywriting. It’s not because copywriters are marketing geniuses (although some of them are), but because copywriting is so similar to blogging. The chief objective of both is to get attention and build a relationship. The difference is that copywriters have been doing it for almost a century longer, and they have a lot more data to work from."

Nr 12 Social Media Explorer
For those who can't get enough of social media, or have just taken off their sandals to dip their toes into the sea of Tweetdeck etc, then SocialMediaExplorer is an excellent first port of call.

This is a personal blog, created by Jason Falls and it covers everything from philosophy to social.

I'm particularly impressed by the post "10 Sure-Fire Ways to Maximise Your Online Distribution Channel". He provides necessary information and useful advice in a digestive manner - and it's a pleasure to read!

Without going into details, these are his core 10 ways to MAXIMISE (I do recommend checking the post for more info on each of these);

1. Provide Killer Content

2. Leverage Social Syndication

3. Provide More Than One Format

4. Make Sure You Understand Basic SEO

5. Follow an Editorial Calendar

6. Incorporate e-Newsletters

7. Provide Downloadable Content

8. Don’t Forget Offline Strategies

9. Build Relationships

10. All Roads Lead Back to Home

Which career route had the Internet not existed?

2009-05-27T12:58:00.005+01:00

I was watching BBC1 documentary on Ida the 47 million year old fossil last night. If it wasn't for Ida, there would have been no monkeys, and if it wasn't for monkeys....

OK I know the connection is pretty lose, but it's interesting to think where we might have been had it not been for the invention of mobile and Internet technology that we now take for granted. When I was in my early teens, I didn't think the Internet would make any real difference to my career choices - but now I know better!

My likely job to had it not been for the Internet
*Accountant / broker - I really thought economy was for me. It was a "parents do it, must be good" choice.
*Artist - a rebel part in me wanted to become go down the fine art route.

Do I wish I would have stuck to my early plans?
Nope. Even though my bank balance might have been healthier had I gone down the finance part, I don't think I would have enjoyed the work or the working hours.

In terms of keeping creativity online, my current job allows me to think creatively and the opportunity of blogging, creating sites etc means that I can take my ideas much further than a canvas. I am SO pleased I ended up working within the online world. Don't think there's any turning back.

What would you have done, had the Internet not been invented?

Changing your Twitter background

2009-05-26T10:58:00.004+01:00

From a tiled image background ...

... to a fancy full page background. Easy peasy thanks to http://www.mytweetspace.com/.

Liking it! (for more ideas on how to personalize your Twitter background, check Mashable's new article.)

Use the web to nourish your talent

2009-05-22T13:44:00.007+01:00

Last night I watched "Beyonce - My Story" on the music channel TMF. Would she recommend others to take up singing and pursue a singing career?

"Yes if it's what's right for you. I see singing as my gift and wouldn't do anything else".

What is your gift - and how to use the web to get going

I think deep down, each and everyone know what their "gift" is. That one thing that you LOVE doing. Even though your current occupation may not relate to your gift or skills, the Beyonce interview made me realize that we should try to utilize our skills and not let them fade away.

Always aspired to be a writer? Start a blog. There are countless resources online which can help you on your way and develop your own personal voice online. It's really easy to get going with free blog platforms - few tech skills needed. Some blog platforms worth checking are Blogger.com, Tumblr.com and Wordpress.

Into crafts and diy? It's easy to start a project... and not finish it. But if you get part of a community chances are you will get more engaged, finish it and watch the (hopefully positive) critique come through. I'd recommend CutOutAndKeep for a seriously 2.0 take on craftiness.

Want to make a difference? Many social sites now make it easier than ever to get engaged. Organizations such as Oxfam and Amnesty offer online petitions and information on their campaigns.

Prefer being behind the camera? Forget any self critique and start experimenting. Then upload pictures to sites such as Flickr and see what others have to say. If you enjoy it, set yourself a goal of say one photo per week.

We may not be able to shake it quite as Queen B - but we can work what we've got!

Internet Explorer : Operation Aborted

2009-05-21T12:09:00.001+01:00

Looks like my blog has been struck by the "Internet Explorer : Operation Aborted" issue.
Last year this affected bloggers who used SiteMeter.com, not sure what what's caused the current IE7 and IE8 issue.

