Design patterns for social sites:
http://designingsocialinterfaces.com/patterns/Main_Page
A good example of user badges:
http://stackoverflow.com/badges
A rating algorithm for popularity in forums:
http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=199556
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta redes sociales. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta redes sociales. Mostrar todas las entradas
jueves, julio 08, 2010
martes, abril 13, 2010
Microsoft KIN: MS's iPhone contender
Microsoft provides with it's KIN phones a good exercise in goal-oriented design. Its two proto-smartphone versions (KIN ONE and TWO) include three features targeted at the most common use case for a hand-held, cloud-connected communication device:
- The Loop is the always-on feed reader. In a twist w.r.t. other phones, they make it the default view so that the user always can review the latest feeds from their primary social connections. These can be grouped in several priority layers, which is a nice touch not provided by Facebook.
- The Spot can be a killer feature. It provides a 21st-century clipboard, a place where the various web clips, bookmarks and half-written musings can be collected until the user's ready to compose them into a published article. This provides a predefined and better workflow for this task that doesn't force the user to keep track in short-term memory of all relevant information pieces while composing a post.
- KIN Studio is a lightweight application that works as a end-user repository for captured data, with specialized tools to create metadata and categorize content according to content type, subject, people, geomapping, timestamp.
Each feature on its own provides a nice touch to enhance the blogging/feedback/social network experience. The three of them together can create a tightly focused environment for creating and sharing. I'd like to have it in my hands for 2 hours and feel how they work.
- The Loop is the always-on feed reader. In a twist w.r.t. other phones, they make it the default view so that the user always can review the latest feeds from their primary social connections. These can be grouped in several priority layers, which is a nice touch not provided by Facebook.
- The Spot can be a killer feature. It provides a 21st-century clipboard, a place where the various web clips, bookmarks and half-written musings can be collected until the user's ready to compose them into a published article. This provides a predefined and better workflow for this task that doesn't force the user to keep track in short-term memory of all relevant information pieces while composing a post.
- KIN Studio is a lightweight application that works as a end-user repository for captured data, with specialized tools to create metadata and categorize content according to content type, subject, people, geomapping, timestamp.
Each feature on its own provides a nice touch to enhance the blogging/feedback/social network experience. The three of them together can create a tightly focused environment for creating and sharing. I'd like to have it in my hands for 2 hours and feel how they work.
jueves, marzo 18, 2010
Hola mundo!
Saludos a los que están suscritos a mis notas en Facebook. No escribo mucho, pero usaré esta plataforma para comentar las curiosidades que encuentro por la red y me llaman la atención. Esto incluye temas bastante "de informático", como:
- Inteligencia artificial
- Lenguajes de programación extraños
- Interacción entre humanos y ordenadores (Human-Computer interaction)
- Visualización de datos
- Ciencias (las duras y las blandas)
- aunque no descarto poner de vez en cuando el típico vídeo gracioso viral, o la foto de gatitos adorables.
Sabiendo que mis amigos no sois especialistas en estos asuntos, procuraré que mis comentarios sirvan de introducción a estos enrevesados temas. Estáis a tiempo de eliminarme de vuestra lista ahora, o arrepentiros para siempre ;-)
- Inteligencia artificial
- Lenguajes de programación extraños
- Interacción entre humanos y ordenadores (Human-Computer interaction)
- Visualización de datos
- Ciencias (las duras y las blandas)
- aunque no descarto poner de vez en cuando el típico vídeo gracioso viral, o la foto de gatitos adorables.
Sabiendo que mis amigos no sois especialistas en estos asuntos, procuraré que mis comentarios sirvan de introducción a estos enrevesados temas. Estáis a tiempo de eliminarme de vuestra lista ahora, o arrepentiros para siempre ;-)
lunes, enero 25, 2010
A taxonomy for storage of data in the Cloud
TO DO: Add lots of practical examples. And graphics!
