David Herrold

An Event Apart 2008 - New Orleans

Posted by Dave | Filed under Browsers, Design, Development, Technology, Usability, Web design

Wow. I have been drinking from the fire hose of information for the past two days here in New Orleans at An Event Apart. The conference was organized by Jeffery Zeldman and Eric Meyer and according to the website:

“Their new conference wouldn’t be just for designers. It wouldn’t be just for coders. Attendees would gain a deeper understanding of web standards, of course. But they would also encounter a world of emerging best practices and inspiring new ideas.”

I didn’t know what to expect. Would the code be over my head? Would the design be beyond my skills? Would I be able to grasp the conceptual nuggets they would throw? I mean, these people are the best in the industry.

They’re internet famous, right?

As it turned out, each presentation was amazingly clear, surprisingly understandable and completely worth the price of admission. The difference between the presenters at An Event Apart and your run-of-the-mill web experts is an overwhelming sense of passion for their craft. Some of the highlights for me were:

Andy Clarke’s astute observation about how comic book design can be transferred to the web to control pace and user engagement was refreshing, if not brilliant. It was one of those ideas that made me whack my forehead and wonder why I hadn’t thought of that. Andy’s a smart fellow. I added his blog to my feed reader immediately.

Brian Oberkirch, beyond being an extraordinarily nice guy, has an uncanny grasp on what humanizes the web. His talk Thursday afternoon was a lot like eating really good dim sum. I was filled with delicious savory tidbits about how sites can create human connections and positive social interaction with their users. Not shallow marketing, but real connections. The web would be a better place if more people listened to Brian.

I thought Eric Meyer’s CSS presentation, if any, would be the one that stumped me. I am, by no means, a CSS expert; and I feared his material would be tailored for people with more experience. However, Eric did such a good job of presenting his material in a way that made it easily digestible. I took away some very useful tidbits about how to use CSS to debug your markup. Very handy stuff.

I had never paid much attention to how beautiful data & information design could be until Jeff Veen spoke on Friday. His slide showing Google searches throughout the world as pinpoints of light on a globe was amazing. He spoke about data like some artists speak about color or texture. Data is simply another artistic medium.

Robert Hoekman Jr switched things up a bit. He did live usability assessments for people in the audience who needed some help with their sites. Usability issues fascinate me and Robert was very good at recognizing usability issues with a short glance at the site in question. I plan on checking out his book.

What can be said about Jeffery Zeldman that hasn’t already been said? Jeffery is the patriarch of web standards and has been fighting the good fight to make the web a better place for designers, programmers and users alike. He addressed a room full of designers as Yoda addressed his Jedi. Use your powers for good He was also very humble and approachable, something I hadn’t expected.

Here is some additional information about the speakers at An Even Apart 2008 in New Orleans:

Andy Clarke - Author, Transcending CSS
Dave Shea - Co-author, Zen of CSS Design
Cameron Moll - Author, Mobile Web Design
Jeff Veen - Design manager, Google
Brian Oberkirch - Publisher, Like It Matters
Aaron Gustafson - Co-author, AdvancED DOM Scripting
Stephanie Sullivan - Co-author, Mastering CSS with Dreamweaver CS3
Aarron Walter - Author, Building Findable Web Sites
Robert Hoekman Jr. - Author, Designing the Obvious
Jason Santa Maria - Designer, Happy Cog
Eric Meyer - Author, CSS: The Definitive Guide
Jeffrey Zeldman - Author, Designing With Web Standards

If web design, development and standards interest you then I would recommend checking out An Event Apart. I had a blast and hope to attend again in the future. It was good to hang out with Tim and the rest of my pals from BarCampNOLA in New Orleans.

Hope to see you all again soon.

Tags: aeanola08, An Event Apart, barcampnola, new orleans, nola

Google opens Website Optimizer

Posted by Dave | Filed under Business, Design, Development, Google, Marketing, Usability, Web design

Google released their Website Optimizer platform last week for general use. It has only been available to sites using Google AdWords in the past, but now can be used by anyone to enhance site performance. This is great news for web analytic junkies, usability testers, developers and designers alike.

In a nutshell, Google’s Website Optimizer allows you to test multiple versions of content (ie. marketing messages, logos, icons, copy, etc) in a live environment to determine which combination of content yields the best results.

Based upon what you are testing, this “result” could mean higher click-throughs, increased product sales, increased product downloads, increased ad revenue, higher traffic to internal pages, etc.

This eliminates the guesswork of testing ad placement, site designs, product purchase flows, etc. You can simply release multiple versions of your content and look at the analytics to determine which one is yielding the best results.

There are certainly other tools to do the same job; but not many are free or this simple. We could certainly do the same thing at the Chronicle, however we would have to use several systems to make it happen. This simplicity of using one system appeals to me.

