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Yesterday morning, I received a Tweet from Jason Calacanis, who is current is building Mahalo, asked for suggestions and feedback on a redesign of their site. I quickly saw how many other people were aware of his request when I saw 100+ comments (actual comments, not garbage like “this sucks” or “get a life!”)! More »
Microblogging service, Twitter, has had its fair share of success and failure. I really love it, and have been tweeting more than I have months ago, only because of the growth of it. No matter whether or not you use Twitter, there are some lessons learned in their growth for everyone to accept.
Topix CEO Chris Tolles doesn’t think anonymous (unregistered) users are that much of a risk to a community. He decided to have his engineers pull some data on registered vs. unregistered comments and their resulting kill rate from their online communities.
The data shows that unregistered users accounts for more than 80% of killed messages; however, Tolles adds that these users are three times as interactive compared to registered users. That’s the kicker.
While there seems to be no limit to the number of psychos and trolls out there, they — among everyone else — are the composite audience for this site and any other sites that outsource their commenting systems to Topix. You’ve got to embrace it, and Tolls continues that the unacceptable comments from both users are equivalent to moderate (with IP Addresses), and only accounts for about 5.1% of content removed from the site.
The data Tolles provided is below, but also you can read it in his blog post about it.
Total posts: 83108 (visible: 78021)
Total by registered users: 22336
Total by non-registered: 60772Posts killed: 5087
Posts by registered users that got killed: 992
Posts by unregistered users that got killed: 4095% posts killed (overall): 5.1%
% posts killed (registered users): 4.4%
% posts killed (unregistered): 6.7%
What do you think about all this? Should commenting systems require registration even though they offer less engagement?
[Link via Howard Owens' response to the anonymous/registered debate.]
Tags: social media, social news, trolls, Usability, web 2.0
What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of enterprise software? Probably user-friendly isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. Robert Scoble ignited the discussion on why bloggers generally don’t write about enterprise software.
I should preface this entry with the fact that I haven’t had a lot of hands-on experience with enterprise software from popular vendors Oracle, Sybase or other applications that falls under this umbrella. Despite this, I have used SAP and other enterprise applications so I have some insight into them.
Typically, enterprise software attempts to solve problems across an organization (hence, enterprise), but also allows flexibility to adapt to the specific needs in the organization like “Accounts Payable.”
From my experience, enterprise software sucks (for end-users). The goal of enterprise software is to address the needs of the enterprise — not the end-user. This is understandable, otherwise why would the organization purchase it?
Scoble’s reasoning on why enterprise software isn’t sexy, is that it was only deployed at the request of the a minority in the organization, not the people who are mandated to use it:
[Regarding SAP] … But I didn’t have any say in that matter. Some CIO somewhere else made that decision and forced us all to use SAP. That doesn’t exactly make us warm and fuzzy about the computer sitting in front of us on the desk.
I understand where he’s coming from, but I find this point flawed. Just because the employee wasn’t a decision maker in the usage of enterprise software, doesn’t automatically make it unattractive. I’d think that the employees don’t mind doing the tasks asked of them; rather, I think the frustration is in the software itself. However, since bloggers thrive on their audience who constantly make choices, I totally agree with Scoble’s statement that “consumer software” unquestionably pays the bills for bloggers.
I think in many cases enterprise software is underrated. The purpose of the software is to be functional for the company, not to be friendly for end-users. On the contrary, I feel the end-user experience (the employee) is generally undervalued in the software industry.
What’s the solution?
We all use computers differently. I think that enterprise software manufacturers should offer open flexible APIs so that a user-friendly front-end could be developed for it. Essentially, as long as you have authentication, replication and programmed access rights/rules for the data, then everyone wins. Using enterprise software shouldn’t be a hassle. Front-ends can still be sold to clients, while allowing them to develop them in-house if they wanted. The only challenge is getting enterprise software vendors to agree on an open format.
