Don’t let distance get in the way of your user research By Nic Price on 1 July 2010 — 1 min read There’s an advertising campaign at the moment for Blackberry, the smartphone company, using the tag line “Closeness has nothing to do with distance.” These days we can all carry our loved ones around in our pocket or handbag using the various social networking features of the Blackberry – including using it as a phone, presumably.... More
Social networking on intranets – have a problem to solve, and expect it to take time, says Jakob Nielsen By Nic Price on 4 August 2009 — 1 min read Here are the findings from usability “guru” Jakob Nielsen’s report on Social Networking on Intranets… Underground efforts yield big results. Companies are turning a blind eye to underground social software efforts until they prove their worth, and then sanctioning them within the enterprise. Frontline workers are driving the vision. Often, senior managers aren’t open... More
Enterprising times – a case for search best bets By Nic Price on 2 October 2008 — 2 mins read Reading the e-Consultancy interview with Lou Rosenfeld on the importance of site search analytics, I was reminded of when I was product manager of intranet (or enterprise) search at the BBC. It was back in 2002. People complained that search was broken, but we had neither quantitative nor qualitative data to analyse. After consulting with... More
Bonus-centred design By Nic Price on 23 November 2007 — 1 min read We’ve all seen it. The dreaded “Skip Intro”. The picture of the boss on the homepage obscuring any useful content or functionality. I was just discussing this with a friend and came up with a new name for an old problem “Bonus-centred design” Here’s how it works: Take direct orders from the boss. Do not... More
N95 – two things I can never remember how to do By Nic Price on 22 November 2007 — 1 min read I’ve had my Nokia N95 phone since June. I’m pretty pleased with it. It’s good for looking at websites, the camera is great despite the shutter lag, video quality good. It’s ok for having phone calls on. Battery life’s ok. I haven’t got the patience with the GPS, and sometimes I do wonder if it’s... More
Low bandwidth? Try the mobile version of the website By Nic Price on 13 November 2007 — 1 min read I was having coffee with a friend today who does work with people in countries where internet speeds are down at dial-up rates of 28.8kbps on a good day and where it is rare for workers to have their own internet connection in the office let alone at home. I mentioned the recent post I’d... More
Farcebook By Nic Price on 30 August 2007 — 1 min read Facebook seems to be becoming a necessary evil. I’ve never felt particularly comfortable about it, but I do have an account and I do use it from time to time. Somewhat worryingly found out today (thanks Chris T) that unless you change your privacy settings anyone in your network can see all your information as... More
Count your opinions By Nic Price on 30 August 2007 — 1 min read Count your opinions Originally uploaded by Beatnic. So I thought I’d add my input to the survey being run by London Underground on personal safety at Elephant & Castle tube station. Unfortunately I didn’t understand how to use this “Opinionmeter” until I’d already started using it – at which point I had already mistakenly answered... More
IT Conversations By Nic Price on 16 July 2007 — 1 min read Don’t be put off by the name! If you’re interested in anything vaguely related to technology there’s something to listen to here. I finally started catching up with some of my blog, news and podcast subscriptions recently and that coincided well with the arrival of my Nokia N95. Some podcast stuff I’ve been listening to... More
Intranet vibes By Nic Price on 20 April 2007 — 1 min read I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Netvibes is quite simply everything an intranet (homepage) needs to be. As well as being a great way of managing all my stuff on the internet of course. More