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Aug 31 2010

facebook POP QUIZ #4: What's the top user goal on facebook?

Category: design & user experience,social media,tech opinion — jmacofearth @ 10:00 am

I'd be interested to hear what the user-interface group for facebook says about what the top goal of their users on facebook is? Aside from simplifying the confusing masthead navigation, facebook would do well to ID the main user function and then allow their design and feature upgrades to flow from that focus.

Places is okay, if you want to be that obsessive about "locating" yourself in social media. A better and CLEARER way to connect and share with your friends, might be a better project for the team. That I believe is the #1 GOAL of a typical facebook user. And if that is the primary goal of users on facebook why is it only on one screen and why does it get about 4% of the screen space? I think they might want to look at that in the next redesign.

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/FB_Pop_Quiz_4

Tags: facebook friends, facebook pop quiz, facebook UI, facebook user, facebook UX, facebook's purpose, finding your friends on facebook, goal-driven design, user centered design

Comments (6)

Aug 30 2010

facebook POP QUIZ #3: Why So Many SETTINGS Pages? Can You Do It In One?

Category: design & user experience,social media,tech opinion — jmacofearth @ 10:38 am

As facebook gets slower, the time we spend "hunting" for certain settings gets exponentially longer. Maybe facebook needs a pref/settings control panel like Firefox or Chrome. Cause this pulldown, open page, hunt for setting, pulldown different page, hunt for setting… I can tell you I'm on a pretty fast connection and it just about makes me want to give up facebook.

So you might want to familiarize yourself with these pages:

1. Account Settings – general stuff, like your account name, contact info and stuff.

2. Privacy Settings – I have recently changed from friends only. While I am an open book if you look for me, the stuff I do on facebook is a bit more personal. I don't want to know who you are. But there are a few folks, who… let's just say, "it's complicated." And I'd suggest you turn off a lot of the stuff in this area. facebook, in an attempt at being innovative has gone overboard with sharing and re-sharing features. It's almost too much to keep up with.

3. Application Settings – where you can limit external applications from posting stuff on your wall. A couple of them started rewriting my status message rather than just updating my wall. And that sucked. (see: blip.fm's facebook integration)

@jmacofearth
permalink: http://bit.ly/FB_popquiz_3

previous facebook POP QUIZes:

Tags: application privacy, are you concerned about your privacy?, facebook pop quiz #3, facebook settings, facebook settings failure, facebook sharing, hunt for setting, over-sharing, posting on my wall, privacy, privacy settings, re-sharing, what privacy?

Comments (3)

Aug 30 2010

Managing for Monday Morning: How Do You Hit the Week Running?

Category: about me,executive learnings — jmacofearth @ 9:58 am

My Monday AM View

One of the most memorable scenes in Office Space is when the lead character is having a rotten start to his week and one of his coworkers asks if he's having a "case of the Mondays." It really is kind of like fingernails on a chalkboard.

But the question of Monday mornings and quick-start routines might be illuminating if we can determine some winning strategies. Here's my current thinking and Monday start this week.

Even if you don't have to get up early, get up early. (Law of productivity: get up earlier.)
Even if you don't have an office or a cube to show up at, show up somewhere. (Home offices are really nice, but for me Monday mornings are for connecting and hitting strides that I will attempt to fulfill during the rest of the day, and if done well, the rest of the week.
Set a few simple goals. (Your goals are not your todo list. Start with 3 goals for the day. If that's too many drop back to ONE GOAL. Until you accomplish it.)
Consult and update your appointment calendar. (This seems like a no-brainer, but often things find their way on to our calendars that are not essential to our goals. If you can't define the purpose of an appointment on your calendar, delete it. If someone else put it there, ask them what the purpose is.)
Be amongst your people, but don't be distracted. (I like being around people. I have headphones that take me whereever I want to go sonically, and then it's a matter of picking a location with good coffee and good people watching. And if I have a full agenda, a place with a good lunch as well.)
Refocus everytime you find your mind wandering. (Sure, it's a proven fact that daydreaming is actually a highly aroused state, but there are better times for spacing out besides Monday morning.)
Connect and reconnect. (Who do you need to contact? Just do it. Sales connections. Send the letters/emails. Old friends pop into your mind, send'm a note. "Thinking about you." That's enough.)
Don't schedule for the entire morning. (Set a time limit. When the time is up, it's time to get to work, whatever that work may be.)
Pause between mental leaps. (We are so quick to change our attentions or activities. Instead of letting your rapid mind make those choices, notice when you are about to jump the rails into another task. Then… PAUSE. Make sure the new direction is toward a goal and not just a response to boredom. Then take a breath. If the choice still seems wise, then go. If you find yourself questioning your mind's choice. Then you have reached a higher level of consciousness for a brief instant. Be grateful.) — this concept is expanded here: A Deep Breath: An Emergency Pause