In a nutshell: Provide constant feedback for the state of all data in distributed on-line services ("the Cloud"), with respect to connection (synchronized, unsynchronized) and access speed (slow, fast).
The problem of storage in a connected world
Information in computers has been traditionally stored in filesystems. This is a storage model that worked well for mainframes and corporate networks, where an expert administrator took care of the filesystems, and that survived a transition to personal computers (somewhat transformed by the "desktop metaphor") where the amount of available data was reduced and limited to a single device.
Most programmers will not realize it most of the time, but files are by itself an abstraction model over a more complex technology model - that of persistent storage media, which handle blocks of electric signals in physical electronic devices.
The abstraction provided by filesystems is less than perfect for the typical data needs of people in the mainstream information sphere, where both corporate and personal users share information through the decentralized system that is the Internet. Not the smaller problem is that nobody will be responsible for administering data, or when they do, this creates a single point of control and failure - two undesirable traits.
The Cloud - on sunny days
The ideal data model for personal user data should be one of "always persistent, always accessible, anywhere". This puts users again in control of the information they own, using a simple centralized abstraction.
The problem is, current technology still doesn't support this directly. The proposed "cloud" metaphor has been marketed to users as an approximation of that model, but it still fails to deliver the promised experience because of abstraction leaks.
Abstraction leaks are situations where there is a mismatch between the model expectations induced by the metaphor and the actual system behavior. Sometimes the limits of underlying technology will skip through the details of the proposed model: network connection will fail, local storage disks will break... The resulting error situation and steps required to fix it are utterly difficult to explain to people not expert in the used technology.
The Cloud Storage taxonomy
There are two axis that directly affect user experience of data stored in the cloud, and thus should be included in the user model for cloud storage:
- Location: Connected vs Disconnected.
- Speed: Fast vs Slow.
Note that Location is not primarily about the physical position of the stored data (which is mostly independent to the problem of data storage, thanks to the Internet) but one of logical access: devices can be a part of the Net sometimes, but sometimes not. Connected/disconnected is the relevant fact to know about a device when thinking of retrieving the same data later.
So, the different and fundamental kinds of persistent data introduced by the Cloud, in addition to the abstraction of "Document" and "Media type" already supported by filesystems, are these four classifications:
* Connected data located in a fast medium.
* Disconnected data located in a fast medium.
* Connected data located in a slow medium.
* Disconnected data located in a slow medium.
Why are these four states relevant, and why should they be treated as different one to each other in the user model?
The first state (connected, fast) is the ideal situation, the one that best matches the promised Cloud metaphor of "always on, anywhere" data. But as soon as the technical limits appear, the experience degrades:
- Disconnected data is one that is created or modified in a device without a connection to the Internet. The problem with disconnected data is that it breaks the Cloud metaphor: if I move to a different device, my new data or recent edits will not be available. This problem is what prompted users to abandon mail clients in favor of webmail, and the reason why web services are the trend.
- Slow data is one that takes time to stabilize and get "imported" into the cloud; it's data I must wait for after I've finished my work. Fast data is instantly protected as soon as it's created; I can be confident that closing the application, unplugging the USB key or turning off the computer will not be a problem - I have enough feedback to be sure that the data is safe. On the contrary, with slow data, in all those scenarios I have babysit the data saving process before I can proceed with my life.
- Disconnected AND slow merits a separate because, in addition to the problems listed above, it shows an important trait: user data is at the highest risk of being lost. Any system problem may cause open data to be destroyed. A simple power glitch, or an application crash will destroy the user current session and all the ongoing work in it will be lost.
Connected slow data can protect against it by saving data in the background; in case of failure the latest online version can be retrieved, even if a bit outdated.
Fast disconnected is even safer in this scenario; a power failure or broken application will not destroy data, because fast data will already be saved to a persistent state. It doesn't protect in the case of a lost or broken device, but that's less severe because for cloud data, disconnected is supposed to be a transient state anyway; as soon as the device gets reconnected, it will synchronize to the cloud and the data will be safe again.
