Kicks and Kisses

Mashable recently published a info graphic showcasing 7 incredible innovations. Each of the innovation is highly user-centered design and probably is THE reason for disruption.

I had a few albums on Picasa with varied privacy settings, with most of them being shared between a close group, just one being public. Recently, I joined the bandwagon of Google Plus and started seeing all my albums in Google+ photos tab with their respective sharing settings. I had never expected to make a show of my Picasa album photos, which I share between closed groups, for everyone on Google +. It definitely scared me at first, considering who can see what, and in what circles. Then I changed my settings to “Only You”, which thankfully made my albums private. This was not at all a positive user experience for me. And why only Photos? Why not my Google bookmarks?

I would have considered it a good design, if Google + had asked me, “Do you want to share your Picasa photos?”, instead of showing all my albums (including the private ones) under photos tab. Sometimes Integration features are good but one has to be really careful when it comes to the privacy of the digital content.  Perhaps it has happened to other users too, as I see various family photos of my friends on their Plus profile. Google+ increased the discovery of personal photos without making users aware.

Then one day, out of sheer curiosity, I searched my name on Google and found that it indexed my plus profile link, which is fine. But when I searched my name on image search, I was shocked to see all of my PICASA album pictures.  I was terribly disappointed at Google’s controlled yet uncontrolled indexing mechanism. I double checked the Picasa settings and realized that image search is showing cached images. I was happy to discover “How to remove my pictures from Google Image search?”  I used Google URL removal tool to remove the links, and since then, have submitted almost 40 URLs. It was amazing to see that some of the images went away but instead new ones started appearing from same albums. I submitted few more URL removal requests, yet I still see around 10 images appearing from my PICASA albums.

I have been doing since the last month, and am sure that Google must have indexed it again but still I see some of my images appearing in Image search. Today, it surprised me even more when it started showing one of my friends’ album pictures when I searched my name. I never commented on it. I never tagged it. We both are friends on Google+. Why his photos are coming as search results when I search my name, I don’t know.  It never happened to me before I started using Google Plus. I removed all my albums from plus. If it still does not stop showing my pictures, I will delete my Google Plus account, and probably my Picasa albums one day. I hoping the best but yesterday I deleted all my albums and photos from PICASA

Just by a look at a music file on your computer, you can tell its byte count, datatype and content characteristic and that it is a file which can be played in any media player. But still you need CUT-COPY-PASTE interactions when you want to transfer the same from one device to another. Why can’t you transfer this file from one computer to another, like water from one glass to another?

Recently developed LoK-IT flash drives, by LOK-IT intrigues me. The User Interface built on the exterior of flash drive allows users to protect the data, in case one loses the Flash drive, which is not very rare; this is true innovation in Flash drive space, in the similar way we innovated from floppy drives to flash drives. I await a day when user will be able to have an idea of the information volume a flash drive contains, just by having a look at the information visualization on its surface or by simply weighing it in hand, sparing the plugging on computer.

Another true innovation, I believe, in this domain would probably be the data transfer- merely by holding two flash drives face-to-face and transmitting data from one to another. Certainly, our generation is not very far from this as we see in the incoming iPhone technologies/apps, which allows one to transfer contacts from one iphone to another.

Siftables is another great research project where David Merrill has designed & developed a system where information behaves like real world material.

I would be the first to download the firefox plugg in if versionone develops it. As of now I have a bookmark on my firefox bookmark toolbar where I have bookmarked the search specific URL.

Versionone is one of the best SAAS based agile project management tool. I simply love this tool. So far as I’ve seen, one of best enterprise app designed nicely. I spend almost 2 hours a day collaborating with development team and product management on V1. Recently versionone changed its UI which has now got a very sleek look, but during the exercise, version one lost a few key things which have decreased its user experience. Infact, these few things were better in the old design.

