Loading ...Talvin Muircastle creates assistive technologies for users with disabilities, for the virtual world of Second Life. The text below is adapted from (with permission) and you can read the entirety of his original post at his blog The ScriptAble Project.
You walk into a casino and put some money in the slot machine. You pull the handle. Odds are, you aren’t going to get anything the first time. Probably not the second, or the third. But casinos know that there is a window of opportunity for them: if you don’t see something line up in front of you, if you don’t hear the ring of coins or chips dropping into the till within a certain span of time, you are going to walk away. They set the odds, therefore, such that within that window of opportunity you probably will get a payout of some amount.
Probably not the Jackpot.
More than likely, not even as much as you have put in.
Still, you have to get some measure of satisfaction and gratification from it, or eventually even the Gambling Addicts are going to walk away–or at least try a different game. The level of payout required is determined, not via any intellectual mathematics, but through a sort of emotional calculus that varies person-to-person.
The same theory applies to developing technology for the End-User: if the User starts using your tech and doesn’t get some sense of satisfaction from it fairly quickly, they will decide it is not worth their valuable time. They will view it as “broken”, and they will describe it as such to others. Given that word-of-mouth is still the most potent form of advertising, this can make or break you.
Microsoft learned this the hard way with Windows Vista. They thought that people not only would not, but could not go back to XP. They did, in droves. Apple recognized this when they released Snow Leopard: while Snow Leopard contains some important stuff for the future of Macs, it’s all under the hood. The average user isn’t going to see much of a “payout”, so they priced it really low: $29.
Now add the challenges of Assistive Technology. Most Software Development (sadly) assumes the hypothetical “Normal Person” as the audience. This person doesn’t really exist, of course. We are too diverse. Perhaps we need to reconsider that whole concept, but that is a post for another time, and probably another blog.
My audience is almost never going to fit the “Normal Person” characteristics. The End-User may not use their eyes. They may not use–or even have!–hands. They may have a high level of intelligence yet have difficulty communicating with me effectively due to dysfunction in one part of their brain. They may have a disability “just like” someone else’s, and yet live their lives and deal with the world in a totally different way. It is my job to create technology that will give them a “payout” in their first hour using it. Sometimes, I even succeed.
The moral of this story? IT students should be sure to get a good liberal arts education. OK, seriously: the code you write may look elegant, efficient, and useful–to another scripter. How does it work for the End-User? If they don’t start getting some coins in their till pretty quickly, they are going to stop pulling the handle, and you wasted a lot of time on a work of modern art.
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I count among my good Internet friends a certain Eric Jordan, who can not only outpun anyone I know, but has a talent for taking a humorous approach to making his thoughts known. Although Eric is not a web developer by trade, he shows in his vignette, below, that he well understands the pitfalls of designing without having a clue who the audience truly is. Thanks to Eric for allowing me to reprint this here. Share and enjoy.
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They call themselves Web “Master”, but they have not Mastered.
The Programmer went to the Web Master, and said, “Master, I wish to create a Web Site.”
The Web Master nodded. “Let us see what you can do! I will prepare a site, and you will prepare yours. When we are both through, we shall exchange, and see how they compare.”
So, both took up their Editors, and they began to work. Finally, the Programmer turned to the Web Master. “Master, I am finished.”
“I have only the beginning of my own, but let us see what you have done!”
“Master, I have decided to use Flash for an introduction, and PHP for the main pages. I included an SQL database with an interface for the client, and made liberal use of JavaScript to enhance the look and feel of the site. When you mouseover the important links, it makes a sound that evokes a sense of what lies beyond. The graphics are colorful and animated, the links are orderly and logical, the templates are divine.”
The Master hmmed. “An interesting choice of a starting point. Here is what I have done so far.” He turned his screen so the Programmer could see.
The Programmer read three times, disbelief on his face. Finally, “But…but there is no Code! This is only plain Text! Mere data, no more! How can you call this the beginning of a web site?”
The Web Master smiled. “You are like the poor carpenter who shined and sharpened his tools, but never gave thought to the wood. Remember that the World Wide Web is about information! These other things are fine in their place, but they are only tools. You cannot build a house until you know who will be living in it!”
And the Programmer was Enlightened.
Dan Rockwell is a User Experience Researcher at Lextant.
[BACK STORY: I met Dan at BarCamp Ohio and started following him on Twitter. Then I started listening to his soundbytes on Utterli. One of his messages really resonated with me, and I asked him to guest post here on the topic of "getting" social media. Thanks, Dan!]
Anyone who’s watched a few hundred movies (like we’ve all done) knows that feeling of “oh yeah, I know what’s happening…” It’s that twinge of you “guessed it;” you know what’s going to happen next. You’ve seen the pattern, you’ve added it up. You feel a bit smug a first. Sometimes you look to see if anyone else figured it out. It’s a natural thing really and, lets face it, we love that feeling of “oh yes, we get it”.
For anyone following the buzz around social media these days, that feeling is like a constant hum your head, a subtle but noticeable nudge that you, yes, you,.. you get it. Sad part is, it’s often hard to share that joy of seeing the pattern in social media with folks on the outside of it. Folks that don’t get it. You’re right back in that movie theater, trying to convince a friend that in that one scene where the bad guy does X, you knew that was going to happen. Of course if they didn’t get that subtle nudge, that trace of the pattern that you got, well, here comes the debate. At this point, you can’t really win; after all it’s just a movie. However, with social media, you just can’t afford to lose. It’s far too important.