The sad thing is, disconnected slow data is the default storing model for desktop applications, so it's the most common. Online web applications may change this, but they are more likely to copy this dangerous model from desktop apps.
"Saved" state
There's a third dimension (saved / unsaved) that is relevant to system designers and programmers but should be transparent to users, following the principle by Jef Raskin of "treat user data as sacred" (see Your data is sacred, Always safeguard users' data) and its corollary "don't force users to input the same data twice". This means that all user-introduced data should be instantly saved in some way, and it shouldn't be lost except by catastrophic failure (and ideally, even in that case too).
In a nutshell: Provide constant feedback for the state of all data in distributed on-line services ("the Cloud"), with respect to connection (synchronized, unsynchronized) and access speed (slow, fast).
The problem of storage in a connected world
Information in computers has been traditionally stored in filesystems. This is a storage model that worked well for mainframes and corporate networks, where an expert administrator took care of the filesystems, and that survived a transition to personal computers (somewhat transformed by the "desktop metaphor") where the amount of available data was reduced and limited to a single device.
Most programmers will not realize it most of the time, but files are by itself an abstraction model over a more complex technology model - that of persistent storage media, which handle blocks of electric signals in physical electronic devices.
The abstraction provided by filesystems is less than perfect for the typical data needs of people in the mainstream information sphere, where both corporate and personal users share information through the decentralized system that is the Internet. Not the smaller problem is that nobody will be responsible for administering data, or when they do, this creates a single point of control and failure - two undesirable traits.
The Cloud - on sunny days
The ideal data model for personal user data should be one of "always persistent, always accessible, anywhere". This puts users again in control of the information they own, using a simple centralized abstraction.
The problem is, current technology still doesn't support this directly. The proposed "cloud" metaphor has been marketed to users as an approximation of that model, but it still fails to deliver the promised experience because of abstraction leaks.
Abstraction leaks are situations where there is a mismatch between the model expectations induced by the metaphor and the actual system behavior. Sometimes the limits of underlying technology will skip through the details of the proposed model: network connection will fail, local storage disks will break... The resulting error situation and steps required to fix it are utterly difficult to explain to people not expert in the used technology.
The Cloud Storage taxonomy
There are two axis that directly affect user experience of data stored in the cloud, and thus should be included in the user model for cloud storage:
- Location: Connected vs Disconnected.
- Speed: Fast vs Slow.
Note that Location is not primarily about the physical position of the stored data (which is mostly independent to the problem of data storage, thanks to the Internet) but one of logical access: devices can be a part of the Net sometimes, but sometimes not. Connected/disconnected is the relevant fact to know about a device when thinking of retrieving the same data later.
So, the different and fundamental kinds of persistent data introduced by the Cloud, in addition to the abstraction of "Document" and "Media type" already supported by filesystems, are these four classifications:
* Connected data located in a fast medium.
* Disconnected data located in a fast medium.
* Connected data located in a slow medium.
* Disconnected data located in a slow medium.
Why are these four states relevant, and why should they be treated as different one to each other in the user model?
The first state (connected, fast) is the ideal situation, the one that best matches the promised Cloud metaphor of "always on, anywhere" data. But as soon as the technical limits appear, the experience degrades:
- Disconnected data is one that is created or modified in a device without a connection to the Internet. The problem with disconnected data is that it breaks the Cloud metaphor: if I move to a different device, my new data or recent edits will not be available. This problem is what prompted users to abandon mail clients in favor of webmail, and the reason why web services are the trend.
- Slow data is one that takes time to stabilize and get "imported" into the cloud; it's data I must wait for after I've finished my work. Fast data is instantly protected as soon as it's created; I can be confident that closing the application, unplugging the USB key or turning off the computer will not be a problem - I have enough feedback to be sure that the data is safe. On the contrary, with slow data, in all those scenarios I have babysit the data saving process before I can proceed with my life.