If you want to comment on this blog and encounter the above issue, please use FireFox whilst I put my amateur code hat on and dig around the html....

Twitter has made search trendy again

2009-05-19T20:10:00.011+01:00

PATRICK SWAYZE IS NOT DEAD.

Thanks to the speediness of Twitter, the whole world was alerted that Patrick Swayze might be was dead. Turns out he's alive (phew). Twitter's real time search made a rumour go world wide and with a speed that Google wouldn't have been able to catch up with. Users wanting to find out what was behind the rumour would get the message via Twitter search kind of as quickly as they were alerted.

So all of a sudden, search which used to be a in my eyes at least, a pretty boring field is now where it's all at.

So, search is now trendy again. Not convinced?

Check this;

*Twitter (quote) "made Google focus on real time search". Brand new article from TechCrunch where Larry Page says;

“I have always thought we needed to index the web every second to allow real time search. At first, my team laughed and did not believe me. With Twitter, now they know they have to do it. Not everybody needs sub-second indexing but people are getting pretty excited about realtime.”

*[Breaking news!] Yahoo has admitted they need to rethink their search offering. Links to content strategy is no longer hot.

*Google has finally released search by date / time last week, no doubt due to the success of Twitter's reactionary search.

*Ask Jeeves recently got got a make-over and Jeeves was brought back after a three year holiday. Many reports followed which indicated how users often connect with sweet cartoon characters.

*Wolfram Alpha, the super knowledge search machine hit the web yesterday. It computes actual answers to your questions and is well worth a go. Very handy when you're specifically after factual data, such as a country profiles.

+ the countless Twitter spin offs that focus on searching and sorting hashtags.

Even though Google is too big to sometimes grasp, it's encouraging that other companies are developing their search functionality and engines. Who knew that Twitter, a company only 2-3 years ago, is now talked about as a contender to Google. I'm really excited about the future of search - competition is healthy and we'll stagnate if we're satisfied with what's already live.

Shopping sites with blogs

2009-05-16T14:34:00.008+01:00

One of the few fashion shopping sites which features a blog is Warehouse. Their blog mixes popular culture (with fashion references) and promotions of new garments. But are shopping site blogs a good idea?

In Warehouse's case, yes most definitely. I have recently become more and more interested in sustainable fashion and was thrilled to read in their blog how Warehouse is now stocking trendy pieces made by organic cotton. Their blog just attributed Warehouse with really positive connotations - at least for me.

Warehouse's example aside, a blog can be used as not only a source of information or inspiration, it also helps with brand building. A blog is an excellent place to post updates that will enhance the brand's message and personality. By introducing blogs, a company's page views can increase and the site gets "stickier".

What do shopping sites blog about?
Asos.com - customer service, light corporate chat, product updates and community vibe.
Example where Asos has utiltied their blog as a CRM tool;

"My fellow style advisors and I are currently sat in the office desperate for your emails, but due to all the updates ASOS are currently making with the website and all of our internal systems, we cant see your emails :("

Some companies will keep posts anonymous and corporate, whilst others such as Asos.com will allow staff to post personal blogs, see below for an example;

I like it. There are plenty of Asos staff to follow, the general identity screams fun, friendly and a good place to be. Asos want you to get involved, and why wouldn't they?

New (ok more mainstream new) fashion darling Lipsy proudly place their blog in the main top nav;

Lipsy's all about celebrities, parties and looking good. My only objection is that I would probably visit PerezHilton.com or heatworld.com for the latest celeb juice. Even though I haven't spent that much time on the blog, my advice would be to focus more on CRM, community and products as per Asos.

To sum it up: yes blogs can be a good idea, but they are not necessary e-commerce tools. Get the shopping experience right first (read my Asos praise here) and then focus on blogs.

Whilst a blog is relatively easy to set up - it's more difficult to keep it going and post regular updates. A blog which starts off as a busy and exciting place can quickly dry out and become a sign of failure. However, if shopping sites can assign time, dedication and creativity, and early decide upon blog purpose and branding then why not. Go for it - compare value per session (visited blog / not visited blog), track conversion where click traffic included blogs... carry out quick surveys... get user feedback...