Here are some links to get you started with Google’s Website Optimizer:

Google Website Optimizer
Google Website Optimizer blog
Website Optimizer press release

(via Web Worker Daily)

Tags: analytics, Google, Marketing, Usability, website optimizer

Adobe launches web-based Photoshop Express

Posted by Dave | Filed under Design, Photography, Software, Web design

Adobe launched the web-based Photoshop Express recently and I’m trying to figure out if it’s any better or worse than Flickr’s  (picnik.com) web-based image editing tool.  Adobe offers 2GB of storage, which is better storage than the free Flickr account, however, Express isn’t meant to be a photo sharing site like Flickr.

The functionality isn’t terribly interesting yet, but image editing is Adobe’s bread and butter, so I would expect the functionality to grow in the coming months.

The one immediate limitation I noticed is the requirement of Flash Player 9 to run the Express.  I tried visiting the site with my current version of FireFox  and got a blank screen.  I suspected it was a problem with my version of Flash player.  When I upgraded my Flash Player to the current version (9), it worked fine.

I hope Adobe continues to build on this platform.  It’s an interesting idea and this space could use some decent competition.

Photoshop Express (via Bittbox)

Tags: adobe, express, image editing, photoshop, Software, web-based

South by Southwest Day 1

Posted by Dave | Filed under Technology, Web design

The first day of South by Southwest was great.  I met a bunch of cool people from all over the United States who are possibly nerdier than I am.  Very cool.

There is a small area of the convention center filled with LEGOS called the “Interactive Playpen”

I posted a few photos here.

The highlight of the day was hearing Jeffery Zeldman and his crew at Happy Cog.  Hearing Zeldman speak is like hearing Yoda address his cadre of young Jedis.

Mmm…wise designer he is.

Tags: south by southwest interactive, SXSW, sxsw2008, sxswi

Mobile sites: a few of my favorites

Posted by Dave | Filed under Mobile, Technology, Usability, Web design

Mobile LinkedIn is fantastic.

I just noticed today that LinkedIn (my work-related social networking site of choice) has launched an amazing mobile site. It feels nearly as robust as their full-featured site for searching and sending invitations.

I’m always shocked at how some mobile sites can tailor their user experience to give the perception of full functionality (even if that’s not the case).

Google and Yahoo offer many of their mobile applications & searches (calendar, maps, docs, email, etc). Mobile Google Maps has been the most impressive of the lot, in my opinion.

Bank of America allows you to check balances, pay bills, transfer money, etc. with your mobile browser.

Netflix allows you to search for movies and add them to your queue. This seems exceptionally handy if you are chatting with friends and someone mentions a movie you should see. You can immediately add it to your queue while you’re thinking of it.

I would be remiss if I didn’t pimp our very own mobile.chron.com in this blog post. I think we do a decent job of presenting diverse content (weather, news, sports, obituaries, etc) content in a very small space.

Mobile news sites such as the New York Times, CNN, Chicago Tribune, etc. offer some great mobile news user interfaces.

One of my favorite search tools is called Wapepedia. It is a simple mobile interface for Wikipedia.

You can find a lot more great mobile sites at cantoni.mobi.

Do you have any favorite mobile sites you find yourself using on a regular basis?

Tags: Blackberry, iPhone, linkedin, Mobile, Treo, WAP, wireless

Headed to BarCampNOLA

Posted by Dave | Filed under Design, Development, Marketing, Networking, Technology, Web design

Looks like I’m headed to New Orleans for BarCampNOLA in a couple of weeks. I missed BarCampHouston & BarCampTexas recently due to scheduling conflicts and my general chaotic schedule at work.

Since NOLA is a fun place in general, I’ve convinced the missus to join me. I have a feeling she will be doing more shopping than BarCamping, but I’m just glad she’s coming along regardless.

It looks like the campers will be helping a local business with the power of technology. I assume this will involve legions of man-servant robots and rocket-powered jetpacks. More likely it will involve a handful of programmers and a few laptops. I suspect Twitter will be involved somehow too.

The most popular Steve I know will also be attending (I think).

Looking forward to some beignets and a cup of chicory coffee…and finding a room in the French Quarter for under $250 a night. Yikes.

- Dave

Tags: barcamp, barcampnola, french quarter, Networking, social media, Technology, Web design

Startup weekend 2008

Posted by Dave | Filed under Design, Development, Marketing, Software, Technology, Web design

What is Startup weekend you might ask? Well according to the website Startup weekend is:

“an intense 54 hour event bringing together brilliant tech minds (developers, designers, marketers, ect.) together to create a company from concept to launch!”

We Houstonians have the opportunity to bring Startup Weekend to Texas by voting on the Startup weekend website. Austin and Dallas are both listed as potential cities for the next event (I voted for Austin because I think it might be a little more fun than Dallas).

Vote here | Read more about Startup Weekend | Subscribe to Startup weekend RSS

Tags: Design, Software, start up weekend, startup weekend, technology conferences, Web design, web development

SXSW 2008

Posted by Dave | Filed under Design, Marketing, Technology, Usability, Web design

I’m officially registered along with Steve and Lina at the Chronicle.  I’m looking forward to meeting some great people and exchanging some great ideas at the conference.

Drop me a line if you plan on attending.  I think it’ll be a blast.

