Is there such a thing as multitasking?

In our modern world, most of us are coping with a handful of tasks at any given moment. 

The word Multitasking was originally invented to describe the computer ability to handle a couple of tasks simultaneously, and was quickly adapted by people as a way to describe the same capability in humans.  

Exciting interfaces

I really love it when companies are challenging professionals to provide them with new and ground breaking, breath taking solutions.

This time it is Getty Images who asked five companies to help them out with some new and innovative interfaces to be used for exploring images.

And so: Sumona, Less Rain, TBG, Tomato and Great Works were recruited.

It’s not that easy to get me excited.

This one did:  10 Ways

Sight, Sound and Motion

“Let’s not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.“ [Vincent Van Gogh, 1889]

You don’t have to cut yourself an ear to realize that!

The question is:
How to touch users’ emotions in order to create an engaging and compelling user experience on the web?

Better UX = Better Grades?

My love is in her 2nd year of her studies for a B.A. in Chemistry in Tel-Aviv University. Usually she gets really upset before big exams. 

Now, she is having this big exam in 2 days, and I see her happy and content. Trying to understand what causes this change of behavior, I ask her and she tells me she has a great book to study from. “What’s so great about this book?”, I ask. And she surprises me: “It really helps me understand this material”.

Even more curious, I get closer to examine the book. And suddenly it all becomes clear. This is maybe the most friendly, easy, clear and fun book to learn with. Just look at those headers, colors, clear problem boxes, yellow highlights (originally in the book).

So, if it’s easier to study from, it’s easier for the student to succeed in the exam. User Experience matters!

p.s. – Somehow those colors and highlighting reminds me of Basecamp.

The “Bystander Effect” in Management

n 1964, a young Queens woman by the name of Kitty Gevonese was stubbed a couple of times, in the middle of the street, during day-time while 38 of her neighbors watch the scene from their windows. The psychologists Bibb Latane of Columbia University and John Darley of NYU conducted a series of studies to understand the phenomenon now known by the name of: “The Bystander Effect”.

Their findings were that persons are less likely to take action in an emergency situation when others are present than when they are alone.

What’s that got to do with Management? Simple.

You can call it: “The multiple responsible parties effect”. The more responsible parties of completing a specific task, the chance that one of them will actually complete it, reduces dramatically.

When assigning a task, remember to make it clear who is responsible for it’s completion!

Using the power of richness to enhance simplicity

The new framework versions by Laszlo Systems (Open Laszlo 3.2) and Adobe (Flex 2) will facilitate the ability to develop Rich Internet Applications.
We are than, about to experience an even larger amount of Flash and Ajax over web sites/applications. One great example of the use of the Open Laszlo framework is done by Pandora.com, the excellent music “machine” that plays music of your taste.
But, “With great power comes great responsibility…” (Uncle Ben to Peter Parker in Spider-Man) Excessive use of such techniques, can result in complicated user-experiences, causing user frustration.
An interesting thing to note is that the Web2.0 wave took a great stand concerning User-Interfaces and experiences, taking it to extreme simplicity (Flickr, Basecamp, consumating and more…).
I say we should handle those abilities with care. I encourage you to learn those frameworks, but use their abilities in a balanced and smart manner, keeping the experiences simple, using those abilities to enrich it and engage the user, and not to frustrate her.
One example: The Organizr by Flickr (in the image above) is a rich Flash app that simplifies the task of arranging your photos and sets. It is a great example of using the power of richness to enhance simplicity.

Vitamin – The web2.0 magazine for the people who build it

Carson Systems brings us Vitamin - an online magazine covering topics like : Design, Web Development, Enterneurship and more.

With features written by Jason Fried, Ryan Carson, Thomas Fuchs, Eric Meyer and more it seems as if Vitamin is going to be a valuable resource for the people who build the next web.

Enjoy it.