Used and Experienced

Hakia – Semantic search

Neil — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:27:49 +0000

Hakia (not to be confused with Haka) looks at the meaning of Web pages and matches search queries using its own quality index of trusted, relevant sites. There’s going to be a stampede of Semantic activity soon so watch out…

http://www.hakia.com/

Qualitative research

Neil — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:25:32 +0000

One of the many things I took away from Mex 2008 was the importance of using qualitative research to help define user experiences.

Dr Norman Lewis, chief strategy Officer of Wireless Grids Corporation encouraged his audience to observe the wants and needs of children and teenagers (as well as adults) as a way to provide rich digital user and brand experiences.

So many digital projects I have worked on over the last few years have relied on team assumptions based on subjective opinion and audience segmentation reports.

As a freelancer the biggest challenge I used to encounter on a regular basis was getting producers and account directors to persuade clients to incorporate research (and testing) into a budget.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualitative_methods

MEX 2008

Neil — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:18:33 +0000

On the 27th and 28th May I spent two days at Mobile User Experience conference Mex 2008 as a volunteer reporter.

This well organised and enlightening event involved keynote speeches, breakout sessions, panel discussions and was centered around the Mex Design competition.

Ten manifesto points were covered during the conference:

1. Content itself will be the interface of the future
2. Handsets are no longer just for the hand
3. Fragmentation is the enemy of innovation
4. Fashion is stronger motivator than functionality
5. The developing world is the new frontier for mobile user experience
6. Search requires a radically different approach in the mobile environment
7. Intelligent contact lists are the future centres of the user interface
8. Mobile payments herald the next generational shift
9. Users as individuals: Uniquely complex and contradictory
10. The potential of Smart Voice

The winner of the Mex Design Competition went to Taptu
a mobile search engine.

The event was also featured on Reuters.

Here’s a summary from the event organiser Marek Pawlowski.

http://www.mobileuserexperience.com/?p=570

How much will an IPhone 3G cost?

Neil — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:15:40 +0000

A few people have recently mentioned that the IPhone is cheap in the UK (about £100). An article on Wired recently stated the total cost of the phone plus an 18 month contract with 02 would be £639. The upside is that owners won’t necessarily need a new ipod.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2008/06/the-real-cost-o.htm

http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Habits

Neil — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:13:00 +0000

Here’s an interesting article on the BBC site about using mobile devices to study human behaviour…

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7433128.stm