HealthEd Interactive 2008

UGC and Company Responses

2009-02-07T14:31:00.003-05:00

From Larry M.:

This reminds me of a corporate-sponsored site (Dell Ideastorm) that is designed to solicit customer feedback.

On this site, Dell solicits ideas from customers and allows other customers to promote or demote them to show Dell which ones matter most to the entire community.

http://www.ideastorm.com/

From Dan M.:

Dear Adobe is a simple site that allows you to upload a complaint (or compliment) that you have regarding an Adobe Product.

The site was not created by Adobe, but they appear to have taken an interest in the feedback posted on the site, and set up a blog with responses to users’ gripes.

This isn’t quite as sneaky as sending a Tweet back to a user, but it’s a good example of how corporations are responding to user-generated content that is directed at their products.

Dear Adobe
http://www.dearadobe.com/

Responses from Adobe
http://blog.dearadobe.com/2008/12/05/adobe-responds-to-photoshop-gripes/#id-224

And here is the counter point to the social media article

2009-01-21T20:53:00.003-05:00

In order to remain fair and balanced, you should see the counter point to the social media article I just posted...this one is titled "The real reason why Pharma hates social marketing"

http://pharmamkting.blogspot.com/2009/01/real-reason-why-pharma-hates-social.html

Seems to me the fear of user generated content that could highlight adverse effects that may HAVE to be reported to the FDA is the major issue. The bureaucracy infrastructure that would have to be put in place to manage this could be more costly that the marketing itself.

Can this content be modreated and managed before being published ?

Would that help with the acceptance of Social Media tools ?

Ritesh

Social Media and Pharma Marketing

2009-01-21T20:37:00.006-05:00

This is an interesting article in Adotas published today. Granted the author is from Greater Than One, but the relevance is quite interesting.

http://www.adotas.com/2009/01/pharma-companies-and-social-media-marketing/

Of note, is his statement ; "Over 80% of Internet consumers search online for health information, trusting peer-generated social media content more than pharma company websites and what their physicians say. "

We at HealthEd need to really get to grips with this phenomena and how we can educate and advise patients using these community and social tools.

User generated content can be monitored and moderated. Community story telling, using video will become more common place in the next 2 years.

BK Facebook app

2009-01-12T09:35:00.004-05:00

Burger King is offering a free Whopper to any Facebook users who are willing to sacrifice ten friends. (This means removing them from your friend list.) Burger King will then notify you, via Facebook, how to claim your Whopper. Deal ends January 15.

Note that after friends have been sacrificed, it's still possible to re-friend them.

http://www.whoppersacrifice.com/

Interesting..can't believe people will go through all that for one burger, but it seems as if almost 18K already have based on the numbers on the site.

Read more about it in this AdWeek article.

FYI, BK also produced the Subservient Chicken and Angry Gram apps.

NOTE: Looks like the Whopper FB app was the thing that was sacrificed.

Target Settles Suit With Blind Over Web Site

2008-12-02T16:30:00.002-05:00

Just a reminder, especially as we practice what we preach, to consider those with various disabilities and their ability to access information, particularly on a brand.com site.

Target has agreed to pay $6 million and revamp its Web site to settle a lawsuit brought by the National Federation of the Blind.

The retail company has promised it will make its site friendlier to vision impaired people who access the Web via screenreaders. Among other changes, the site will include more alt text tags along with images. These tags are invisible to users, but screenreaders rely on them to convert the contents of a page into speech. Target also will make it easier to navigate its site using just a keyboard, rather than a mouse. The company will implement the changes by next February.

Additionally, California residents who unsuccessfully attempted to use Target's site can claim $3,500 in damages or, if there was more than one incident, $7,000 total. California has an estimated 10,000 blind people, while the country overall has around 1.3 million, according to a spokesperson for the National Federation for the Blind.

"There are well-established guidelines for making Web sites accessible to blind people," the National Federation for the Blind alleged in its complaint. "These guidelines have been in place for at least several years and have been followed successfully by other large business entities in making their Web sites available."

Compliance for Life

2008-12-02T09:16:00.004-05:00

Compliance for Life will deliver dosing reminders anywhere in the world by phone, text or email. They remind people to fill, refill and take prescriptions and keep medical appointments.

http://www.complianceforlife.com/

Study: Consumers Embrace Social Media Ads

2008-11-07T09:19:00.009-05:00

As marketers we often think that consumers do not respond to or react favorably to advertising on social media sites, but a new new study from Razorfish reports that "connected" consumers are more open to advertising on social media sites than we think.

According to the report:

Four in 10 online consumers have made a purhcased based on advertising they saw on a social media site
Almost three quarters welcome brand advertising on social networks.

The key is to distribute content and features that are relevant to the audience and and fit within the context of the social media site.

You can check out the full article here: Study: Consumers Embrace Social Media Ads

Cool Calculator Example

2008-11-06T09:32:00.013-05:00

(From Venessa:) I like how the map presents different scenarios visually.

Especially, how users can make smaller decisions (like clicking on individual states and choosing who may be victor there) and see how that decision affects the race overall picture.

Very in line with how we like to serve up info.

Check it out! http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/calculator/

Flash 10 is Coming!

2008-11-06T09:25:00.004-05:00

From Venessa:

Adobe just released flash player 10 for developers and early adopters, since we do a lot of flash work I thought I’d share what we have to look forward to once the masses adopt.

1. 3D effects – much easier to create 3D elements that would work faster since they’re created in flash and not a third party program

2. Dynamic sound generation – Rather than a sound we pick, sounds/music can change automatically depending on user’s input (mood?)

3. Oh glorious Text controls! - Typography has always been Flash’s downfall but not anymore! The new version offers font control we could have only hoped for (and would have saved a lot of headaches for our Cymbalta Fibro team). There is now kerning, automatic flowing of text in multiple boxes (incase users need bigger fonts) or around images, and tracking control. In all, I think this is the feature that will benefit us the most.

4. Many other features that have to do with performance and API

If you’d like to take a look for yourself go here (just need to download the new version):http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/features/

The adoption of flash player 9 was faster than any player before it – with 95% of all PC users adopting it. If the same holds true, then I predict we can start offering applications, in this latest version, to our clients by mid next year.

Play video games while raising $$ for cancer

2008-10-17T10:01:00.002-04:00

Faced with today's economic uncertainties, none of us can afford to take anything for granted. Yet, as difficult as life can be in these times, it's important to understand that learning to be appreciative of what we do have is a gift. At The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), we continually learn of blood cancer patients and families who endure terrible uncertainty as a way of life and still take what life has dealt them and manage to turn the proverbial lemons into lemonade.

Along those lines, today, I'd like to share with you Taylor Carol's story.

Taylor Carol, of Dana Point, CA, was a typical 11-year-old boy, into sports and video games. But when he got hit by a pitch during a baseball game in March 2006, his world turned upside down. Follow-up testing revealed something more ominous than an injured elbow - leukemia-a particularly lethal form of the disease--one that does not respond to normal treatment.

During the long grueling months that Taylor was in the hospital fighting for his life, his father, software designer Jim Carol, CEO of Game 7 Entertainment Inc., focused his energy on finding a way to help Taylor and other children going through this ordeal. The result was Pledgeplay (www.pledgeplay.com), an innovative, customizable, online, casual games and fundraising platform.

