Too Much Content
This is a reminder (via @smashingmag) that you have too much content. Even if you think you don't, you probably do. Tack this to your door.
The Law of Proximity
In design, the Law of Proximity states that objects that are near, or proximate to each other, tend to be related. Users inherently expect things that are related in theme or function to be grouped together in space. When this expectation is violated, confusion and/or frustration results. This is a classic example of bad user experience.
In this case, I spent a mere ten seconds updating my Twitter profile blurb...then spent way too much time trying to find the control that would allow me to commit the change. Couldn't find it, couldn't find it, couldn't find it...oh, wait. It's on the opposite side of the page, nowhere near the part of the page I was working on.
Don't do this to your users. It makes them feel stupid. When you do that, the service you're offering suffers.
Modern Home Page Design
This is the result of my own review of the state of home page design at the end of 2017. Here are the most notable design trends that I see out there following a review of about 20 sites...predominantly (but not exclusively) from the education and design fields.
Three Quick Checks for Effective Visual Hierarchy
This is another of those posts where I grab someone else's great ideas and squirrel it away here for future reference. Dominic Harkness posted these little gems on what he calls his "3 Ws." Any effective webpage design should immediately answer these questions for anyone who happens to view it. These are simple ideas, but they're often overlooked. It's good to remind ourselves of these basics from time to time.
Read MoreOn Net Neutrality
In 2015 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted the Open Internet Order in which Internet service providers were banned from discriminating against different types of traffic or charging big Internet companies like Netflix and Amazon for the privilege of having their content delivered by higher speed connections. Having been enacted and maintained by popular public support, net neutrality laws are nevertheless under constant attack from corporate service providers and politicians alike.
Read MoreKnowledge Threatens the Pioneer Spirit
Hofstadter breaks his analysis of the history of matters of intellect in America by looking at three broad areas: religion, education in relation to labor movements and politics and changing philosophies on how children should be educated. While I found the discussion of historical labor movements to be uncompelling as it relates to the grand topic of the book, his review of religion and approaches to education in this country are as relevant today as they were when the book was written in 1963.
Read MoreLinus Explains Big Data
For a media ethics class I'm taking, I was given an assignment to "persuade the audience to be either for or against big data." What made it fun was that I was told I could select the format I wanted to use to present the argument: a presentation, an essay or any other format I'd like. There's nothing better than to be given free reign with respect to format. Naturally, I chose to present my argument in the form of a Peanuts strip.
Read MoreDo Not Use FAQs
I can't stress this enough. I'm often asked by customers to do this, mostly because they remember seeing them so frequently in the early days of the web. it's a pernicious memory that refuses to fade.
Read MoreThe Ethics of ‘Facebook Live’
In the absence of a method to prevent the live streaming of murders and other violence, Zuckerberg remains personally responsible for the consequences of this service offering. By not suspending the service until a screening system is in place and functioning, he has made the decision that the ethical problems associated with Facebook Live are subordinate to the monetary benefit it confers to his company.
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