Who's being so kind in Brazil?

2009-05-14T17:14:00.002+01:00

I use sitemeter.com to track blog traffic. I know it's not as cool and snazzy as Google analytics... (Lisa Angeletti compares the two here) but it works for me. I can keep a daily check on how many visitors - reached new record a few days ago, 99! only because Buzzfeed.com picked up on my Stweet post - and where the traffic is coming from.

I get particularly excited about the geo data, and most days, I see a little dot indicating a person (I hope!) in Brazil. Oh loyal Brazilian please tell me you're real and not a spider?

About time! Google filter by date

2009-05-13T10:06:00.005+01:00

FINALLY!

Google realizes the need to filter search results by date. Mashable today includes a Google Search video which highlights the new Google search options. Basically, if you search for "D70 camera" in Google, you will find a text link called "show options" on the results page. Click on that link and a left hand side nav appears with (amongst other) date filters.

No doubt Twitter search pushed the release of these features. You can still use my previous filter advice which I wrote about here (paste "&as_qdr=d" at end of results URL), which will automatically filter by most recent posts within a 24 hour period.

How personalized is your online experience?

2009-05-12T11:09:00.004+01:00

Too much? Not too much? FF3 tulip personas (pick your Firefox here) and Ask Jeeves in pink.

Compare it to using Google in IE8;

Word from the Stweet and loco-blogging

2009-05-10T21:52:00.008+01:00

Here's a novelty Twitter idea which combines a tweet with Google earth location image.

Stweet is a one dimensional voyer site, very similar to the old days when Tweets were displayed on a world map in (almost) real time. You can play around with the locations and check the latest from New York etc, but you can't tweet from the site.

Brightkite.com is another micro blogging site which tags your updates by location. By signing in, you can check updates and pictures from people in your city. Below is a screenshot from the London feed;

Why loco-blog?

Loco-blogging (did I just invent a new word?) is an excellent marketing tool for local small businesses. Coffee shops for example could promote special online offers. Twitter is full of examples where small businesses have quickly spread word of mouth and gained a loyal local following. Brightkite.com is by no means as big as Twitter, but certainly worth checking out.

Loco-blogging adds an extra dimension to micro blogging and certainly makes tweets and the likes more "real" or some how tangible. Suppose the difficulty lies with mixing text and images in a context that makes sense and is not obstructive on the eye. Or maybe it's just me who's excited about the prospect of geo-tweeting :)

Why Asos is so successful

2009-05-05T20:41:00.010+01:00

Brilliant online clothing company Asos.com is thriving. Year on year, it appears to beat new records. No wonders! The site is easy to use and reliable, the end products (clothes, shoes, jewellery etc) are desirable and of varied price range.

I spent some time the other night browsing clothing sites and it struck me how far ahead Asos.com are. Thought I'd set my self a task and use Asos.com, Topshop.com and Mango.com to find a dress and rank experience. Why really is Asos so successful?

Task: Find a summer dress size 8 - that's available

Asos.com
1) http://www.asos.com/
2) Top nav "Women" automatic drop down selection to narrow down choice, I choose "day dresses".
3) Day dress page features a left hand side menu with tick boxes (size, colour, price range, brand , celebrity). I tick size 8 and right hand side product offering automatically reflects size 8.

Every dress on the product area on the right hand side is available and size 8. Job done. I can now pick and choose - a happy and perfect user experience. I know it's now up to me to choose - the rest has been taken care of.

Score? 10/10. Because I'm so happy Asos.com understand users and needs. I bet £100 these guys user tested like crazy.

Topshop.com
1) http://www.topshop.com
2) Left hand side nav "Dresses"
3) On bridging page where I have to select what type of dress (view all, bandeau, one shoulder etc). I select "view all".
4) Now presented with all dresses Topshop has to offer. But I won't know if the dress is available in my size without clicking on a dress. I click on a "Denim sundress" for £35.
5) Size 8 is available - hurrah!

