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Are You Assuming Too Much?

October 5, 2009 By J. Angelo Racoma

Magic 8 ball I love Gmail. I use it everyday. It’s the first thing I open whenever I launch my browser. I actually have several Gmail inboxes open at any single time–this includes my main “gmail.com” email and another Gmail for domains account. I also use the mobile Gmail application on my Nokia Series-60 phone. What I like is its seamless integration with Gmail features, like labels, seach functionality and address book. And since it’s a native Symbian application (and not Java), it’s fast.

But there’s one thing I don’t like about Gmail for mobile. Once you’re connected, it seems to assume you have a constant connection to the Internet. And therefore, in the even that I walk out of a WiFi hotspot’s range, my mobile phone incessantly asks me for a connection until either (1) I select a valid connection, (2) activate a new connection, or (3) turn off Gmail.

In case #1, I should be in an active WiFi hotspot, in the absence of which I have to resort to #2, which means I have to pay connection charges (minimal, but annoying if it accumulates unnecessarily). Since I don’t want to spend extra money on unnecessary connectivity, I often select option #3. However, since the software incessantly asks me for a connection, this usually involves some keypad calisthenics, which requires me to bring up the task manager, hit the “kill” button (the erase button on the S60) and hit the confirmation button. All this while shooing away the connection window every nanosecond or so.

What’s my point in all this? I think it’s all about a usability issue. These days, you would rarely see a piece of software that doesn’t bother you for an Internet connection to update something. In fact, most would rather just go ahead and initiate a connection without your knowledge. My issue here is about the software doing something on its own, and it’s something I would rather have it not do. Software these days are too smart that it makes you feel stupid. Sometimes you have to fight with it in order to maintain some semblance of control.

It makes me feel as if developers (and businesspeople who own the services) are assuming too much. Suddenly, everyone is assuming that we all have a running Internet connection wherever we go, whatever time it is, and that we don’t care how much we spend. Well, some of us want to keep our privacy, thank you. We want to be able to control when we get online, how we get online, and how much we spend getting online.

This would be a good question to ask yourself when you’re in the process of developing an application, or just about any business (online or offline). Do you assume too much? Do you do too much of the thinking for your clients or intended userbase? Is everything becoming too automated that manual intervention would suddenly become tedious and cumbersome?

Don’t take anything for granted. Just because you’re overflowing with bandwidth doesn’t mean everyone else is enjoying the same connectivity. Just because you have massive processing power doesn’t mean everyone else’s computer is fast.

This is the core of most usability tests–try to drop all assumptions and take take things afresh. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your intended client. Try to see things from the perspective of someone who knows nothing . Try to put yourself in his situation. Will your application or service still be as cool, interesting and usable as it is from your own point of view?

Oftentimes, it’s looking from outside that we can see as objectively as possible. When you assume too much, you tend to narrow your field of vision too much, and you could lose sight of the more important things.

Image credit: flickr/banlon1964

Filed Under: General Tagged With: business, customer service, development, software, Usability

Why Reinvent the Wheel?

September 5, 2009 By admin

WheelDon’t you sometimes notice that a lot of tech companies are simply reinventing the wheel? Take for instance search engines. Long before Google was king, there have been several search engines that have pre-dated it (and perhaps now we can say Google has “predated” those other search engines in another sense). And even after Google took dominance in the search industry, a host of other search outfits are trying to get into the game. Some are small, but some are arguably giants in themselves. Take Microsoft, for instance.

In business, does it make sense to reinvent the wheel?

In competition, does it make sense to challenge the status quo? Can you always be the David that stares Goliath in the face, while planning to bring the giant down? Or are you not just wasting your time by entering into a sphere were someone is still dominant, and is not likely to give up top spot that easily?

For years, MySpace ruled the social networking scene. Facebook started out simply as a closed network, but when it opened to the public, along with its plethora of applications and inherent expandability, it just took off. But it’s not always the case. There are a handful of other startups that looked promising from the start. But where are they now? Think Friendster. Think Multiply. Perhaps they still serve a niche, but they probably no longer merit the same expectations as before.

Are there lost opportunities here? Did people take a wrong turn? Is this a case of reinventing the wheel, and then realizing it’s an exercise in futility?

Sure, innovation is good. But it does take timing, hard work and a bit of luck (or serendipity) before something will click. I remember working for a startup before that created blogging software that promised point-and-click ease. The idea has merits. It was advanced for its time. But in the end, the bigger, more popular services stood their ground. We tried to reinvent the wheel to make it spin better. But apparently, other people who have been reinventing their own wheels got to it faster, and did it better. And people patronized their “wheels” better.

I also remember a few startups that offered backup solutions for certain Operating Systems. But when that certain Operating System released a major version, it included a built-in online backup functionality. So this is a case of a third party software being made obsolete by an upgrade. What happens then?

My point here is that indeed there are a lot of smart teams and individuals coming up with what looks like the same thing left and right. Some will probably get funding. Some will be profitable. Some will succeed in the short term. But not everyone will be afloat one, two or five years from now. So does it still make sense to reinvent the wheel, so to speak?

My answer would be yes. Otherwise, we’d all be running our cars on wheels made of stone, figuratively and perhaps literally. Sure, not everyone succeeds in innovation. Sure, some standards just eat up others. Sure, some people lose a lot of time, money, and effort in the process of trying to make some game-changing innovations. But it’s the process that matters. It’s how we get there, and it’s the good things that come out of our collective efforts.

So, what do we do with all those web apps, blogs, or ideas that will likely fizzle out in a few months’ or years’ time? I say we enjoy the fact that we have choices, and that we have new things every now and then.

Image credit: flickr/charliedees

Filed Under: General Tagged With: development, evolution, software, web apps

Wisdom + Design+ Development

August 27, 2009 By admin

Light bulbIn the realm of new media, development is everywhere. It’s so fast paced that what’s hot right now may not exactly be the in thing after two weeks. There are trends, there are fads, and then there are those projects that go on a winning streak. These not only make their millions overnight. They also tend to be sticky. They tend to gain mindshare and these brands stick to our consciousness as if we’re born with them.

And as competition goes, those biggies try to hold on to the pole position for as long as they can, until the next big things come up.

Then there’s the hype. Some products and services may be overhyped from the start, but fail to deliver. Then after the honeymoon period is over, things fizzle out.

What differentiates successful Internet startups from the mediocre ones? Is it intelligence? Is it marketing? Is it the people involved? Is it money? Could it be luck? Or could it be a good combination of all these, and then some?

When Splashpress Media acquired Devlounge and Wisdump, we intended to continue the fine tradition of critiquing and analyzing web applications, development and design. With Wisdump increasingly becoming focused on development, and Devlounge on design, we are now launching Wislounge to focus on the business and strategy aspect of all these.

Here you can expect discourse and discussion on the exciting world of new media, be it design, development, applications, or even startups, with particular emphasis on the viability of these. While we are humans, and therefore make mistakes (and sometimes very costly ones), we will try to be as objective and helpful as possible.

As for our programming for the next couple of weeks, why don’t we focus on marketing of startups and applications? There are a handful of ways you can get the word out in the ever-changing realm of social media, and we can perhaps take a peek into some of these.

Image credit: flickr/caveman_92223

Filed Under: General Tagged With: announcement, business, design, development, welcome

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