There you have it with my sentiments about enterprise software. Perhaps you disagree, share your thoughts in the comments below.
Tags: Blogging, business, discussion, Software, technology, UsabilityError messages on the Web really do suck. Either they are too vague as to what the problem is, or not helpful enough after explaining the problem. Error messages today, have become the 404 pages of yesterday.
Current Status
Right now, error messages suck. They don’t tell the user what heck is going on, the Web site stealthily performs maintenance without letting users know (and thus breaking things). Users are left frustrated, confused, and simply will leave.
Take for instance, MySpace’s infamous generic error message, Sorry. an unexpected error occured. The page looks considerably drab, the advertisements work beautifully, and I am left all alone to reload the page over and over without understanding what’s happening. It never told me to wait X minutes to try again, it never told me to try to fix anything, and it never explained what caused it.
Alright, I know first hand, that error messages are usually difficult to explain cause they are always unexpected. Who expects error messages? LOL, I got a few suggestions on how MySpace could better communicate these problems to users, in a relaxed, yet informative way that might help ease frustration.
The Solution
Ok, first we establish some helpful messaging. Here’s what I propose:
Oops! It appears that our servers are having some trouble helping you send a message. You can try to clear your temporary files and try again, or give us a few minutes to wake the hamsters up.
Sorry for the trouble,
MySpace Staff
Ok, that’s a little better, don’t you think? It’s relaxed for the audience, it provides a helpful suggestion to fix it … but indeed, if it is a server problem, they can suggest to a user to try back in a few minutes.
So, here’s what I suggest that I looks like:
What do you think about my suggestion? Maybe you are an online provider and you mastered the art of online error messages? What works, what doesn’t? Leave some comments and let me know what you think.
Tags: Help, myspace, social media, Usability
Chase’s online authentication is difficult for one to use because they introduced additional security enhancements. I hope by sharing my feedback, Chase will improve their login procedure because its very clear that the consumer experience was not considered.
I own one Chase credit card, and I just want to check my balance. Like most Chase customers, they would go to www.chase.com and authenticate themselves on the left side of the screen. Instead of seeing my account balances, I am presented with a choice on where to send my “Authentication Code.” Having no choice, I proceeded by clicking next.
I indicate that I want the code e-mailed to me. Who wants text messages from their bank? The last thing I want is text message offers from my credit card company. The code arrives about two minutes later in my inbox, then I continue logging in. Oh, wait — I now must re-enter my password.
Screenshots of what a customer must endure to access their account:
Five steps to access my account.
I find the authentication process excruciatingly inconvenient, especially for a company that expects their customers to use their online services more frequently. I understand they must have this architecture in place for security purposes otherwise their customers may be vulnerable to phishing, one can only wonder — does this really secure me? It may dissuade the common phisher, but not the elite identity thief. If I had my code e-mailed to me, the attacker would only need to compromise my e-mail to compromise my bank account. Security is only as strong as its weakest point of entry, in this case — e-mail.
Did they even ask their customers? [no] Perhaps they should have anticipated this inconvenience. There are a variety of factors that go into decisions such as how many customers do you want calling into the call centers or self-serving themselves online. Perhaps, they considered the number of users who would just “do it later” and not visit their account details. I’d like to see them substantiate the decision with numbers, such as projected customer satisfaction, or increased usage of the web site, or justify the chilling fact that customers aren’t their top priority.
There is hope. (At least, I think so)
I bank with Bank of America, and they have a phenomenal login system for their web site that is safe, secure and convenient for their customers. It’s called SiteKey. Users must enter their user name and the state in which they have their account established. They are then presented with a question that they setup which are generally difficulty for anyone else to have such as prior relationships, maiden names, first hobby or car, etc. A picture is displayed (that they setup in the initial login) and they type their password. I find it incrediby easy to use and secure as well.