LLS recently launched Play2Cures ( lls.play2cures.org ), which employs the Plegeplay platform and allows participants to play casual games online while donating money to help find cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. The site lets players purchase online tokens - $1 per token and a minimum of $10 - to play a variety of games, with more to come. Each token will help fund blood cancer research, provide critical information and support to patients and their families and help LLS advocate for issues impacting blood cancer patients. Tokens can also be given to friends and family, and participants are encouraged to compete against each other for top scores. Carol envisions Pledgeplay as a way for families to bond with one another while doing something positive for other families.

Carol's son Taylor played a major role in Pledgeplay's creation. "For one year Taylor worked hard helping me start this company as our video game expert while he was hospitalized," says Carol. "It was an awesome distraction and motivator. He was our VP of game evaluation."Now, Taylor is back in school. Although there is still uncertainty, he and his family are full of hope and happy that he is recovering. Meanwhile, Carol devotes himself to raising awareness about childhood cancers.This family is a great example of how good things can come from bad situations.

Impact Tool example: NationalGridFloe.com

2008-09-27T11:15:00.006-04:00

Great example of a self-assessment tool -> leading to an impact tool ->leading to an action list.

This site helps determine your carbon impact, then shows you ways you can reduce that, and it does so using the emotional pull of showing polar bears on melting ice caps. There is also a tool to create a pet polar bear. Through Q&A, you can earn food and things to take care of your polar bear.

Health A Hot Topic On The Internet

2008-09-24T10:45:00.015-04:00

A recent study by comScore, Inc. shows that visits to health information Websites have grown 21% during the past year, more than four times the growth rate of Internet visits overall.

While WebMD remains the #1 health information website from 2007-2008, it is interesting to see that Everyday Health (63% positive change), Revolution Health Network (182% positive change) and AOL Health (88% positive change) have had significant increases in site visits from '07-08, each attracting more than ten million visitors (see Chart below).

comScore noted that their increase in popularity may be due to the fact that these sites have become more active social communities:

"Most sites have become vibrant online communities rooted in sharing experiences and advice, rather than simply being one-way information resources for the consumer," said John Mangano, senior director at comScore, in a statement.

9/2 Ted Talk Tuesday--Jonathan Harris "The art of collecting stories"

2008-09-03T12:27:00.003-04:00

Today’s talk was by Jonathan Harris, an artist, computer scientist, storyteller, and internet anthropologist. Harris makes online art that captures the world’s emotions. In this talk he spoke on a topic near and dear to HealthEd, the art of collecting stories. See for yourself at the link below.

Jonathan Harris: The art of collecting stories

Harris looks for stories on and offline and presents them as unique interfaces. He leverages images, words and graphics to tell stories in linear and non-linear formats.

In this talk he presented a few of his projects including the website ‘We Feel Fine’ (http://www.wefeelfine.org/index.html) which searches the internet for instances of the words ‘I feel…’ and then presents those instances in a graphical way, displaying levels of happiness or sadness around the world. Corresponding images associated with these expressions were also displayed on the site. The resulting stories were simple, compelling one line narratives and images.

‘The Whale Hunt’ (http://thewhalehunt.org/) another of Harris’ projects, displays photographs of a whale hunt taken at regular intervals. Harris created unique interfaces to display these images as a timeline or in a grid. Users can sort by character, topic, or even color. This allows the viewer to absorb the linear story in a non-linear format by skipping from place to place within the timeline, and focusing on those details which they find the most interesting.

To see more of Harris’s work check out his website: http://www.number27.org/

The group in attendance today agreed that Harris’ presentation of the stories he collects is exceptional. In each of his sites there is inspiration for presenting information in unique ways, which could accommodate a variety of adult learning styles, something that we constantly aspire to do.

Also, everyone who skipped today’s talk missed Barb regaling us with the story of her near death experience at the foot of Mt. Everest in which she was heroically rescued by a Yak in a blizzard…seriously it was a crazy story…ask her about it.

"Jonathan Harris [is] a New York artist and storyteller working primarily on the Internet. His work involves the exploration and understanding of humans, on a global scale, through the artifacts they leave behind on the Web."

Edge.org

8/26 Ted Talk Tuesday--Torsten Reil "Using biology to make better animation"

2008-08-27T13:06:00.000-04:00

Torsten Reil "Using biology to make better animation"

Torsten Reil talks about how the study of biology can help make natural-looking animated people -- by building a human from the inside out, with bones, muscles and a nervous system. Note that this talk took place in 2003...so some of these cool, innovative techniques should now be a reality.

Reil was a neural researcher working on his Masters at Oxford, developing computer simulations of nervous systems based on genetic algorithms- programs that actually used natural selection to evolve their own means of locomotion. It didn't take long until he realized the commercial potential of these lifelike characters. In 2001 he capitalized on this lucrative adjunct to his research, and cofounded NaturalMotion. Since then the company has produced motion simulation programs like Euphoria and Morpheme, state of the art packages designed to drastically cut the time and expense of game development, and create animated worlds as real as the one outside your front door. Animation and special effects created with Endorphin (NaturalMotion's first animation toolkit) have lent explosive action to films such as Troy and Poseidon, and NaturalMotion's software is also being used by LucasArts in video games such as the hotly anticipated Indiana Jones.

But there are serious applications aside from the big screen and the XBox console: NaturalMotion has also worked under a grant from the British government to study the motion of a cerebral palsy patient, in hopes of finding therapies and surgeries that dovetail with the way her nervous system is functioning. The animation of a patient's gait was to be used by surgeons to predict what impact the surgery would have to the final gait and they could make adjustments to the plan before even getting started.

"It might be surprising to find a biologist pushing the frontiers of computer animation. But Torsten Reil is bringing cheaper, lifelike digital characters to video games and films."

Technology Review

8/26 Ted Talk Tuesday--Jill Bolte Taylor "My stroke of insight”

2008-08-27T12:38:00.001-04:00

“Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight”

Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor got a research opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded and she realized she was having a massive stroke. As a brain scientist, she realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding, self-awareness -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story of recovery and awareness -- of how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another. Jill started studying the brain as her brother had schizophrenia.

Amazed to find herself alive, Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before. In her case, although the stroke damaged the left side of her brain, her recovery unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right.

As she went through this experience, she spoke about going back and forth between the sides of her brain…”la-la land” and conscious thought that something was going wrong and she should get help. As a group, we wondered if she consciously jeopardized her health to go through this experience as she had several warning signs and never called 911. When she finally tried to get help (after exercising, showering and dressing), it took quite a while as she waited for her stream of consciousness to come back each time as it swung like a pendulum. It took her 45 minutes to find a colleagues business card on her desk and then she still had to dial the phone number. It was amazing to hear her thoughts and feelings as she went through this process and that she remembered them to be able to relate them back to us. Once she finally called her colleague, she remembered him sounding like a golden retriever…sound was not processing into words.

"How many brain scientists have been able to study the brain from the inside out? I've gotten as much out of this experience of losing my left mind as I have in my entire academic career."

