Is content King, if functionality is a Serf?

"Designing for a best case persona versus the 'even your grandma can do it model supports goal-directed versus task-directed design”
Paul Hine, ZocDoc

NYC Web Design met for a presentation, panel and tech author update at AOL Venture’s at 770 Broadway Monday nite. ZocDoc's Paul Hine calibrated user design by advising completing full personas to satisfy. Consider what they do, how they react personally, professionally and to brands. Have multiple personas but know who loves the site and could be an evangelist, design for them without offending the others.

To create a tangible example, Paul showed a photo of imaginary “Joanna” the financial exec, who spins, eats Chinese at her desk and tagline quote would be “I don’t have time for that”. Though Joanna may never tweet for you or become an evangelist, its important not to piss her off. You strive to design so as not to offend your multiple personas, she’s still a user and could like the site.

Whether you are an “ultra-lite start-up in your girlfriend’s kitchen” or a large complex organization all sites need to test. You weigh results and filter accordingly. This includes tapping all user touch points. When you get positive comments, engage and survey. It all builds persona profiles.

An audience member said what he loved about using ZocDoc was the ability to decide by his own schedule. This Paul re-inforced, is “goal-directed” design argued for in Alan Cooper's Inmates are Running the Asylum. Instead of just providing a place to input a doctor's name and address, the user selects from scheduled openings and satisfies a goal. Similarly, eliminating just one step in password protection could be a huge improvement for the user.

When the panel came to review Noo‘s event site, the audience had been primed to ask, "what am doing here and how do I do it? Panel tips included visually setting off content to prioritize information and letting go of elements no longer supporting the new direction. A couple of advance copies of Larry Aronson’s update of HTML Manuel of Style topped a well-received evening of art and copy tango, webstyle.

Michael Bolin's Build Steps and new tool plovr to speed your site

The other night at the NY Web Performance Meetup organized by Sergey Chernyshev, I had the opportunity to hear software engineer Michael Bolin, (Google Calendar, Google Tasks, and the Closure Compiler) step a room full of speed hungry developers through build steps outlined in his book Closure: The Definitive Guide http://amzn.to/GuideClosure and then introduce his tool to further speed the process, plovr http://www.plovr.com/.

Admittedly, Sergey’s 101 intro, set it up but still. That I could follow this stuff was attributable mostly to Michael’s thoughtful, methodical delivery, but partly I think to cold immersion. You see “back in the day” at the SF convention center, I also took a seat in the front, then to absorb Java. Sometimes its useful to imagine oneself in a foreign country immersed in a new language and culture. Something always sticks.

Here’s what stuck. This web performance crowd are driven to speed your sites. Yes, the advertising model is pushing them but there’s another thing. Something observed later when free tech books were handed out. Rather than a raffle, Sergey required a brainstorm. Then you saw it, pure pleasure in thinking up better answers - the books were an excuse. We are getting our better, faster user experience but they get the real charge.

Tuesday Nov 23rd NY Web Performance meets for SPEED
RSVP bit.ly/aciIJY 7pm at Logic Works.

NYC Open Coffee - Spotting Food or Moi

Prompted by Ad:Tech at Javits Center this week, following the usual intros, Owen Brunette facilitated a rangy discussion about location offerings. Around the big table at Taralucci E Vino, consultants in finance, development, analytics, architecture, video and marketing weighed in on various applications and suggested hotter versions. Pepsi's Refresh promotion, re-enforcing their generations old, new generation branding, is giving innovation grants and one recipient sounds like it may have legs. It combines foodspotting, a location feature like Foursquare and Group on-like discounting. In NYC, there have been increased sightings of the on-the-town, going-out crowd shooting pictures of food back and forth so as not to spend time with ugly food.

Not at the show, by invitation only, another fun application now in beta, Honestly Now is for the same crowd before going out. This time for sending photos of themselves back and forth. NYC-OC member, Bob Petrie is looking for user feedback. Honestly Now let's you can check-in beforehand with friends about what you are wearing to get the real truth. As getting ready is the most reliably fun part of going out..more buzz back and forth ought to make it more so.... What do you think?

This is a weekly meeting for entrepreneurs, investors, and people who love start ups. Part of a world-wide network of Open Coffee Clubs, started in London; here in NYC we've been meeting since March 2007. Find Open Coffee clubs in other cities around the world here. Usually around 10-15 attendees, sometimes more; we try to maintain a group discussion format (think roundtable or seminar) rather than a presenter/audience split.Contribute to the Twitter Conversation: #opencoffeenycRead the Twitter Conversation with Twitter Search

http://bit.ly/OBrunette
http://bit.ly/AdTechny
http://bit.ly/grouponNYC
http://4sq.com/4sqSite
http://bit.ly/HonestlyNow

It's still your opportunity to vote

“I don't believe that my anger showed me anything about human character that my sympathy and rapport never had” Eudora Welty

So many angry words spoken on both sides inclines a growing number of us not to want to participate in political conversation. However polarized you think the nation is and invisible you feel with regard to Congress, voting asserts sane discourse. New scannable ballots for more secure, timely tabulation are increasingly in use. Perhaps next time, there will be a crisper font since a clear, uncluttered ballot is essential to reading in any language. We've toiled hard for fair voting. Now ballots are in multiple languages and interpreters are on site. Its not always been a peaceful process. Today you can join your neighbors to push the wheel of change further for positive change, please vote. http://bit.ly/1ap5kQ