Bridging page is not too bad, but Asos.com reduced one step in the process by using smart drop downs. Not being able to sort by size (ie availability) is not only a huge let down - browsing dresses is hit and miss as popular sizes are often sold out on Topshop.com, it also means that Topshop.com is unreliable.

Score? 6/10. Simply because they should as first priority launch size selection. Have spent too much time browsing their site only to find that each product I click on is out of stock in my size.

Mango
1) http://www.mango.com - had I not visited this site I would have aimlessly clicked around the site - but I knew to click to Mango Shop... so that's what I'll do
2) I click on Mangoshop.com link.
3) .... page is loading.... and loading... and oh here we go. No idea where to click.

Would you? "New", "Summer", "Catalogue". I have no idea, I want a dress!
I click "Summer".
4) .. and we're loading. Fast laptop, fast connection, 30 seconds to load product type. It now works. I select "Dresses" and size: "Small".
5) I find a dress, it's £42 and it's available in small. Yay!

What Mango product managers don't seem to understand, is that you buy fashion magazines to get inspired. But you visit an e-commerce site to purchase. Better to spend more time developing smart and fast shopping pages determined by garment, size and colour than flash files and background music.

Score? 3/10. Because I have used the site before and even though I now know how to navigate, the site is infuritantly slow and user journey does not make any sense.

Sumary. Asos.com = smart and reliable. They use their offline monthly freebie magazine to promote brand and offer the inspiration. They then use their site solely to drive sales and make the process as smooth as possible. They offer clever and "make sense" product menu choices. Sorting by size avoids disappointment. Asos works and users come back. Brilliant job people! This is how e-commerce should be done.

Anyone agrees? Is there an online clothing shop out there that outdoes o mighty Asos?

Too clean for your own good?

2009-05-05T13:47:00.005+01:00

Here is a screenshot of a landing page where I've cut out the company logo. What do you think this company does (if you avoid the copy for clues)? Private or governmental company? And why?

When I first came across this site, my instinct was "bupa" or "NHS".
Why? The choice of sharp blue and white is very clean, very health, very... bupa.
The uber clean lead box with easy on the eye font says governmental project.

Turns out it's a media agency called Yucca.co.uk. Funny how I associated it with medical - didn't for a second thing agency. I'm not sure their look is a good idea - not the best association. This is their original site with logo featured;

Free website idea give-away

2009-05-04T15:38:00.003+01:00

Today I'm giving away a free idea of a website because I really want it to exist (and at this moment in time, I don't have the funds to pay a developer and designer to make it happen).

I've just bought a bike and it was absolutely ages since I last hit the road. So whilst I'm confident cycling per se, I feel a bit rusty when it comes to round-about rules and cycling on busy roads due to buses and lorries. Cycling is getting more and more popular in London but few know which routes are safest (and also perhaps quickest). The nearest to cycle route advice in London is available at TFL but only option is to dowload maps. So no social aspect or added value really.

The site: Your cycle routes in London

Content
*Upload your favourite cycle routes in London (map with comments).
*Allow others to comment on route - maybe someone has had bad experiences?
*Q&A / forum where users can ask the cycling community for advice regarding routes
*As routes are uploaded, create a top 10 of most popular cycle routes.
*Routes can be tagged "supermarket ride" "leisure" "nature" "from west to central" etc.

Audience
*Experienced cyclists who would upload routes and offer advice
*Novice cyclists who need route advice

How to monetise?
*Allow space for skyscrapers and leaderboards and join an affiliate network as a publisher.
Check which network features cycle or sports advertisers.
*Let cycle companies sponsor the top ten routes.

Take it take it! Please someone build it :)

Is social media helping you professionally?

2009-04-28T20:14:00.010+01:00

Korena Keys recently posted a question on the LinkedIn "ThoseInMedia" group asking
"Has social media helped you professionally?"

"Don't read this wrong - I love LinkedIn and Twitter, but am not sure how it has helped me professionally. Maybe I am in the minority; or am I in the majority?"

If you read this Korena, I hope you don't mind me posting your question here. As it's not an open group I'm not going to disclose all answers as I suppose that's not really fair, but it's a really good and important question.