Jill Bolte Taylor

8/19 Ted Talk Tuesday--Hans Rosling "New Insights on Poverty and Life Around the World"

2008-08-20T12:08:00.002-04:00

For those of you who were unable to attend this week’s session, I highly encourage you to visit the TED web site and watch the video when you have some extra time – it truly is intriguing:

Hans Rosling Talks: New Insights on Poverty and Life Around the World
Researcher Hans Rosling uses his cool data tools to show how countries are pulling themselves out of poverty.

Most everyone in the session agreed that we have never seen information presented like this!! The software Hans has created takes data showing to another level so that it is even more engaging, easy-to-understand, to-the-point, and artistic…all characteristics our team strives to achieve in our projects in order properly educate different audience types in unique ways. So…how can we apply this to what we do here at HealthEd?

Main discussion points / follow-up ideas:

· Can we leverage similar story telling and presentation techniques when presenting our capabilities to clients?

· Is there a way we can show brand ROI in a similarly engaging fashion?

o Show patient participation in programs from sign-up through Rx redemption

o Show patient behavior change modeling (reach trends)

More information on Hans:

Even the most worldly and well-traveled among us will have their perspectives shifted by Hans Rosling. A professor of global health at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute, his current work focuses on dispelling common myths about the so-called developing world, which (he points out) is no longer worlds away from the west. In fact, most of the third world is on the same trajectory toward health and prosperity, and many countries are moving twice as fast as the west did.

What sets Rosling apart isn’t just his apt observations of broad social and economic trends, but the stunning way he presents them. Guaranteed: You’ve never seen data presented like this. By any logic, a presentation that tracks global health and poverty trends should be, in a word: boring. But in Rosling’s hands, data sings. Trends come to life. And the big picture — usually hazy at best — snaps into sharp focus.

Rosling’s presentations are grounded in solid statistics (often drawn from United Nations data), illustrated by the visualization software he developed. The animations transform development statistics into moving bubbles and flowing curves that make global trends clear, intuitive and even playful. During his legendary presentations, Rosling takes this one step farther, narrating the animations with a sportscaster’s flair.

Rosling developed the breakthrough software behind his visualizations through his nonprofit Gapminder, founded with his son and daughter-in-law. The free software — which can be loaded with any data — was purchased by Google in March 2007. (Rosling met the Google founders at TED.)

"Rosling believes that making information more accessible has the potential to change the quality of the information itself."

Business Week Online

Kluster helps you make group decisions

2008-07-31T09:48:00.003-04:00

Kluster is a "group decision-making tool that helps you bubble-up new ideas, identify the best ones, and make better decisions."

If you need to get opinions or votes on a design or a message, for example, you can create a "Kluster" online and create categories, assign voters, and attach weightings to people or criteria. It tallies the results and allows you to manipulate the weighting of criteria or people to see variations on the results.

Casual Games

2008-07-10T12:21:00.002-04:00

Food Fury helps kids identify healthy and not-so-healthy food choices using three categories ‘go’ ‘slow’ and ‘whoa’.

Play this game to test your food knowledge (and have fun)!

Serious Games

2008-07-10T12:02:00.004-04:00

Life and Death in the Age of Malaria:

The School of Nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Madison teaches students to techniques to prevent Malaria and other infectious diseases before traveling for study abroad programs. This game was designed to help students apply these skills before traveling to reduce the risk for Malaria.
After the student learns the basics, the game creates a simulated scenario where students prepare and travel to different countries. The game goal is to keep the students alive and healthy. Similar to Oregon Trail, students ‘test drive’ the skills they learn, buying the right items and taking the right prescriptions. It’s isn’t easy, sometimes the simulated students run out of money, get sick, and die.

The game lets students apply the skills they learn before being in the situation themselves. This may have similar applications with other conditions that need specific skills to mange the disease, such as diabetes.

Verizon 411 via texting

2008-07-07T10:04:00.005-04:00

From the desk of Julie...

As follow-up to Barbara’s presentation, many people seemed interested in texting for 411 information with Verizon Wireless.

It's an easy process...

You send a text message to 46645 (googl). In the body you can type what you are looking for. It can be as general as “pizza westfield nj” or as specific as “mario’s pizza main st westfield”.
The general will send you several texts with phone numbers and addresses of local pizzerias. The specific will return less, more focused results.
With the message open, you hit “send” to choose the number you want that was embedded in the message, then “send” again, and order your pizza :)

It’s free as long as your plan includes text messages, and you are within your allotment of messages for the month.

Edukate on YouTube

2008-07-03T16:02:00.007-04:00

We've posted a copy of Episode 2 of our Edukate series on YouTube. These animations were created 4 years ago by HealthEd and partner Raw Power with creative direction by Roy Broadfoot.

Facebook promotional example- Gardasil

2008-07-03T09:56:00.003-04:00

Includes "mural" idea similar to the one we had for Zogenix. Also has educational downloads, wallpapers, buddy icons.

Determining the appropriate humor "category" to align with brand strategy

2008-07-01T12:07:00.002-04:00

From the desk of Jessica...

Interesting one-pager that classifies humor types (with examples) to determine which, if any, are appropriate for a brand.

Even though we are often working within sensitive categories, it doesn’t mean that there isn’t some value that humor can bring, depending on the context and way it’s executed (better engagement, humanizing brand personality). Certainly may be more appropriate for the less sensitive brands .

http://tns-us.com/brand_connections/issue_2_article_humor.htm

Back-up Your Work

2008-06-24T12:07:00.007-04:00

While we all know how important it is to save our work and make back-ups of those important files, just in case...it is often in retrospect that we "wish" we had done things differently. Well, at least in Microsoft Word, you can create an automatic back-up of your files. These can get annoying, so you might want to turn them on and off if you use Word a lot. However, use it if it's something that makes sense for you. The backup file will have the .bak extension. Excel has something similar, but it's more of an autosave than a back-up file.

Here's how you turn this feature on in Word.

Go to the Tool menu bar and select "Options". Click on the "Save" tab. The first item should say, "Always create back-up copy". Check that, click OK and then you are set.

Don't forget to save your work on your H drive or the server as well so that in case of a hard drive failure you will have another copy!

P.S. There is a third-party solution available for PowerPoint that I found from a Microsoft poster on their site. I can't vouch for it but it might be something worthwhile for our IT group to look into.

Potent Social Forces Influence Smoking Behavior

2008-06-09T10:13:00.000-04:00

From the desk of Julia....

Article is interesting in terms of the influence of others on changing health behaviors. We can make use of this type of data to emphasize the importance of modeling through patients and the ability to make use of community and online social networks for positive change.

Potent Social Forces Influence Smoking Behavior

Friends and family have a powerful influence on whether a person quits smoking, and the decision to stop smoking can "spread" from one person to another in a social network, new research suggests. The findings are from a detailed analysis of smoking behavior in more than 12,000 individuals who were followed for 32 years, from 1971 to 2003, as part of the Framingham Heart Study.

In 1971, the places smokers and nonsmokers held in the social network were indistinguishable. But three decades later, societal views of smoking have changed, and smokers are increasingly at the periphery of social networks and aligned largely with other smokers, according to results published in the May 22 New England Journal of Medicine.