- Disconnected AND slow merits a separate because, in addition to the problems listed above, it shows an important trait: user data is at the highest risk of being lost. Any system problem may cause open data to be destroyed. A simple power glitch, or an application crash will destroy the user current session and all the ongoing work in it will be lost.
Connected slow data can protect against it by saving data in the background; in case of failure the latest online version can be retrieved, even if a bit outdated.
Fast disconnected is even safer in this scenario; a power failure or broken application will not destroy data, because fast data will already be saved to a persistent state. It doesn't protect in the case of a lost or broken device, but that's less severe because for cloud data, disconnected is supposed to be a transient state anyway; as soon as the device gets reconnected, it will synchronize to the cloud and the data will be safe again.
The sad thing is, disconnected slow data is the default storing model for desktop applications, so it's the most common. Online web applications may change this, but they are more likely to copy this dangerous model from desktop apps.
"Saved" state
There's a third dimension (saved / unsaved) that is relevant to system designers and programmers but should be transparent to users, following the principle by Jef Raskin of "treat user data as sacred" (see Your data is sacred, Always safeguard users' data) and its corollary "don't force users to input the same data twice". This means that all user-introduced data should be instantly saved in some way, and it shouldn't be lost except by catastrophic failure (and ideally, even in that case too).
miércoles, septiembre 23, 2009
Pensamientos de los Fiordos - futuro de la tecnología actual
http://www.fjordnet.com/fjord-thoughts
Presentación " PPT " con las previsiones de estrategia del mercado tecnológico por parte de una empresa de diseño en Helsinki, Finland que saben lo que hacen.
Previsiones:
- Android en dispositivos baratos - commodity
- Mapas (con Nokia y Google como principales competidores)
- Móviles con teclado
- App stores + web apps fáciles de instalar en móvil
- TV móvil
- "The cloud+microblogging" desplaza al PC como "hub central"
- Netbooks para chavales
- 2 dispositivos móviles: teléfono-superbatería + pda-multimedia-net
- Mercados emergentes+tercer mundo: Nokia vs teléfonos baratos taiwaneses
Ofertas
Presentación " PPT " con las previsiones de estrategia del mercado tecnológico por parte de una empresa de diseño en Helsinki, Finland que saben lo que hacen.
Previsiones:
- Android en dispositivos baratos - commodity
- Mapas (con Nokia y Google como principales competidores)
- Móviles con teclado
- App stores + web apps fáciles de instalar en móvil
- TV móvil
- "The cloud+microblogging" desplaza al PC como "hub central"
- Netbooks para chavales
- 2 dispositivos móviles: teléfono-superbatería + pda-multimedia-net
- Mercados emergentes+tercer mundo: Nokia vs teléfonos baratos taiwaneses
Ofertas
martes, septiembre 22, 2009
Storitelling and Homo Narrativus
A Journal of Impossible Things: Homo narrativus and Pratchett
"Storytelling is the opposite of reductionism; 26 letters and some rules of grammar are no story at all"
RTFM: La respuesta científica
Por qué los usuarios no leen manuales, y cómo esto produce procedimientos estables subóptimos.
Resolving the paradox of the active user Cuenta la historia del usuario que borró un boton en Hypercard poniéndole un rectángulo blanco encima.
aka "I don't want to RTFM" Para responder a esos posts en Slashdot.
Resolving the paradox of the active user Cuenta la historia del usuario que borró un boton en Hypercard poniéndole un rectángulo blanco encima.
aka "I don't want to RTFM" Para responder a esos posts en Slashdot.
miércoles, septiembre 09, 2009
Fail fast to create successful projects
Here's what I've learned about how to combat User Discomfort and get your projects started off on the right track. It's a simple 5 step plan that will provide amazing results if done correctly.
1. Solve a real problem
2. Get user input early
3. Create density
4. Provide recognition
5. Fail fast
lunes, agosto 10, 2009
Patrones y antipatrones de webs sociales
Una colección de design patterns y antipatterns para diseño de redes sociales.
http://designingsocialinterfaces.com/patterns.wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page#Social_Patterns_.26_Best_Practices
viernes, agosto 07, 2009
martes, julio 14, 2009
La guerra de las faenas
http://www.chorewars.com/
Un juego en equipo para motivarse a hacer las tareas de la casa.