I have heard that...
*Some companies only hire via LinkedIn. Profession and background aside, many companies look at the amount of recommendations you have received and how active you are within groups. By using LinkedIn as a recruitment tool, companies can get a better all-round understanding of you as the future prospect.

*Recruiters are hitting Twitter. I would advice putting your title in your Twitter one line bio. You may receive not only job offers, but mentions and links on sites built by others in your profession. I received a mention on a product management blog only yesterday thanks to my Twitter bio.

*Plan your personal brand at least a year ahead. It's difficult to change voice in social media after a few months of using a blog, Twitter account or similar. Try to as early as possible figure out what you want to get out of each application and how you want others to perceive you.

*It can depend on your situation. A 20 year old living at home with high disponsable income has more chances of using social media to increase professional opportunities than a 40 year old with kids and a busy family life. Or at least that's what Dan Schwabel says on Mashable. Evaluate your situation and figure out what you're likely to achieve.

I myself have experienced...
*Increase in confidence. The more involved I get within social media (whether it's RTs on Twitter, feedback on blog, dialogue on article comments) the more I have to develop and define my thoughts and ideas.

*Better personal branding. By becoming I wouldn't say an expert, but someone with a good knowledge of social media trends, your colleagues will become more likely to trust your judgement and perhaps you might become indispensable especially in these difficult financial times.

*It feels good to stay ahead of the times. Keeping up with social media may not benefit you professionally straight away, but who knows. Maybe you'll have a job interview coming up in a year and your knowledge may become the reason for why they pick you.

*Social media is here to stay. If you're in the digital world - social media will naturally help you professionally if you follow standard codes of conduct. Mashable.com (again as it's such a great place for social media news and updates) features daily tips and advice worth following.

*[JUST ADDED, THANKS drmyers!] Following relevant industry people on Twitter will keep you one step ahead of others. Breaking news, great contacts, useful stats. It's all for the taking if you follow great people.

And finally...
I have also heard of people who have been made redundant mainly due to using social media sites during working hours. So if you decide to spend working hours immersing yourself into social media, check your company policy.

Also, remember what many don't, nothing disappears online. Any silly tweets or embarrassing photos on Facebook might be seen by current and prospective employers.

Am I worth following? Humbled!

2009-04-27T14:05:00.006+01:00

According to Webproductblog.com I'm one of the 50 product managers on Twitter worth following. Spot nr 27!
No pressure no pressure... :) Thrilled!

What is tweeting on Twitter today?

2009-04-27T11:14:00.007+01:00

As Twitter is increasingly being used as a breaking news tool, I thought I should check out two sites which offer you an overview of what's going on in the Twittersphere.

*WhatTheTrend.com
A site which may not look all bells and whistles, but it contains more than you think!

The landing page consists of a vertical list of trends (some hashtags some without).
Each trend is listed on the left hand side, with some explanatory copy on the right.
This site makes it easy to overview and grasp what's being talked about on Twitter.

Click on a trend, such as "Swine Flu". A dedicated tag page will open up with three columns.
Left, actual tweets which contain the words swine flu. The mid column is a spider result of news sites, such as relevant stories from the New York Times. Finally the right hand side column displays tagged photos from Flickr.com.

An excellent site with useful news and image columns. I will definitely use this site in the future.

*Retweetradar.com
Retweet radar offers a different take on presenting Twitter trends than WhatThatTrend.com.
Retweet is based around a tag cloud of Twitter Search. You can filter the tag cloud by today, right now or yesterday. Today, the biggest cloud is "swine flu".

Click on the "swine flu" tag and you will be taken to the Twitter Search page http://search.twitter.com/search?q=swine%20flu.

Even though Retweetradar looks very fancy, it's WhatTheTrend.com which delivers a much better and richer user experience. By using WhatTheTrend.com I can check out both the twitter world and newspaper stories to really get the best overview of what's going on in the world.

Now following 100+ people on Twitter, what have I learnt?

2009-04-23T22:46:00.013+01:00

It's been great fun, a daily bag of treats.