The authors, Drs. Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School and James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, reported last year that social networks may strongly influence obesity. In the current study, the authors demonstrate that decisions to quit smoking often reflect changes made by groups of people connected to each other, both directly and indirectly. For example, when a spouse quit smoking, the partner's chances of smoking decreased by 67 percent; friends who quit smoking decreased one another's chance of smoking by 36 percent.

"People are connected, and so their health is connected," the researchers write, adding that "cessation of smoking in one person appears to be highly relevant to the smoking behavior of others nearby in the social network." They also suggest that the person-to-person spread of smoking cessation has been a factor in the significant decline in smoking seen in recent decades.

The network phenomenon could potentially be exploited to spread positive health behavior, the study concludes. Along these lines, collective interventions may be more effective than individual interventions, and public health strategies to encourage smoking cessation may be more cost-effective than initially thought, since health improvements in one person may well spread to others.

The Six Social Needs People Seek in Social Networks

2008-06-03T16:11:00.015-04:00

Fast forward 64 years to a new cyber-psychology view: people are looking to fulfill six essential social needs online, and businesses that help facilitate those needs are more likely to create deeper emotional bonds than usually exist between companies and customers, according to a new research report released today by Communispace. These deeper relationships in turn result in greater consumer insights, advocacy and loyalty.

The Communispace researchers, building on the work of social scientists, have identified the specific social needs that are met through participating in social networks.

1. Expressing personal identity:online social networks provide people with the ultimate tool for defining and redefining themselves, as evidenced in profile pages on Facebook and MySpace.
2. Status and self-esteem: the need for autonomy, recognition and achievement are essential to our sense of self-worth and are fulfilled in online communities, blogs, and social networks that provide a way to develop and manage a virtual reputation.
3. Giving and getting help: people have a need to both seek and provide help to others. Mutual assistance between strangers is a phenomenon that has been uniquely enabled by the Internet.
4. Affiliation and belonging: online communities are becoming the way people find, create and connect with others "just like me" - people who share similar tastes, sensibilities, orientations or interests.
5. Sense of community: a sense of belonging or affiliation alone is not equivalent to a true sense of community. Achieving a real sense of community requires long-lasting reciprocal relationships and a mutual commitment to the needs of the community as a whole. Communispace tapped its other research on social networking behavior and found that when companies meet the full range of social needs, they gain trust and deep insights into their consumers and community members - marketing nirvana. And when companies go still further to actively embrace and act on people's ideas they fulfill a sixth social need:
6. Reassurance of value and self worth. People want to be reassured of their worth and value, and seek confirmation that what they say and do matters to others and has an impact on the world around them. Meeting all 5 + 1 of these social needs generally requires the level of intimacy and facilitation that are the hallmarks of smaller, invitation only online communities. online social networks provide people with the ultimate tool for defining and redefining themselves, as evidenced in profile pages on Facebook and MySpace.

Recent Browser statistics

2008-06-03T11:32:00.011-04:00

Display Resolution

86% of users have 1024x768 or higher resolution. Of the two major groups in “Higher” that I’ve seen are 1280x1024 and 1280x800.

Date	Higher	1024x768	800x600	640x480	Unknown
January 2008	38%	48%	8%	0%	6%

Browser Stats

Majority of users are using IE, but Firefox has a significant following as well.

Date	IE7	IE6	IE5	Firefox	Mozilla	Safari	Opera
April 2008	24.9%	28.9%	1.0%	39.1%	1.0%	2.2%	1.4%

OS Platform Stats

Windows is by far the leader, with Mac having 4.6% of the market.

Date	WinXP	W2000	W98	Vista	W2003	Linux	Mac
April 2008	73.3%	3.3%	.5%	8.8%	1.9%	3.7%	4.6%

Crohn's and Me: An example of priming the market prior to new drug approval

2008-05-29T11:25:00.011-04:00

This is a follow-up to the post Crohn's and Me: An example of Pharma breaking into Web 2.0 from Jess:

I shared the site, Crohnsandme.com a few months ago, as it was a good example of an unbranded online market-priming effort. UCB was waiting for their drug, Cimzia, to be approved for Crohn's Disease, and created this site to build an online community during that pre-launch phase. The obvious here is that they were able to build their consumer database, and sent out this email to coincide with product approval (and drive to the brand site).

Crohnsandme.com has been a live, unbranded community site for some time now. Built a community around treatment of Crohn's Disease, with a registration component clearly to prep for the approval of a new medication for Crohn's Disease. I had forwarded this site on a few months back as a good example of building community during the pre-launch phase. However, the site also has links to sponsored community events. There are some nice pieces here in terms of story sharing, incorporating diagnosed celebrities, and providing some nice tools that are available via registration only. There was also a community "tour" that is now archived, which includes professional and patient spokespeople.

I got this email today, as UCB's drug, Cimzia, just received approval. Crohnsandme still exists as its own site, but the email of course drives to Cimzia.com. It will be interesting to see how the unbranded site evolves. You can click through to the brand site from the community now, both from the home page and on the treatment section.

Just wanted to share as a well-executed online tool used to build community, establish a prospect database, and set-up a timely email blast to announce new drug approval. NOTE that the "community feel" is here, even without the inclusion of blogs or any real-time conversations. More like interactive patient stories, but executed in way to make it feel more authentic to a unique community.

Crohn's and Me: An example of Pharma breaking into Web 2.0

2008-05-29T10:59:00.010-04:00

The following is an analysis of UCB Pharma's unbranded campaign, Crohn's and Me, written by Jess DiPaolo in February, prior to the approval of Cizmia UCB's treatment for Crohn's disease:

The following site is an example of pharma attempting to break into Web 2.0, and to initiate an unbranded campaign where it may not be intuitive to do so:

http://www.crohnsandme.com/

The site is sponsored by UCB Pharma, though you can barely find their name at the bottom of the page (and it’s without their logo). UCB is seeking approval for Cimzia, a biologic treatment for Crohn’s Disease. In the meantime, they’ve launched this “Crohns and Me” effort both online and using a community-based “tour” to build their community and drive prospect enrollment.

Points of Interest

Helps UCB grow their prospective user base, especially as their launch has been pushed out a bit due to more info needed by the FDA. Enrollment data are related to disease, treatment history, communication channel preference, the level at which patients rely on their physicians for treatment decisions, and how much information about new treatments that person is interested in receiving. If UCB uses all of this, their post-launch communications could be really well targeted.

Uses a nice integration of online and offline; there are in-office brochures, the online site, and a community “tour” to further the sense of community, as well as create that “buzz” or sense that something big is going on. The program includes professionals, patients, spouses and parents, etc. The patient experience is at the core of this whole campaign, which makes it feel that much more authentic.

The site has user-friendly navigation with patient-friendly categories (i.e. “Live With It”, “The Scoop”). Testimonials are varied, and are woven throughout the site, often to support the information on a given page. (E.G., When describing a piece of legislation, the young girl whose experience spawned the Act tells her story; this is followed with calls to action that help letter writing.)
Site visitors can “preview” testimonials, but only get full access when registering with the site. There are no online blogs, just access to the full “community”; so not true Web 2.0, but feels a little like it, especially given the patient-centric tone of the site. The testimonials often link to third-party sites that are relevant to that person’s life (i.e. there is a comic who has his own website, another person shares their link to their myspace page, one of the people was shown on Punk’d, so there is a link to that MTV-sponsored site).

