snippets of cloud

Screens and pages tend to be scanned in a Z, starting at the top left corner of the screen.

Less than 20% of words written on web sites are read when someone ‘reads’ the page.

People/players, want to scan and don’t want to read.

• On an average visit, users read half the information only on those pages with 111 words or less.
• People spend some of their time understanding the page layout and navigation features, as well as looking at the images. People don’t read during every single second of a page visit.
• On average, users will have time to read 28% of the words if they devote all of their time to reading. More realistically, users will read about 20% of the text on the average page

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_stats_are_in_youre_just_skimming_this_article.php

As a result, Web pages have to employ scannable text, using

• highlighted keywords (hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others)
• meaningful sub-headings (not “clever” ones)
• bulleted lists
• one idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph)
• the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion
• half the word count (or less) than conventional writing

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

1. Name-calling

“…use of words to connect a person or idea to a negative concept. The aim is to make a person reject something without examining the evidence because of the negative associations attached to it.”

2. Attractive Generalities

“The opposite of name-calling, this involves the use of highly valued concepts and beliefs which attract general approval and acclaim. These are vague, emotionally attractive words like ‘freedom‘, ‘honor‘ and ‘love‘.”

3. Transfer

“…to carry over the authority and approval of something you respect and revere to something the propagandist would have you accept. One does this by projecting the qualities of an entity, person or symbol to another through visual or mental association.”

4. Testimonial

“…leverage the experience, authority and respect of a person and use it to endorse a product or cause.”

5. Plain Folks

“…propagandist positions him or herself as an average person just like the target audience, thereby demonstrating the ability to empathize and understand the concerns/feelings of the masses.”

6. Card Stacking

“…manipulating audience perceptions by emphasizing one side of an argument which reinforces your position … compare and contrast the best possible scenarios with the worse examples.”

7. Bandwagon

“…to suggest that ’since everyone is doing it, you should too’.”

http://www.doshdosh.com/the-art-of-propaganda-seven-common-techniques/

“Simplicity–the art of maximizing the amount of work not done - is essential”

http://agilemanifesto.org/principles.html

1. Whenever possible, consider alternatives
2. Reframe the question
3. Correlation doesn’t equal causation
4. Never forget the sample size
5. Anticipate your impulsivity
People find it difficult to predict just how far off course their emotions can pull them. It’s all about planning ahead.
6. Make contingency plans
Humans are better at concrete goals.
7. Make important decisions when relaxed and rested
8. Weigh costs against benefits
Research shows that our minds prefer to consider either costs or benefits; taking both into account takes considerable effort. We often forget is the ‘opportunity cost’
9. Imagine your decision will be spot-checked
10. Distance yourself
Big decisions are always better made after a night’s sleep.
11. Beware the vivid, personal and anecdotal
12. All decisions are not equal
13. Be rational!

Outcomes vs. Activity

“creating human energy is what zapp is about”

Zapp, William C. Byham with Jeff Cox

Human energy = player passion & engagement

Zapp rewards are moments of recognition or encouragement that energize players rather than frustrate or sapp them. They are given during play rather than at the end of action; they excite action, engagement and fun. A zapp creates energy and encourages the player to keep playing and enjoy themselves.

Set out a ratio of zapps to sapps, and measure in user tests.

Research suggests that a bias towards higher priced goods may have something to do with the way that the brain links price with pleasure, and leads people to make assumptions about quality. NYT.

Professor Rangel, Caltech, said that there were reasons to suspect that price tag bias occurs in many contexts. Given the human love affair with high priced luxury goods, and their association with status and power, it’s possible that we’ve come to experience a cerebral shiver of delight in response to things that promise cachet.

1. The best ideas are usually easy to understand and easy to explain to others. Ideas that are not easy to understand are unlikely to get anyone’s attention
2. Build on or borrow ideas from other people
3. Keep all your great ideas - write them down and save them in one place

Similar to the ‘tappers and listeners’ example quoted in Made to Stick. Research from the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests;

You have only a 50-50 chance of ascertaining the tone of any e-mail message. The study also shows that people think they’ve correctly interpreted the tone of e-mails they receive 90 percent of the time. And the sender estimates that 80% of the time the recipient will correctly gauge the tone of the message.

In reality, the recipient correctly gauges the tone only 50% of the time.

The difference between the sender and the receiver’s understanding is a very dangerous gap to leave open to chance…

common emoticons

“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one… the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

George Bernard Shaw

Tone: Beautiful tone is pleasing to the ear. It sounds smooth and rich. There is no strain or hoarseness. It is resonant in the same way a beautiful violin solo is. Expression and volume are parts of tone. It’s no good if you speak so softly that people must strain to hear you and no good if you’re always shouting

Rhythm: Rhythm encompasses the percussive aspects of speech including diction or enunciation, accents, dialects, rate and pace. Slow down a bit and crisp up your diction by being sure to put on word endings.

Breath: Breathe from the core. It should feel less tense and have more freedom.

“Drama is life with the dull bits left out” - Alfred Hitchcock

(Making Time by Steve Taylor)

Time appears to pass at different speeds. You can influence how you perceive time, creating a feeling of more time.

• Avoid getting absorbed in to pointless things/tasks - time passes quickly when you are in flow
• Seek new and interesting stimuli - time passes more slowly when you are processing new information
• Meditate - calm you inner ego chatter, time drags when you listen to your inner voice twitter on
• Mindfulness - pay attention to the details, enjoy the details
• Slow down - don’t rush through things, explore them

Difficult Conversations : How to discuss what matters most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen

The three conversations
What Happened - everyone has a perspective, don’t assume that you know their story without listening, questioning
Emotions - talk about how you feel, without encouraging blame
Identity - constant ego-voice chatter undermines your being in the present, and avoid brittle black & white assumptions about your/their contribution

Learning stances
Open queston,
And not but
Contribution not blame, pretty much every situation has contributions from you and them

Start from the 3rd story
Describe the differences between your stories
Share your purposes
Invite them to join you in sorting it out

Explore their story
Listen and understand, signal you have heard
Share your viewpoint, avoid blame
Reframe away from blame and accusation

Problem solving
Talk about how to keep communication open

Success is going from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.

Aim for audacious and stretching goals, break them down & make sure you know how they are achievable. Be wary of aiming too far, for goals that you have no chance of achieving and ending up straining for something you can’t reach. A slack goal with no challenge, that is easy to reach creates no sense of achievement or reward.

gapingvoid.com

Naming teams, project or initiatives is an important part of determining the successful outcome of the project. Although apparently trivial, naming in part helps steer and determine the outcome of something. Being sure that you can succeed breeds confidence, being optimistic breeds success, positive naming breeds positive outcomes.

How many times have projects given ‘failure’ names failed to deliver?

Nominative determinism (ND) is a term popularized by the magazine New Scientist. It refers to amusing instances where people’s names coincidentally reflect some aspect of their jobs, professions or lives. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nominative_determinism)

Kids start younger and last longer = great design opportunities & some unique challenges. The age range & market is growing for toys & games, and at the same time is more segmented and interested in sexy or tech led experiences.

We are not evolving as fast as fashion changes, so underlying each of the kids marketing categories are really the same kids wanting compelling experiences. Marketing is a key part of creating an experience (creating anticipation & desire), and a significant limitation on the types and selection of products played (fads, trends and fashion).
Finding ways to offer engaging experiences for a particular market is a key design challenge.

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