·       Moving the “search” from left panel to top right corner decreased its reach and usability. I wish the search could have been closer to list items, and bigger. The other better place for search bar could be on the top navigation bar itself or, just below it as shown

·       Permalink was one of the great things of earlier UI. One was able to copy the item name/number from Versionone and it will copy hyperlink along with it. One was able to launch the item right from email client. Now you have to copy and search the item

·       I find the earlier conversation feature easy to use than it is now. It used to have high visibility& easy updating, when it was right there on the screen in context to the object. Now you have to scroll all the way down.

·       The information hierarchy in story/defect detail is not well-thought during the redesigned. Earlier it was categorized nicely using tabs.  Placing everything on one view certainly increase cognitive load on users.  

·       Assigning an item to multiple team member was never a easy task and still its same. One has to hold CTLR key to select multiple members. The days of thick client UI and “CTRL + Select” has gone   

·       I think story /defect detail window should not be model. One really works on multiple windows at a time and its kind of become roadblock in window management.  The other lame design fact about this model window is hiding close/pop-out controls under scroll bar

·       Story detail window became model instead of new browser, I guess it was a bad decision. Model is good if you want to display minimal info for scan or want user to do small activity.

Still, I love this software and will continue to use. I strongly recommend this tool.   

Delivering a contextual ad as per Website User Persona plays an important role in success of the ad campaign. For example showing a MBA Training Institute ad to a 22 year old  Engineering Student on country specific popular social network site may increase its lead probability.

However there are few thoughts of mine which may play a significant role in success of these campaigns.

·     Creative graphic image: A graphic ad full of text and direct sales slogan does not work for me at least. I like the ads which unfold a story. The hidden element increases its usability. I tend to click more compared to ads which are full of text.

·      Animation: Excess animation can draw my attention to see the details of the ad but simply its distracting me from my primary task. I am here to read content, not to see the animation of the ads. These ads should have minimum possible animation with buttons like Replay etc. If a user finds it interesting one should always be able to play. 

·     Curiosity: While designing such ad one must pay attention that there should be an element of curiosity in the ad itself. It increases the chances of clicking on the same

·     Colors and Borders: I like ads which uses fresh colors. Like fresh green yellow, orange. The advertiser should use thick boundary around  graphic ad. Thick boundary may make it more usable.

·      Differentiating online ads from print ads: Generally advertiser hires ad agencies which converts their print ads into a online ad campaigns. There should be a differentiating factor in between.

·     Click by Mistake: The advertiser should not leverage users mistake to land him on a product

Page. This may hamper ad campaigns usability as well as publishers website usability. This is one of the annoying factor, I face. Sometime ad campaign displays links, graphics etc which tend user to click on it in order to get more information but unfortunately it diverts on a product page.

·     Choose a website which displays only one or two display ad on the page. To many ads on the website may divert the users attention which again decreases its usability

·      Display of ad in middle of the content: When I am reading a interesting content, I tend to

Ignore even creative ad which is being inserted between the content. Advertiser should select Websites, which displays the ads on the side by side to content. The website which displays the ads in between the content may impact its usability.

·     Landing page should only contain few sales / marketing elements. These pages should take minimum user info like its email address only. Or maybe the lending page shall display a

Informative version of the advertisement.

·      Landing page should also fulfill users expectation which was built around the ad There should be a relation. The lending page should build a trust factor. The landing page should also have similar creativity which was used in making the graphic ad. Often the landing page are full of information. While making a landing page advertiser shoud keep the goals in mind.

·     Leading to free Information: An Internet geek always look for free information on the internet. Leading to a PDF, Whitepaper, research paper for a technology persona might increase ad campaigns usability. The geek might further digg into.

·     Give more take less: Most of the ad campaigns ask or demand user to register/ signup/enter details/buy without showing much details. The landing page should show more of contextual free information without asking users information. For example a dating site ad campaign might display a gorgeous girl picture in a display ad. This might lure one to click on the same but the landing page would ask user to register. The landing page might have display a full dummy profile of the girl. There are always methods to take users info

   ps: These are my personal views

I have a Nokia 5220 ExpressMusic phone. It has dedicated music keys on the left edge of the display. One can play/pause/stop/change song from here. Even though I am a music lover and getting dedicated keys for music came as a boon to me but I rarely use these keys. I do not carry earphones most of the time. Its sound quality is very good such that everybody in a range of 20 meter can notice the same. Thus I don’t play in public space.