You can view some of the community tour, and you have multiple viewing and download options (video, video podcast, audio podcast).

There are a lot of community-related activities you can learn about, which again makes it feel like more is going on (scholarship contest, fundraising bike tour, etc.)

Again, the info collected at enrollment is good, and probably not too cumbersome for this audience given that they skew younger. Also, probably easier to collect a lot of this in an unbranded setting, where site visitors are less skeptical about the reasons it’s being collected.

The look and feel of this site is so much different than that offered by the main advocacy organization, ccfa, which feels much more traditional, as well as some of the other branded and unbranded sites. It’s a good blend of information validity with genuine patient experience. (Other sites can go the other extreme, and give a patient-friendly yet less than trustworthy feel regarding the information shared.)

It’s still a far cry from genuine Web 2.0 applications, but it looks like there has been some effort in that direction-and certainly more freedom to do this given that it’s unbranded.

I am interested to see how UCB converts this to a branded initiative once Cimzia receives a Crohn’s indication. In spite of some of the reasons that might steer them away from a pre-launch, unbranded campaign (crowded category, late-entry), there is clearly some rationale for pursuing this (creating a more robust prospect list, prepping a vocal community to prepare for a new tx option).

There are definitely things here that could be improved upon, particularly with some of the web execution (downloadable “tracker”, some sections including relatively static tips and resources), but overall I thought it was a noteworthy effort.

Nn/G Conference Notes #7- Final thoughts on web usability

2008-05-22T14:20:00.000-04:00

Final thoughts on web usability:

1. Users vary in motivation – levels of engagement are divers

2. Cannot say ‘we want to show this cools stuff’ (Can’t impose joy or force joy by using aggressive video )

3. Help – usually doesn’t

4. Users fight back – inherently distrustful, don’t believe list is sorted by what’s best, don’t choose things that look like ads

5. Linear information path (not literally linear) – give a recommended next step (this is pleasant and removes the burden from the user)

6. Sign Post – tell users where they are (for example use bread crumbs)

7. Help people focus on what they want

8. Progressive disclosure – show a little then show more

9. Meet expectations – don’t break the flow (plug ins or downloads)

10. The web is a user-driven environment

11. Don’t be too template driven, some things need to be presented in different ways

12. Support the user's task, details matter, problems accumulate, break flow and lessen the sites credibility

13. Don’t let corporate structure shine through (your mental model vs. the customer) – usability testing removes the blindfold

14. Registration should not be a barrier – people may rebel (Lead generation – you will get less leads if you ask too early)

NN/g Conference Notes #6: How people look and click

2008-05-22T12:31:00.006-04:00

People are stingy with their $ and with looks and clicks

Stock art can be a problem and duplicated in many locations. The same ‘happy woman’ was used on three websites: TurboTax, Xdrive, and Pair Networks

Hot potatoes – look at an ad and look away quickly

Men and woman instinctively look at ‘parts’ (men more frequently than woman)

People don’t look at images that are too small or have low contrast
– use simple/clear images

People look at faces
– not as frequently look at people turned away (not facing the camera)

Credibility – what makes the site believable?
– Credibility is a feel, using a phone number and contact information helps create a physical presence, which helps
– Google gullibility – higher in search results (increases feeling of credibility)

People read in an “F” pattern – Front load the content – put the main point first

Skipping vs. Scanning text – People who read well can scan pages, slow readers skip full sections of content (low literacy will read every word, including privacy or ISI)
– Front load sentences
– make link titles work without context (for scanning and reading with magnifiers)

People don’t scroll often – keep important info above the fold

NNg recommends writing at a 6th grade reading level

Scan-ability is improved by breaking up information into bulleted lists

Simple website example: http://www.jetblue.com/
Another enjoyable site: http://www.adagio.com/
Bad website example: http://www.additudemag.com/ (especially considering the audience)

Time on site – increased time-on-site is not always a good measure (exhaustive review with no results, vs. interest in learning or the content)
– this measure should be compared/contrasted with usability testing

Follow a convention for search (upper right or left corner)
– it’s dangerous to have another box that looks like search but isn’t

Two types of consistency = between site and within site
– Remove the burden from the user
– take away the brain power to physically operate the site
– Don’t change the navigation within a site

Allow your content to shine

Know when to innovate – are you ‘special’ enough (why doesn’t everyone do it that new way – that might be a stronger argument)– Don’t be lazy - innovate on the back-end (hide great programming) like Google maps

Website design is like fashion – people that get excited are not everyday people – wait until after it’s fashionable, don’t be a slave to fashion or a groupie (for example don’t follow Amazon.com)

NN/g Conference Notes #5: Give the user what they expect

2008-05-22T12:23:00.006-04:00

Focus on the user – not the organization (don’t use jargon)

For example ‘current age’ is a common term for a retirement company – but it’s not common language for a user https://www3.tiaa-cref.org/reteval/RetServlet

World vision – the ‘gift catalog’ confuses users (they want to donate $, gifts seem like items to purchase) http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/master.nsf/home?Open&lid=wv_logo&lpos=topnav

Don’t use templates that create missing text

People don’t like to register – make the privacy policy clear and give them information first (don’t ask for registration before giving the user something)

People ignore the ads and internal promotion

User needs vary

PDF sucks (in all countries) and guidelines are the same in other countries

Don’t call things ‘tools’ – it sounds complicated, users shy away from ‘tools’

Consider the complexity of the underlying business rules, which may increase the complexity of the design and have an impact on usability

People REBEL – make faces, write a bad review, leave the website, and don’t look

Forced registration – turns people off

People will look at promotions that fit the style of the site and avoid the ads

Banner blindness is learned

Myth: People over 65 are slow and methodical. Some people over 65 are impatient if asked to wait they keep clicking

When using blurred or big images – think about the real estate on the page, what do you want the image to convey (If you are having trouble writing the alt-tag, re-think the purpose of the photo/image)

NN/g Conference Notes #4: Don’t break the Flow

2008-05-22T12:20:00.007-04:00

Don’t break the FLOW

Installing software interrupts the flow, opening new window’s interrupts flow – people use the back feature and feel lost

Don’t have the user open a new window unless you want them to close it after completing a task

Too many choices, lowers satisfaction

Cascading menus is not a good idea (expand and collapse instead)

Save the user brain cells – predict the users next steps (give the user what they need when they need it)

Limiting clicks is less important than making each click productive

Give Signposts, Context & Feedback

The more links on a page = more likely that people will click the wrong link

People use bread crumbs (if you use them don’t let it drop –it’s a ‘signpost’)

Get feedback while waiting for something to load (don’t’ show the % progress – just a moving bar OR like http://www.kayak.com/)

User shouldn’t have to guess ‘what’s clickable’ – make it consistent

Confirm events (give feedback)

NN/g Conference Notes #3: Don’t impose Joy

2008-05-22T12:18:00.005-04:00

Don’t impose JOY

You can’t impose joy (scary Avatar’s talking, video runs without choices, no control over the video).

Make a clear option to skip video.

Provide opportunities for joy.