At first, I thought I was a bit crazy. I started seeing all kinds of interconnected events unfolding, small at first, larger over time. Patterns unfolding in my head. Naturally, I’m more drawn to folks that get the same nudge I get over social media. My “ah ha’s” resonate better with them. They get it too; there’s less resistance to the big idea and more of an open embracing arm gesture to bring it on. We iterate on ideas faster, all thinking in the same vein of sharing, learning, expressing, embracing, interconnecting and more.
But then there’s all those folks I know on the sidelines, looking at me as if I’m nuts. It’s understandable at times. It looks like a massive waste of time, all this twittering, blogging, social networking, social bookmarking, media creation, vlogging, super poking?!–for what, what’s the big “ah ah?” Folks on the outside of social media see time loss, that’s the biggest blank in their heads. They need to understand the real value of why are you doing it, because right now, all they see is time… disappearing.
The first mistake you can make when attempting to get a friend or co-worker to see the pattern is to threaten them with weight of it. I call this the “warning;” it never works and it’s a sure fire way to demotivate someone. Giving someone the “this will happen, you can’t escape it!!” mentality never works, you’ve seriously dropped the ball. In general if you back anyone up against a wall they will resist you to no end and logic goes out the window. So you can’t force someone to see what you see–you have to go back to that movie setting. What would the hero do? Well, a smart hero would do his/her research and find connections between your friend and the “ah ha” pattern.
You’ve got to make a bridge over into their world. Find a point where their life could be just a tad bit more interesting if they knew about the pattern. Then jump on that bit and show them how it could really benefit them.
You need to tap into what I call “universal truths,” whereby the pattern of social media helps all. We hear one of these truths all the time right now in social media marketing. Listening is a universal truth. You really can’t go wrong with listening. Today, everyone, and I mean everyone, is connected to the web is some way. Our lives, kids’ lives, businesses, products, markets, you name it, it’s all connected there on the web. You can go for a broad inquiry and collect a ton of data, or you can scale down to see the finer bits in between.
Once you get a taste for listening to the web, the hive mind of the planet connected by a billion bits of fiber, you can start asking it questions. Using tools like Google Insight Trends, Search Twitter or blog search tools, you can veer away from the beaten path of marketing speak buried in websites and plow into the mind of your customer.
So, big deal? Well the big deal is that people are in the system. Tap into the hive, think with it, and you’ll find it. Google is just the start really, the first place you go. If you want more real time knowledge, you go to Twitter or a blog search engine and start getting closer to the source.
Now you’re probably thinking, “oh man, this is work, I’ve already got a job.” Well, wrong again. Social media is smarter than that. The hive mind continually iterates itself and RSS is about the coolest thing fueling that hive mind. TweetBeep uses RSS to bring your twitter to you. Stop visiting 5 to 10 blogs a day and visit one with Google Reader and RSS. Subscribe to what you’re interested in, and it all comes to you.
Listening is very powerful. You start to eavesdrop on a 1000 conversations online. Who are all these people talking about…? Oh that person is reading the same book I’m reading, hey they do what I do, go to the same places I go, wait a sec that guy is from Brazil and he’s into what I’m into. Physical barriers are gone, this isn’t plain jane website exploration…you’re in the hive now–learn, absorb, see the pattern, iterate.
Once you start listening you’re ready for the next step–participation. Then you can roll into validation and tracking, one of my favorite aspects of the web. It’s all recordable, traceable, you can see your net effect online. Did an idea resonate, did a concept stick, change, iterate, improve, try again, all within half the time you’d think.
You have to listen, somehow. Odds are you’re doing it now, but you just haven’t leveraged the web and the hive chatter isn’t part of your iteration process. You may still add it up over time, but a little more data couldn’t hurt. Of course even the researcher in me debates that concept a tad. If you’re all about a vision, you must follow that vision, if you want more ideas, go get more ideas, and that means ya gotta listen.
Start listening, and start seeing the pattern. You’ll benefit and it won’t cost you any more time than you spend wondering what people are thinking with traditional methods.
Shawn Walsh is the Technology Analyst for NEO-RLS.
What are spyware and adware, anyway?
Spyware is any technology that aids in gathering information about a person or organization without their knowledge. Adware is any software application in which advertising banners are displayed while the program is running.
How did I get this on my computer?
Spyware applications are typically bundled as a hidden component of freeware or shareware programs that can be downloaded from the Internet. However, some spyware can be installed without the user’s consent, as a “drive-by download,” or as the result of clicking some option in a deceptive pop-up window.
What could/does spyware do?
Common examples include:
- Monitor and record your keystrokes
- Collect information about you and your surfing habits
- Modify your system settings
- Redirect your browser
- Leave a backdoor open for hackers & viruses
- Install other programs directly onto your PC
- Load adult-orientated images on your PC
- Dial a service (if you still have a modem), for which you will be billed!
What does this mean to me, Shawn?
- Spyware is an unfortunate part of Internet life now, and the best offense is a good defense. Here are some things you can do to prevent spyware:
- Keep Windows and your antivirus software up to date
- Install software only from Web sites you trust
- Read the fine print on free software. “There is no such thing as a free lunch.”
Use a tool to help detect and remove unwanted software. Some good free ones include Spybot and Ad-Aware. Get both to cover as many threats as possible.
Spyware and viruses are related and tend to travel together. If you have one on your computer, you will surely have the other soon.