Ingeniería social al poder!
Un juego en equipo para motivarse a hacer las tareas de la casa.
Ingeniería social al poder!
viernes, julio 10, 2009
Seen on slashdot: checkbox humor
slashdot posting form
Slashdot Posting Form v0.1
Please select all that apply:
....
[ ] IANAL but ____
[ ] XKCD link : ___
[ ] Bash quote: ____
[ ] There, fixed that for you
[ ] In soviet russia the _____'s YOU
[ ] sudo _____ > /dev/null
[ ] Get off my lawn
....
[ ] Cory Doctrow
[ ] Al gore
[ ] Natalie Portman
....
a.k.a. checkbox humour
Slashdot Posting Form v0.1
Please select all that apply:
[ ] IANAL but ____
[ ] XKCD link : ___
[ ] Bash quote: ____
[ ] There, fixed that for you
[ ] In soviet russia the _____'s YOU
[ ] sudo _____ >
[ ] Get off my lawn
[ ] Cory Doctrow
[ ] Al gore
[ ] Natalie Portman
a.k.a. checkbox humour
miércoles, julio 01, 2009
Estrategias para evaluar la credibilidad de un sitio web
Crap Detection 101
"Every man should have a built-in automatic crap detector operating inside him."Ernest Hemingway, 1954
lunes, junio 22, 2009
miércoles, junio 17, 2009
Itsme.it: A non-desktop metaphor for user interfaces
http://itsme.it/project/
Articulo
User story metaphor: Based on stories and venues. From what I've read, it looks a lot like blogs in the blogsphere.
Articulo
User story metaphor: Based on stories and venues. From what I've read, it looks a lot like blogs in the blogsphere.
martes, junio 09, 2009
On Linux and meta-logos
In response to Aaron Seigo's thoughts about a common branding for the Free movement:
Given the plurality and diversity of the FOSS ecosystem, the branding effort needs a meta-logo. People really identifies the different client-side kinds of computers through the bitten Apple, the flying Window and the "Intel inside" circle. Tux won't work at that level, it's more of a mascot than a logo.
Thinking of it, there's a distinctive visual landmark of the modern Linux/BSD client, and that's the Compiz-Fusion Rotating Cube. See the outline created by the cube borders in this screenshot:
It is immediately recognizable as a Linux desktop. It can be easily stylized, it's modern and dynamic, doesn't resembles any popular logo, and the best: it works as a meta-logo.
The Cube is a container, so it can be mixed with the logos of any other project. Think Cube containing the K gear, Cube containing Ubuntu circle, Cube containing Google's Android...
The unifying appearance of other desktop elements (colors, wallpapers...) a-la Tango icons guidelines can help, but it will never by adopted in a universal enough way. But a single unified silhouette can be put anywhere, doesn't require rebranding of complete products, and is already quite popular and recognizable as FOSS.
Given the plurality and diversity of the FOSS ecosystem, the branding effort needs a meta-logo. People really identifies the different client-side kinds of computers through the bitten Apple, the flying Window and the "Intel inside" circle. Tux won't work at that level, it's more of a mascot than a logo.
Thinking of it, there's a distinctive visual landmark of the modern Linux/BSD client, and that's the Compiz-Fusion Rotating Cube. See the outline created by the cube borders in this screenshot:
It is immediately recognizable as a Linux desktop. It can be easily stylized, it's modern and dynamic, doesn't resembles any popular logo, and the best: it works as a meta-logo.The Cube is a container, so it can be mixed with the logos of any other project. Think Cube containing the K gear, Cube containing Ubuntu circle, Cube containing Google's Android...