Content is king – sometimes websites are cool because of the content

Make the links clear – for example http://zincbistroaz.com/ (where are the links?)

People with ‘low vision’ will use screen magnifiers – this is like looking through a paper towel – if you use hover text or cascading menus they can’t read it

Changing backgrounds can be distracting

Good example: NASA website http://www.nasa.gov/ (people enjoy the content, video, contrast)

WebMD – recommendations for the next article lead people to information they didn’t know they needed – gives more opportunity to educate http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/news/20080424/antsy-rheumatoid-arthritis-antidote (see ‘hot topics’).

Similar to You Tube, which gives new videos and helps people stay around

NN/g Conference Notes #2: People want control

2008-05-22T12:10:00.006-04:00

People want CONTROL

People want to be in control, click and get what they expect

The search box = perceived control.
Give the user enough space to type in their search (the length of searches/query strings are increasing – the average is 18 characters)

Marketing terms don’t help clarify
– Use key words
– Don’t be cute, the results page is the most important.

For example people were asked to learn how to tie a bowline knot, after searching ‘bowline knot’ many people avoided clicking this link:
*Roper's Knot Pages - Single loops
The Bowline Knot is one of the most used loop knots. This variant is most used in the world. Probably due to its simplicity, security, and its relationship ...

*The word ‘Ropers’’ doesn’t mean anything to them, but if they were to click, this page would have been a good resource)

Video: give the user the controls (stop, replay, play, rewind etc.)

Don’t start playing a video without the user making the choice

Too much stuff – is off-putting. For example: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

Don’t use rigid forms – do the work on the back-end (users will bail).

Use vertical fields (not side by side)

NN/g Group Conference Notes – Fundamental Guidelines for Web Usability (Anne Martin's Notes)

2008-05-22T11:47:00.006-04:00

Web Usage:

Goals for the web: Make it easy to use, enjoyable, and don’t make the design stand out

The web is improving, and the user is becoming more knowledgeable.
– Success rates on the web have improved (getting the task competed) – 70% from 60% in 1999

People are using search engines more often (Google is most popular)
– First action: 89% use a search engine
– 3.1 sties are visited per task

People don’t go to one website to get the answer (therefore locking them into your website isn’t a good tactic, but leading with links works)

Interior pages are increasing in importance, people are not always starting at the homepage (search engines lead them to interior pages)
– 25% of people visit the homepage of a site first
– 75% visit an interior page

Time on-site:
– The length of time on the final page visited per task is 2 minutes 34 seconds
(1 min 42 sec on the previous sites)

Search Engine Results Page:
– 52% scroll the first search results page
– 5% view more than one page in the search results (people are more likely to conduct a new search than look at another results page)
– 47% choose the first result on the list (organic search – not paid)

Top ads perform better than right ad boxes (‘gaze time increases for the top ads’ – gaze time was testing using eye tracking)

NN/g Group – Fundamentals Guidelines for Web Usability - My Notes

2008-04-28T11:12:00.005-04:00

Web use

Goals for the web: Make it easy to use, enjoyable, and don’t make the design stand out

The web is improving, and the user is becoming more knowledgeable.
– Success rates on the web have improved (getting the task competed) – 70% from 60% in 1999

People are using search engines more often (Google is most popular)
– First action: 89% use a search engine
– 3.1 sties are visited per task

People don’t go to one website to get the answer (therefore locking them into your website isn’t a good tactic, but leading with links works)

Interior pages are increasing in importance, people are not always starting at the homepage (search engines lead them to interior pages)
– 25% of people visit the homepage of a site first
– 75% visit an interior page

Time on-site:
The length of time on the final page visited per task is 2 minutes 34 seconds
(1 min 42 sec on the previous sites)

Search Engine Results Page:
52% scroll the first search results page
5% view more than one page in the search results (people are more likely to conduct a new search than look at another results page)
47% choose the first result on the list (organic search – not paid)

Top ads perform better than right ad boxes (‘gaze time increases for the top ads’ – gaze time was testing using eye tracking)

People want CONTROL

People want to be in control, click and get what they expect

The search box = perceived control. Give the user enough space to type in their search (the length of searches/query strings are increasing – the average is 18 characters)

Marketing terms don’t help clarify
– Use key words – don’t be cute, the results page is the most important.

For example people were asked to learn how to tie a bowline knot, after searching ‘bowline knot’ many people avoiding clicking this link:

*Roper's Knot Pages - Single loops
The Bowline Knot is one of the most used loop knots. This variant is most used in the world. Probably due to its simplicity, security, and its relationship ...

*The word ‘Ropers’’ which doesn’t mean anything to them, but if they were to click, this page would have been a good resource)

Video: give the user the controls (stop, replay, play, rewind etc.) Don’t start playing a video without the user making the choice

Too much stuff – is off-putting. For example: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/

Don’t use rigid forms – do the work on the back-end (users will bail). Use vertical fields (not side by side)

Don’t impose JOY

You can’t impose joy (scary Avatar’s talking, video runs without choices, no control over the video). Make a clear option to skip video.

Provide opportunities for joy. Content is king – sometimes websites are cool because of the content

Make the links clear – for example http://zincbistroaz.com/ (where are the links?)

People with ‘low vision’ will use screen magnifiers – this is like looking through a paper towel – if you use hover text or cascading menus they can’t read it

Changing backgrounds can be distracting

Good example: NASA website http://www.nasa.gov/ (people enjoy the content, video, contrast)

WebMD – recommendations for the next article lead people to information they didn’t know they needed – gives more opportunity to educate http://www.webmd.com/rheumatoid-arthritis/news/20080424/antsy-rheumatoid-arthritis-antidote (see ‘hot topics’). Similar to You Tube, which gives new videos and helps people stay around

Don’t break the FLOW

Installing software interrupts the flow, opening new window’s interrupts flow – people use the back feature and feel lost,

Don’t have the user open a new window unless you want them to close it after completing a task

Too many choices, lowers satisfaction

Cascading menus is not a good idea (expand and collapse instead)

Save the user brain cells – predict the users next steps (give the user what they need when they need it)

Limiting clicks is less important than making each click productive

Give Signposts, Context & Feedback

The more links on a page = more likely that people will click the wrong link

People use bread crumbs (if you use them don’t let it drop –it’s a ‘signpost’)

Get feedback while waiting for something to load (don’t’ show the % progress – just a moving bar OR like www.kayak.com)

User shouldn’t have to guess ‘what’s clickable’ – make it consistent

Confirm events (give feedback)

Give the user what they expect

Focus on the user – not the organization (don’t use jargon) For example ‘current age’ is a common term for a retirement company – but it’s not common language for a user https://www3.tiaa-cref.org/reteval/RetServlet

World vision – the ‘gift catalog’ confuses users (they want to donate $, gifts seem like items to purchase) http://www.worldvision.org/worldvision/master.nsf/home?Open&lid=wv_logo&lpos=topnav

Don’t use templates that create missing text

People don’t like to register – make the privacy policy clear and give them information first (don’t ask for registration before giving the user something)

People ignore the ads and internal promotion

User needs vary

PDF sucks (in all countries) and guidelines are the same in other countries

Don’t call things ‘tools’ – it sounds complicated, users why away from ‘tools’