What did I expect to learn?
Not much to be honest. First registered with Twitter, then stopped and only came back a good few months later on (hence my silly name @lenalindstrom12, as I'd already taken my own name). I didn't foresee the use of URL shrinkers and expected Tweets to focus on "What are you doing" rather than "Here's something I think you might like".

What did I not expect to learn?
*That I could use Twitter as a better source of current events and breaking news than Google and newspapers.
*How barriers between stars and audience are breaking down. Thinking of @iamdiddy and others. Gone are fanclubs, stars are giving and receiving a lot of love back.

What have I learnt?
*That etiquette is well and truly alive. Favourite twittiquette site is TwiTip as they've got sound and easy to grasp suggestions for all types of users. Hundreds of sites and blogs out there focusing only on how to best behave on Twitter.
*That tweets are expected to be fun, sweet, informative and educating. Sad or negative tweets are far and few between.
*People like humour and character.
*Drinking and Twitter is not a good idea - only did this once but it was about Eurovision so pretty harmless.
*That people are lovely and are willing to give time to educate and keep others entertained (sure we all want more followers but that can't be only reason)

What do I expect to learn if I keep the follow button going
*Get to know my favourite celebs better (I admit!). You could end up falling even more for your favourite musician, or ditching them.
*Network. A fun way to get introduced to interesting people in your field.
*Develop as a person and gain new interests.

What have you learnt from Twitter and did you expect it?

More search news; Google does images and Yahoo ideology

2009-04-21T12:22:00.010+01:00

Yesterday I wrote about what happened to Cuil.com. Today I've come across a few bits and bobs about search, turning into quite a search news week!

1) Yahoo Ideological Search

Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) just tweeted about an ideological search filter, http://digg.com/d1pDeR found on digg. He says "I hate to think that Americans so black and white or left and right. I prefer to be a shade of gray".

It's obviously US with the democrats and republicans - but pretty odd search experience. Not really sure what to think. What's next I wonder? A bit scary.

2) Google Similar Images
Picked up this story from daily "must read" Mashable. If you want to find images of say Paris Hilton and only search for "Paris", Google will give you image results of both France's capital and Paris Hilton. If you click "Similar images", only Paris Hilton images will show. Handy filter tool for keywords which can apply to more than one place / object / person.

I'd bet £5 that this Google feature will shortly move out of labs and go live to all.
I feel very hesitant to put any money on Yahoo's filter.

Whatever happened to Cuil?

2009-04-20T17:13:00.010+01:00

Today, the sweet character Jeeves returned to search engine Ask Jeeves in the UK. Less than a year ago, Nicholas Deleon from Techcrunch.com reported on another piece of search engine news; the new search engine Cuil.com. Cuil grabbed headlines for two main reasons;

*claimed to index more sites (120 million) than Google
*created by ex-Google employees

On paper, that's a pretty serious threat! In real life though, the threat wasn't as scary as the user experience. I used Cuil.com and these were my feelings;

*results were not portrayed clearly in Firefox - it almost looked pixelated and a bit off?
*being used to vertical search results in Google, Cuil results were spread across the screen and I did not know where to look. I felt confused and wanted more guidance rather than scanning multiple contents myself.

Looks like I wasn't the only one not liking the product, Mashable wasn't singing its praises either. Wikipedia lists some pretty bad criticism as well, yakes not particularly positive!

So... where are Cuil now? Who's using it?
A visit to Alexa.com shows a mega pike, drop and low constant;

Will be interesting to see if Google's search dominance will at all be rocked by Jeeves returning, or for that matter, the popularity of Twitter search. Cuil's attempt was just one single big ripple.

... and it's finished

2009-04-19T16:21:00.002+01:00

Done! Ready for the next.

Amazing experiences

2009-04-18T18:09:00.003+01:00

Last weekend, I saw Fever Ray (Karin Dreijer Andersson from the Knife) live at the Royal Festival Hall here in London. I think it must have been my best live music experience ever. I've seen Karin Dreijer live twice before (The Knife) and whilst those gigs were absolutely spectacular as well, that evening felt so extraordinary.

Maybe it was the amazing lightshow, maybe it was the company, maybe the music. Regardless, it worked. And maybe what made it so special, was that I would never be able to return to that place and time - it was there for the moment.