Tags: conference, interactive, SXSW, Technology, Usability, Web design

SXSW Interactive 2008 panels

Posted by Dave | Filed under Communication, Design, Marketing, Software, Technology, Usability, Web design

I was browsing the 2008 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive panels for some topics that sound interesting and I ran into a little problem.  It’s not the 3 hour drive to Austin.  It’s not the $400+ entry fee.  It’s not the dizzying array of ironic hipster t-shirts that I will likely encounter.

I found so many interesting panels that I will surely need to clone myself through some unearthly Lovecraftian manner to see everything I want to see.

I’m OK with that, as long as my clones wear pants (I’m not going through THAT embarrassment again).  Anyhow, it would be quite convenient if one of me could make a Taco Cabana run while the other me is listening to an interesting panel on building an audience for your social networking application.

Regardless of my cloned status, here are the panels I thought sounded interesting this year:

1. Business
10 Tips for Managing a Creative Environment (Bryan Mason)
Unconventional Collaboration: Tips for Local and Remote Teams (Jason Fried)

2. Content
Accessible Rich Media (Sharron Rush)
Behind the Scenes at the Onion News Network (Sean Mills)
Roll Over Gutenberg, Tell McLuhan The News (George Kelly)

3. Design
A General Theory of Creative Relativity (Jim Coudal)
Blood, Sweat, and Fear: Great Design Hurts (Michael Lopp)
Design Control in a Digital World: Getting It and Losing It (Khoi Vinh)
Design Eye 2008 (Keith Robinson)
God (and Design) is in the Detail (Naz Hamid)
Logos: Why They’re Irrelevant and Can Actually Hurt Your Business (Bryan Zmijewski)
Magic and Mental Models: Using Illusion to Simplify Designs (Jared M. Spool)
Make It So: Learning From SciFi Interfaces (Nathan Shedroff)
Meet The Architects (Molly Wright Steenson)
Social Design Strategies (Emily Chang)
Tools for Enchantment: 20 Ways to Woo Users (Kathy Sierra)
Wireframing in a Web 2.0 World (Richard Rutter)

4. Marketing
Self Replicating Awesomeness: The Marketing of No Marketing (Brian Oberkirch)
Totally Wired Teens: How Teens are Using Your Applications (Anastasia Goodstein)

5. Mobile / Wireless
Getting Unstuck II: From Desktop to Device (Liz Danzico)
How Many Clicks to the Center of…? (Conleth O’Connell)
Life after the i-Phone (Kate Ryan)
Mobile Phones: International Devices of Mystery (Michael Sharon)
Using Entertainment to Create Effective Mobile Advertising (Abam Zbar)

6. Next Generation
The Art of Speed (Tim Ferriss)
Hardware Mashups: Introducing the Long Tail of Gadgets (Peter Semmelhack)
Online Identity Crisis (Jason Levitt)
The Science of Designing Interactions (Andreas Weigend)

7. Programming
Catching up with Accessibility: The Basics Quickly (Shawn Henry)
Content Management System Roundup (George DeMet)
Creating Findable Rich Media Content (Jennifer Taylor)
Creative Collaboration: Building Web Apps Together (Paul Hammond)
Everything I Know about Accessibility I Learned From Star Wars (Derek Featherstone) Filching Design (Lindsey Simon)
Getting There Faster By Using Open Code (Jack Moffitt)
Make Your Client-Side Code Ready for Internationalization (Jon Wiley)
Scalability Boot Camp (Jakob Heuser)
Secrets of JavaScript Libraries (John Resig)
Web Service APIs Your Mom Will Love (Ben Vinegar)

7. Social
Building Portable Social Networks (Jeremy Keith)
Social Network Coups: The Users are Revolting! (Annalee Newitz)
Social Networking and Your Brand (Jina Bolton)
The Supercollider: A Hero of the Social Network (Souris Hong-Porretta)
The Suxorz: The Worst Ten Social Media Ad Campaigns of 2007 (Henry Copeland)
Taking Over the World: the Flickr Way (Simon Batistoni)
True Stories from Social Media Sites (Rashmi Sinha)

Let me know if you’re planning on going to SXSW this year and maybe we can hang out with Lou Reed, the original rock-n-roll animal.  He’s this year’s keynote speaker for the music festival.

SXSW Interactive 2008
SXSW Interactive panels
SXSW main site

Tags: 2008, south by southwest interactive, SXSW

Open social

Posted by Dave | Filed under Communication, Productivity, Software, Web design

Here’s a great post on SixApart’s website on the subject of Open Social:

Take a spreadsheet, for example: Imagine if a simple spreadsheet could be shared on one of the services you use, but limited so only your friends could see it, for a fantasy sports league; or only your family could see it, for a Christmas wishlist; or only your coworkers could see it, for sensitive business information. You’ve probably already set up groups or buddy lists for those people on the various social networking sites that you use, but there hasn’t been an easy way yet for a developer to let you access those networks right from within an application. Now, there will be. And if your work network is on LinkedIn, but your friends are on MySpace, and your family’s on Vox, it can all Just Work.

You can read the whole article here.

Tags: Google, linkedin, myspace, open social, Social Networking