I was reading an old Clay Shirky blog post, A Group Is Its Own Enemy. It talks about some of the interesting characteristics of groups (in particular online communities), such as how essentially groups need some kind of government, otherwise…
Category: Usability
Web Apps and the Uncanny Valley
Bottom line? Here are my guidelines for web app design without Uncanny Valleys:
1. Do include features like drag ‘n drop, cut ‘n paste, right-click context menus, etc.
2. Don’t make your user interface look too much like a Windows or Mac application.
3. Do copy some of the common design features of modern apps, like a File/Edit menu where appropriate.
4. Don’t forget it’s a web app, and don’t try to convince the user that it’s not.
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Google Docs or MS Word?
Recently our business has been experimenting with using Google Docs, and we’ve been having some limited success. I’ve noticed there are a lot of articles on the web about Google Docs, and they all seem to either praise the system…