Chase should reconsider their login system to help secure and satisfy their customers to an even higher level. They even have a big brother to look up to and compete against, and I hope they take the initiative to revamp this. I wonder who’s call it was to roll this out. The benefit for helping your customers by increased awareness of Chase features, given a greater sense of control of their banking experience, and will prove their bank is on their side. The business benefits of this are quite clear: potential up-selling opportunities, ability to track what customers want via Web analytics, and a great opportunity to connect with customers by listening to their needs (PR reasons).
If you are a Chase customer, share your feedback on the Web site in the comments.
Consider what features you find important when using your bank online?
[tags]Chase, Web, Website, Login, Authentication, Feedback, Customer, Customers, JPMorgan, Banking, Financial, Money, Security, Phishing, Opinions[/tags]
Tags: internet, money, Rants, UsabilityI love dynamic growing communities like Digg and Netscape. Digg I most certainly prefer since it has a grassroots following. Anyhow, Kevin Rose updated the site of Digg again. From his own PR Blog:
Interface Design, Digg Goes Widescreen
We’ve gone from a fixed width layout to a flexible one allowing you to make use of your screen real-estate on larger monitors. Navigation has also been moved to the top allowing you to quickly switch between sections.Top 10 Stories/Videos
Digg stories move fast, so we’ve created a quick view of the top 10 hottest on Digg, updated in real time. This list changes as other stories accelerate in Diggs - so make sure to check it often. Think of this as your quick pulse of what’s hot in any given section.Videos Enhancements
Aside from giving Videos their own position in the top navigation, we have added a couple cool features: Top 10 hottest videos, and on-Digg video previews. Simply click any video with a play icon to get lightbox window in which you can preview and Digg the video.Podcasting
Now you can Digg your favorite podcast series and individual podcast episodes. Not only can you see a list of the most popular podcasts by section, you can also dive into any individual podcasts to see the most Dugg individual episodes. And don’t forget - every time you Digg a podcast or podcast episode that is bookmarked in your profile and shared with your friends.Profile Enhancements
Now quickly jump between your Dugg News, Videos, or Podcasts. With three separate sections we make it easy to sort through your own Diggs or the Diggs from your friends using the friends tab.
I just might get into Digging. I dunno. I like Netscape, but there is not a real community there. The best part is that, ideally, users can participate on both communities equally and get the site in question double as much traffic - which is always a better thing.
If the Internet is a Series of Tubes, certainly, social bookmarking websites are the water pumps that keep the web moving. 
[tags]Internet, Digg, Netscape, Social Bookmarking[/tags]
Tags: Digg, social news, Updates, UsabilityLately, Digg (popular Social Bookmarking website) has been under fire from their own top users for their moderating policies, and the utter disregard for their respected top Diggers (contributors). The big deal is the way Kevin Rose is not permitting friends to vote on a story (spin-zone: Gaming). Digg’s number one user, P9 voluntarily left Digg due to disagreement on this. Neophile has fairly detailed recap of what happened.
Kevin Rose responded to the (negative) attention, and thus remains firm. Calacanis promises his members that there will be no penalty for voting on friend’s posts (one user, one vote rule). In his update #3, he cites that obviously Digg is burying stories of competitive services, or critical in nature. Thats not cool. Accept feedback, use it as opportunity to build from. Heck, if AOL/Calacanis did it with Netscape, you can do it too. Kevin Rose ought to take some notes on Loving your Members (Calacanis - High and Low (or “How to love members… shall I count the ways …). Digg clearly did not anticipate the needs (’nor the respect) of the top Diggers. Oops, looks like they dropped the ball on this one, and it rolled on over to Netscape’s corner.
Here are the links to the input to both sides of it; I respect their perspective, thereby giving equal coverage:
‘Scape on.
[tag]Digg, Netscape, Social Bookmarking, Social Bookmarking, P9, Calacanis, Kevin Rose[/tag]
Tags: Digg, social news, Updates, Usability