A gig lasts around 1-2 hours and it's a "there and then" experience. Online experiences are much more continous. We can find a great site or product, such as Spotify which I always rave about. We get excited about it because we understand it will be useful on a continuous basis. Very rarely do we find exciting online products that later on get totally wiped out and removed.

So we don't have to fully engross ourselves online there and then, because we can come back at a later stage. Not sure how to say what I'm trying to say :) But it's fascinating how experiences vary from medium to medium.

Painting love

2009-04-16T22:49:00.002+01:00

Well trying to, frustrating when it doesnt work out as planned, but like life you just have to try to get better:) Good to do practic hands on stuff.

Separating business from product strategy

2009-04-14T10:14:00.004+01:00

Hope anyone reading this had a lovely Easter break with plenty of chocolate and hopefully a bit of sunshine.

Back to work! Another excellent post from the Silicon Valley Product Group. I'd recommend anyone interested in product management to subscribe to their newsletters.

Today's SVPG newsletter describes and discusses the difference between business and product strategy. Really useful reading to better understand different departments needs, functions and visions.

Read full post here.

"Think of it this way. The business strategy and business portfolio planning provides a budget and a set of business metrics. The product organization then lives within that budget to pursue as aggressively as possible the best ways to hit those business metrics."

My favourite Firefox browser add-ons

2009-04-08T14:49:00.011+01:00

Gone are the old days when internet browsers were only there to let you browse and did nothing else.

The latest versions of the major browsers now feature interesting add-ons; aimed to give you a better and more interesting user experience.

Here are my favourite add-ons for Firefox, as I haven't used Macs for years and not too keen on IE. Would love to see which add-ons you use and why!

*TwitterFox
What for: Twitter updates.
When: Everytime someone I follow tweet - I get a pop up on lower RHS of screen. Handy preference settings makes it as visible and apparent as you want it to be.
Why: Saves you from visiting Twitter.com and you don't miss out on anything juicy or interesting.

*Mozilla personas - as I previously blogged about here.
What for: Making your browser look as you want it to.
When: Constant - it applies a skin to header and footer of browser.
Why: Visually more appealing than standard. Icon lower LHS of screen, extremely easy to switch between skins or revert back to default.

*Screen Grab!
What for: Saved or copied screen shots or sections of your screen.
When: Can be used on more or less any page, except from those using flash.
Why: Instead of CTRL+Print Screen, you can right click anywhere on the screen, select Screen Grab! and highlight selection you wish to copy. Save or copy and you're done. Perfect for presentations and blogs.

*Selenium IDE
What for: Testing that your site works.
When: Testing user journeys on new sections of a site before release.
Why: You have launched a new section of your site. You have written user journeys and clicked your way through and it appears to work. But something may happen during future site releases if you haven't tested the user journey that particular time - wouldn't you like a nudge that something's up? Best to save user journeys using Selenium and run them every time you perform a site release to spot any issues sooner than later.

*Tamper Data
What for: Back end code checking.
When: Checking which click-tracking URLs are active when users click on call-to-action buttons.
Why: Price comparison sites and e-commerce sites usually have tracking URLs that sit in the background and record clicks. A convenient way to check is to install Tamper Data, click "Start tampering", then perform your click action. You can then review each code used for every step of the redirect process.

Twitter and user testing

2009-04-08T13:15:00.005+01:00

One of the beauties of Twitter is being able to reach and communicate with your audience quickly and effectively, without having to upload new messages on your own site (which for large companies often involves tech and design resources).

For example, if you want to carry out user testing and you are happy for any user to attend.

Pre-Twitter options (asking users if they wish to participate in user testing);

1) Build email (design and database resource) + scheduling and sending of email

2) Upload message on website (if not in forum, design and tech resource)

With Twitter, you can simply ask your audience if they are interested, where, when and for how much if you are offering a financial incentive. Plus include email address.

It may not be suitable to every company or situation, but definitely excels in convenience and effectiveness.

(BTW if you are available Thursday 9th April for lovemoney.com user testing in Soho, let me know! :) )