jakob neilsen – Stilgherrian

Here are the web links I’ve found for 23 August 2008, posted automatically with mirth and cabbage.

Boston Dynamics’ BigDog | YouTube: An amazing video showing of the capabilities of a 4-legged robot. Impressed.
Liu Xiang Sent to Olympic Death by China’s £1 Billion Image-Building Exercise | China Digital Times: An example of how China’s Internet users avoid the censorship of the Great Firewall of China: using the words “Surrender Liu” (åˆ˜é™ vs ç¿”) to avoid censorship of any negative comments about athlete Liu Xiang’s withdrawal from the Olympics. The words are pronounced the same, but different in writing.
Stingray TV intro (1964) | YouTube: “Standby for action! We’re about to launch Stingray!” Another opening theme from another Gerry Anderson favourite.
Putting A/B Testing in Its Place | Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox: While the A/B testing of website design changes can be important, this article from 2005 points out its limitations as well as its strengths.
The Avengers intro 1960s | YouTube: I’m on a bit of a 1960s bender at the moment. Here’s another superb opening sequence for a fine TV program starring Patrick Macnee and Diana Rigg.
Olympic Medal Count by Population and GDP | A Stubborn Mule’s Perspective: Sean Carmody’s done another fine bit of data mining, this time seeing how Olympic nations rate when compared in the basis of their population of GDP.
Marine Boy (1968) | YouTube: Opening theme for one of my favourite childhood TV programs, Marine Boy.
Sticky Tuk Tuk | Out To Space: My partner Trinn ('Pong) Suwannapha’s video Sticky Tuk Tuk has been shortlisted for this year’s Marrickville Contemporary Art Prize.

It’s either independent discovery or suppressed memory. Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen’s latest Alertbox column explains something I’ve been saying for years: that people sit up to use a website, and that changes their behaviour.

Unfortunately he’s been saying it for years too, so maybe I got it from him and then forgot.

Anyway, in Writing Style for Print vs Web he says:

I’ve spent many columns explicating the differences between the Web and television, which can be summarized as lean-forward vs. lean-back:

On the Web, users are engaged and want to go places and get things done. The Web is an active medium.

While watching TV, viewers want to be entertained. They are in relaxation mode and vegging out; they don’t want to make choices. TV is a passive medium.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t have entertaining websites or informative TV shows. But it does mean that the two media’s contrasting styles require different approaches to entertainment and education.

The differences between print and the Web may not seem as strong, but to achieve optimal results, each requires a distinct content style.

The very useful article then gives examples and good advice before spruiking his $1000+ per day seminars.

Nielsen is a smart man — though he isn’t always right on everything, as some of his fans believe. Still, if you’re considering the audience’s needs (and shouldn’t you always be doing that?) he’s spot on.

Of course I’m a complete hypocrite, because some of my posts have 1000 words of straight text. Rules were made to be broken.

Tag: jakob neilsen

Links for 23 August 2008

Sit up! You’re on the Web!