2005
You know the drill: You download or install a new piece of software or open
a new piece of technology (e.g. PDA, mobile phone, laptop) and you have to
"configure it" to get something to work or work the way you want it
to...
Summary: Users are not usually successful at configuring software,
websites or devices and the configuration experience can be a major
source of frustration. Instead we need to move toward a world where everything
is auto-configured and user experiences are "plug and play".
Pop ups are dead- so what?
First of all, let me just get this out in the open: there is nothing wrong with pop-ups per say.
Next, let me qualify what I just said: Pop-ups are ineffective as an advertising tool and are not recommended on the web since pop-up blockers are ubiquitous. E.g. Every browser and search engine tool these days has a pop-up blocker: AOL pop-up blocker, Google Toolbar pop-up blocker, Yahoo Toolbar pop-up blocker, Firefox built in pop-up blocker, third party free pop-up blocker tools...etc.
Google Killed the Pop-Up
Whom this applies to: Designers, Marketers, Developers, CEO's
If you design something for your company, organization or department, or help influence the direction of a design, it regularly can become very difficult for you to separate yourself from the design. And chances are, you are not even aware of it most of the time!
This entry looks at why this seems to happen and what you can do about it (if anything at all).
Identifying the problem