The unifying appearance of other desktop elements (colors, wallpapers...) a-la Tango icons guidelines can help, but it will never by adopted in a universal enough way. But a single unified silhouette can be put anywhere, doesn't require rebranding of complete products, and is already quite popular and recognizable as FOSS.
jueves, agosto 14, 2008
Los piratas responden a un desarrollador de videojuegos
Contiene enlaces a demos jugables de sus videojuegos.
Talking To Pirates
Talking To Pirates
A few days ago I posted a simple question on my blog. "Why do people pirate my games?". It was an honest attempt to get real answers to an important question. I submitted the bog entry to slashdot and the penny arcade forums, and from there it made it to arstechnica, then digg, then bnet and probably a few other places. The response was massive. This is what I found
lunes, agosto 11, 2008
Ingeniería social - cómo estar sobre aviso
Social engineering warnings. Comentario slashdot comment
Meta Moderation
Meta Moderation
Some warning signs that you may be subjected to social engineering:
- The person starts using your first name without you having ever met.
- The person refers to an authority figure in a jocular/friendly way, in order to make you draw the conclusion that the authority figure knows and trusts this person.
- They will try to appeal to your vanity. E.g. they may imply that they called YOU because you're so friendly and helpful. Ask yourself whether, if it really was this urgent, they would be calling you instead of those whose job it is to deal with this sort of situation. If you believe for one second that it's because of your demeanor, you're not only stupid but vain too.
- They mention a common foe. "You know how accounting is..." Yeah, everyone knows that accounting are bastards to anyone not in accounting, in every company in every country. That doesn't lend credence to you being on the same side.
- They mention an interest of yours. "I had planned to take my son fishing this weekend, but I guess I'll be working, trying to fix this". Why would they tell that to a stranger? (Especially if you have a sticker saying "BITE MY BASS" on your car.)
- If face to face, the person smiles a lot. Nothing disarms suspicion as easily as a smile.
miércoles, agosto 06, 2008
Google killer
Welcome the Google-killer overlord
I've just been given 20 invites to beta-test True Knowledge, a semantic search engine based on a logic knowledge base. I've been fairly impressed by its ability to utilize user-provided knowledge and its overall good usability, although I've also seen potential for great misdeed by malicious users.
It's mostly a cross between Google and Wikipedia: users provide "facts" about the world, that are stored in a logic format. The interface allows to ask questions that are translated to formal queries over the knowledge expert system, which uses limited reasoning to try and answer the question. This is all quite classic Artificial Intelligence, but the highlights are because of the easiness of use:
I've just been given 20 invites to beta-test True Knowledge, a semantic search engine based on a logic knowledge base. I've been fairly impressed by its ability to utilize user-provided knowledge and its overall good usability, although I've also seen potential for great misdeed by malicious users.
It's mostly a cross between Google and Wikipedia: users provide "facts" about the world, that are stored in a logic format. The interface allows to ask questions that are translated to formal queries over the knowledge expert system, which uses limited reasoning to try and answer the question. This is all quite classic Artificial Intelligence, but the highlights are because of the easiness of use:
- if the query fails, it reverts to a classic keyword-based search. So the user is almost always given some relevant information.
- the process to add new facts is (almost) newbie friendly, which is something really hard to achieve in the dry world of AI
- there is a quality control/assesments of the facts by the users, so that assertions that don't make sense can be voted on and rejected by other users.
martes, agosto 05, 2008
Iconos del reciclaje
Qué significan los símbolos de reciclaje | CONSUMER EROSKI
No son jeroglíficos ni signos al azar, sino símbolos de reciclaje. Los envases o productos que los llevan nos recuerdan que pueden ser o que han sido reciclados, y nos ofrecen información tan diversa como el tipo de material con que están fabricados, o el lugar concreto donde deben depositarse para su conveniente reciclaje. Gracias a ello, los consumidores pueden concienciarse de la importancia de reciclar, un hábito que ayuda a ahorrar energía, materias primas y en el proceso de recogida y eliminación de basuras.
* Autor: Por ALEX FERNÁNDEZ MUERZA
* Fecha de publicación: 4 de agosto de 2008
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