I keep its keypad locked when it is not in use. I am surprised that I can’t lock/unlock its music keys, Or maybe I am not able to explore how to do it. While Once I was driving my bike it started playing, may be somehow the music key got pressed. Once it happened to me in a office meeting and even in a movie theatre too.

The lock keypad feature should also lock dedicated music keys so that one does not press it accidently. Sometime it puts you in embarrassing situations. The mobile settings UI should facilitate user to customize the lock/unlock keys feature. If they wish to lock these keys with keypad lock feature, they should be able to do it

Bollywood movie “Dev D” was released on February 6, 2009. It has become a prevailing fact that one can download any movie using various P2P download software like bittorrent, bitcommets. Recently one of my friend Jubin tried it. He found the Dev D torrent file on the Internet and next day he completed the download. However the torrent file was not containing Dev D movie. It was a fake torrent of DEV D. It was containing an old Bollywood movie called “Chal Chala Chal”.

Jubin was quite frustrated with the prank someone played. This might be a prank or a well thought strategy from the movie owners who wanted to stop piracy at some extent. The idea of fake torrent might have stop online piracy of this movie significantly.

All the torrent websites has this feature which allows users to leave comments/ opinion about a torrent. There are geeks who spends significant amount of time and energy helping other Netizen to decide whether one should download movie using this torrent or not. These opinions generally suggest the movie print quality, authenticity, number of seeds etc. Probably any digital media owner should employ couple of internet geeks who can upload fake content torrent and authenticate the same via posting positive comments about the same

These are just assumptions but competitors can leverage internet piracy to significantly decrease revenues of any new releases. How about a competitor creating   pirated content torrent along with supporting stuff like subtitles files in various language.    

PS: I watched the movie in theatre   

The number of mobile users in India has topped 310m and increasing at the rate of 1m every week. Increasing competition bringing down the calling rates. In this scenario, Value Added Services (VAS) have become significant revenue source for mobile operator. These value added services are being provided to end users via SMS, MMS, Push Messaging, voice portals, WAP etc.

User is being lured by massive advertising and promotions to use these services. Sometimes operator do not tell the complete details of the service or if they tell the steps are so complicated that an unaware customer can’t understand. Users land-up paying money sometimes for nothing. Example: Reliance Mobile Launched a VAS called “Call me |93 231 33333”. The advertising campaign shows celebrities asking viewers to call them to know about their caller tunes and to subscribe caller tunes services (A caller tunes is some music instead of Tring-Tring which a caller listen while calling other user). When you call on such a number you hear some music (celebrities caller tune) and than a recorded voice “Hi I am Riya, like my tunes you can get one too, just follow the instruction coming up” Instruction: To set this as your ringback tone press 1. To choose many more caller tone dial 1234 and it goes. 

 Bad Design Details:

1. The voice portal design is such that it forces user to use the service. At every steps it asks the user to press certain number to continue. It leaves no options to exit, more info, help, and talk to customer care etc.
2. During subscription and after subscription the service/ service provider does not inform about “How to unsubscribe”. User has to call customer care. Even customer care executive don’t do it for a user. Customer care will ask you to send an SMS “UNSUB” to 1234 to unsubscribe.
3. It auto renews the subscription every month without calling / sending an SMS to user.
4. The usage cost of these services is as high as Rs. 6/- per minute (Like making an ISD Call).It pressurize one to make quick decision, this also increases the rate of errors.

In short it can be said that some of the design decision has being taken in order to maximize revenue. These design decision leads user to forcefully use the service or sometime leads to make mistake which increases the revenue to telecom operator.