When not to use email

An excellent video from ViASPIRE here is worth a look.  They point out that words are only a small part of a communication message and once you start getting into emotional content use the phone because your words can be easily misunderstood.
I heartily agree.  However using their argument a video link should add another layer [...]

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Sales Force Automation and CRM – new approach needed

I have had a pretty good look at the main serious Web-based hosted SFA and CRM solutions. Salesforce.com, Netsuite, SugarCRM, EBSuite CRM. They are all very similar and probably very appropriate in many situations.
However my opinion is that none of them are intuitive and in a sales situation none of them are fast enough.

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An own-goal for IBM

I may have mentioned before that once a concept becomes ‘hot’ everyone wants to get on the bandwagon and spin their products. So IBM has announced a new rack-mounted server “designed for heavy traffic web 2.0 social networking sites”.
In marketing terms an own goal because the product almost certainly is good for any [...]

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Eye tracking – not counterintuitive at all

I love eye tracking studies. This study tracked men and women separately on the Marks and Spencer home page.
http://www.etre.com/blog/2006/05/five_days_bonus_ms_revisited/
Quote “As you can see, these findings are somewhat counterintuitive. The women were extremely focused on the navigation menus and rarely looked at the main body of the page. However, while the men were also [...]

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The small print

A designer who we had done work for just sent me a contract their client had sent them to sign. It was headed ‘Assignment of Intellectual Property(IP) Rights’. It would assign all IP rights in the software to the client.
I had to check the date on the email but it was April 3rd not the [...]

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SP1 has arrived

I have just downloaded Vista SP1. The wretched program warns you that it will take an hour. I watched it for a while and got bored, so I took the hint and went out for a cup of coffee. When I got back there was a ‘click here to proceed’ thing! It then took about [...]

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Designers are not users are not designers.

This month we have an outstanding useability column from Jakob Neilsen. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/designer-user-differences.html
There are two important insights

Designers are not users
Users are not designers

Like a japanese haiku these two statements can be used for lengthy meditation and should be burned on the heart of every designer. Too many sites are built for the designer, not [...]

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One born every minute

If you want a good laugh at other people’s expense go take a look at http://www.telebid.com/. It looks like a very cool auction site with some real bargains. There is a 32″ flat screen with 49 minutes to go for £197. What is the catch?

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Google

This from the Google website
“Unfortunately, we’re unable to interpret the meaning of changes in our legal documents for you. If you have questions or you need legal advice on interpreting the terms, please don’t hesitate to contact an attorney.”
Uh!

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What if they leave negative comments on my site/blog/forum?

Jeremiah Owyang in his blog, asks the following question: “What if they leave negative comments on my site/blog/forum? “. The answer is that it has to be handled well, not covered up or removed.
I have always believe that a customer complaint can be a huge opportunity if handled well.
You routinely buy something from [...]

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