Consider the complexity of the underlying business rules, which may increase the complexity of the design and have an impact on usability

People REBEL – make faces, write a bad review, leave the website, and don’t look

Forced registration – turns people off

People will look at promotions that fit the style of the site and avoid the ads

Banner blindness is learned

Myth: People over 65 are slow and methodical. Some people over 65 are impatient if asked to wait they keep clicking

When using blurred or big images – think about the real estate on the page, what do you want the image to convey (you I you are having trouble writing the alt-tag, re-think the purpose of the photo/image)

People are stingy with their $ and with looks and clicks

Stock art can be a problem and duplicated in many locations. The same ‘happy woman’ was used on three websites: TruboTax, Xdrive, and Pair Networks

Hot potatoes – look at an ad and look away quickly

Men and woman instinctively look at ‘parts’ (men more frequently than woman)

People don’t look at images that are too small or have low contrast – use simple/clear images

People look at faces – not as frequently look at people turned away (not facing the camera)

Credibility – what makes the site believable?
– Credibility is a feel, using a phone number and contact information helps create a physical presence, which helps
– Google gullibility – higher in search results (increases feeling of credibility)

People read in an “F” pattern
– Front load the content – put the main point first

Skipping vs. Scanning text
– People who read well can scan pages, slow readers skip full sections of content (low literacy will read every word, including privacy or ISI)
– Front load sentences – make link titles work without context (for scanning and reading with magnifiers)

People don’t scroll often – keep important info above the fold

NNg recommends writing at a 6th grade reading level

Scan-ability is improved by breaking up information into bulleted lists

Simple website example: www.jetblue.com
Another enjoyable site: http://www.adagio.com/
Bad website example: http://www.additudemag.com/ (especially considering the audience)

Time on site – increased time-on-site is not always a good measure (exhaustive review with no results, vs. interest in learning or the content) – this measure should be compared/contrasted with usability testing

Follow a convention for search (upper right or left corner) – it’s dangerous to have another box that looks like search but isn’t

Two types of consistency = between site and within site
– Remove the burden from the user – take away the brain power to physically operate the site
– Don’t change the navigation within a site

Allow your content to shine

Know when to innovate – are you ‘special’ enough (why doesn’t everyone do it that new way – that might be a stronger argument)
– Don’t be lazy - innovate on the back-end (hide great programming) like Google maps

Website design is like fashion – people that get exited are not everyday people – wait until after it’s fashionable, don’t be a slave to fashion or a groupie (for example don’t follow Amazon.com)

Conclusions –

– Users vary in motivation – levels of engagement are divers
– Can not say ‘we want to show this cools stuff’ (Can’t impose joy or force joy by using aggressive video )
– Help – usually doesn’t
– Users fight back – inherently distrustful, don’t believe list is sorted by what’s best, don’t choose things that look like ads
– Linear information path (not literally linear) – give a recommended next step (this is pleasant and removes the burden from the user)
– Sign Post – tell users where they are (for example use bread crumbs)
– Help people focus on what they want
– Progressive disclosure – show a little then show more
– Meet expectations – don’t break the flow (plug ins or downloads)
– The web is a user-driven environment
– Don’t be too template driven, some things need to be presented in different ways
– Support the users task, details matter, problems accumulate, break flow and lessen the sites credibility
– Don’t let corporate structure shine through (your mental model vs. the customer) – usability testing removes the blindfold
– Registration should not be a barrier – people may rebel (Lead generation – you will get less leads if you ask too early)

Story of Stuff -Education through storytelling

2008-04-23T14:52:00.007-04:00

http://www.storyofstuff.com

This an excellent example of effective education done with a combination of great copywriting, clear and simple art, poignant animation and interactivity.

•

Visuals, text, audio interplay make it more memorable (dual coding theory)
Focused screens help user know what to pay attention to, also known as "selection"
Sequential and repetitive information help with organization and information processing
Associations with familiar items and how parts make up the whole helps viewer to integrate new information and store in long-term memory

20 Most Commonly Searched Health Conditions

2008-04-14T15:40:00.003-04:00

ComScore, Inc. released a listing of the 20 most commonly searched health conditions as well as the 15 most commonly searched prescription brands in February 2008. The two most frequently searched conditions were "Pregnancy" and "cancer," while Chantix was the most frequently searched prescription brand.

Also in the top 20:
Depression - #4
Diabetes - #5
Bipolar - #12
ADHD - #18
Fibromyalgia - #20

The article suggested that Fibromyalgia made the top 20 because of the recent approval of Lyrica. Marketing of the drug has most likely helped increase awareness of the condition.

Some of the most commonly searched brands:
Cymbalta - #7
Seroquel - #9
Cialis #12

Gardasil and Emend: Great examples of video Integration and Interactive tools

2008-04-12T21:47:00.007-04:00

Venessa recently shared a couple of cool links with the Interactive team. Here are her thoughts on what makes these sites inspirational:

Emend quiz app, takes a more interactive approach to answering myth/facts questions--Very nice

Gardasil Product site
Great (great, great) integration of video and hosts. The flyout menu is different, fun and easy to use while giving a complete list of secondary and tertiary pages at a glance. The hosts are unobtrusive and really connect with the users (especially when they’re just quietly goofing around and showing their personalities). The video treatment is also fantastic in general, great realistic filming style. Another cool feature is this Questions To Ask Your Doctor app. They give you suggestions on questions to ask but also the ability to add your own questions to the list and then print them out together.

And there's more...Gardasil also has:

text/email reminders

dosing video which ends with a schedule print out

somewhat of a “share your story” feature (really more of a database collection tool)

SXSW: Everyone’s A Design Critic

2008-03-23T21:32:00.013-04:00

(Photo: SXSW Sketchnote by Mike Rohde)

Two graphic designers, Jason Santa Maria and Rob Weychert, shared lessons learned from design critiques and offered advice on how to get useful feedback from clients. My notes aren't quite as interesting as Mike Rhode's (see above) but I hope you get something out of them.

Important steps to take before to client presentation:

Review, Review, Review - Review everything that went into the designs – wireframes, style guide, fonts, colors, etc.. prior to the meeting so that you can speak to every element you considered when creating the designs.

Specify roles - Make sure everyone knows what their role will be during the presentation

Make it an exclusive engagement - Only bring as many people as you need, the more people the longer the critique

How to structure a successful presentation, important things to consider:

1. The Setup – Recap the project: past , present and future.
2. Manage Expectations – make sure everyone understands what to expect from the

presentation
3. Broad Strokes – Make sure everyone understands that you are there to figure out what is right/wrong with the designs and move on to the next step
4. Outline design strategy – explain the # of designs and why and how you approached each
5. Establish the Goal – decide that you can move forward with 1 design with some revisions
6. Keep the Conversation Problem Focused – not solution focused. This was an important point they stressed. An initial design meeting is not the place for everyone to try to solve what doesn’t work. It is important to identify the problems and let the designer come up with the solution back at the studio. If you start trying to solve problems you may be committing to something you realize doesn’t work later.
7. Holistic Designs – It is important for client to know that the designs are part of an overall strategy, but each design should be viewed as a sovereign entity and should stand alone. Try to avoid picking and choosing from different designs. Just because a navigation element works in one design doesn’t mean it will work in another. Avoid the “Frankenstein Monster.” Go back to #6.
8. Establish a time limit and stick to it – this helps keep everyone focused.

The Do’s and Dont’s of the Walk Through:

1. Introduce your design like you are introducing a friend at a party – just list the key facts you would want someone to know about your friend and move on.

2. Keep the discussion problem focused – talk about what works and what doesn’t, but don't try to come up with the solutions.

3. Keep the conversation moving – it's easy to get hung up on the details, but the details shouldn’t matter at the concept phase, they will get worked out later.

4. No Child Left Behind – don’t focus too much on one design. Make sure you talk about all of them. Even if there is one design that no one likes, it is important to know why because there are things that can be learned from that.

5. Avoid the Frankenstein Monster – see #6 above.

6. Know that Perspectives Vary – you might think a design is clean and simple and someone else thinks it looks cluttered. Be prepared to expect the unexpected.

7. Know it’s Nothing Personal – keep the discussion focused, professional and don’t take anything personally.

8. Stay Positive – a client will pick up on the fact that you start getting negative, or frustrated

9. Avoid Jargon – speak in a language that everyone can understand. If you use too many programming or design terms, it will alienate your audience. Find common ground with audience. Instead of talking about hue or saturation, find a printed piece or web site that has the same color, or look for something the client finds appealing and talk about what they like about

that piece.

Once critique is over, it is always good practice to…

Evaluate everything as a team back at the office and come up with a plan
Document the next steps and send to to your the client so they know what you are planning to do
Follow-up and make sure you do everything you said you would do

SXSW: Book Reading: The Back of the Napkin

2008-03-23T20:44:00.008-04:00

One of the many new additions to SXSW this year was Book Readings. Select authors are given 20 minutes to discuss their new book while attendees relax with coffee, friends, and food in the Adobe Day Stage Café.

The book reading we attended was called “The Back of the Napkin” written by Dan Roam, a “professional visual thinker” who helps executives solve a variety of complex business problems with pictures. According to Roam, any problem – no matter how complex – can be solved with visual thinking. His book illustrates the many ways simple pictures can take the place of excel and powerpoint to sell an idea or solve a problem. He discusses the different ways people see, the built-in tools we all have to communicate, and how to draw for your audience. Also, artistic ability doesn’t matter – it is the process that is important – how you look, see, imagine, and show. Drawing is the last piece of the process.

Here some reasons why drawing can be a great way to present your ideas:

It will be clear to everyone in your audience that the drawing is a work in progress and meant to be discussed and revised.

You don’t need special software or special skills to draw and everyone in the room will be able to understand it.

Everyone can draw – they don’t have to be good at it – which makes it easier for your audience to participate in the process.
The moment they take the pen and start adding to or revising your drawing, you’ve won them over.

So, the next time you have to give a presentation, forget the powerpoint slide or the excel spreadsheet and just grab a pencil and a napkin!

For more information about Roam's book, visit http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/

SXSW: Interesting SXSW Notes to Check Out!

2008-03-19T11:43:00.007-04:00

Thanks to Jen K. for the tip to these note sketches by Mike Rohde. Susan and I will try to fill in any blanks and/or add commentary with our own notes shortly.

SXSW: Frank Warren--PostSecret

2008-03-10T23:02:00.014-04:00

Frank was Monday's keynote speaker. With PostSecret, he pioneered the idea that a website can serve as an anonymous online confessional. His story touches all aspects of humanity--it shows that courage is contagious and if you share, others will share. This touches on the relatively new but overwhelming interest in social networking. We all are intrigued to listen to other's stories, to know what motivates them, to hear their most innermost thoughts. Check out some of the videos that are on the blog (they're hosted on YouTube)...here's one he showed during his presentation. He's published three books of postcards to date.

Frank started PostSecret as an art project by inviting people to mail back postcards he handed out. After the intial ones came back, he was surprised by the "soulful" artwork and the volume of secrets he's received...and astonished by the frailty and humanism of everyday people living their every day lives.

Two interpretations capture his presentation well. After he went through his agenda, he opened up the floor for people to share secrets. The first was a marriage proposal...and it took quite a while for the young lady to surface so the poor man was shaking (She said yes!). The second was a woman confessing she was scared for her sister, who has a disease no one knows about. And she wants people to support her through her blog...she mentioned it was debutante, but I'm having trouble finding it. Also, a woman who worked in healthcare thought these would be a great way for both people who work in the field to let go of some of the "secrets" they see and don't talk about as that is the environment they work in. But even better was to give a patient a postcard to fill in as to she felt it would be cathartic for them to let go of any baggage.

These two images are by Marilyn Martin (above) and Sunni Brown (below), official SXSW graphic recorders.

SXSW: Bio-Networks: Using Mobile Technology to Impact Healthstyle

2008-03-10T16:53:00.005-04:00

This session was presented by Kate Bauer, a graduate of ITP who went to school with our own Vincent Boyce! She explored the potential of using mobile technology and wearable computing to collect health data.

She spoke about Nike and the Accelerometer and how it transfer the information to your IPOD which you then upload to a computer and the data is presented in a visual format. She mentioned GlucoWatch which monitors blood glucose levels for diabetes. And a SmartBra which tracks temperature changes to show if there is a tumor. This used a microwave antennae to pick-up changes. It then had an audio or visual alarm built in to advise a trip to the doctor.

Her prototype was to track ovulation using a wearable fertility tracker, your cell phone and a website (theovu.com). The ovu, as she calls it, is made up of a lace arm band with a highly sensitive thermistor inside that picks up changes in the Basal Body Temperature of a woman to detect fertility. The measurements are then sent via bluetooth for analysis to the site which interprets the data versus a database. Notifications are then sent to the cell phone of the woman and her partner when it is the optimal timing to try to conceive.

There was a lively discussion about other wearable devices and the opportunity to leverage them for other conditions. There is even a wearable conference in Hawaii. Barbara, do you think that's in the budget! :)

SXSW: The Smithereens

2008-03-10T09:32:00.011-04:00

We saw the Smithereens at La Zona Rosa last night. And we even found out they were from Scotch Plains, NJ! It was up close and personal...we had a lot of fun. Hosted by Sun Microsystems. Check out all our photos.

SXSW: 11th Annual SXSW Web Awards Ceremony

2008-03-10T00:28:00.004-04:00

Check out the Web awards to get the list of finalists and winners. I'm sure there's inspiration in there for us to pull from!

SXSW: Mark Zuckerberg--Facebook

2008-03-09T22:20:00.005-04:00

Mark was Sunday's keynote speaker. Susan may write some more about him as she attended the session. However, found this artwork by Sunni Brown summarizing it quite interesting. Also, the real-time messaging that was going on within the room itself was unreal. Susan sent me a message about some things that were going on and I had already read about it on the meebo chats. Quite an experience....

Here's Marilyn Martin's take on the session:

SXSW: Managing Online Communities

2008-03-08T17:34:00.001-05:00

Panel discussion of online community managers focused on how they managed communities, issues of privacy, rules and conduct, how much do you monitor and edit posts.

Regarding issue of pre-screening posts, none screened and filtered prior to posts going live (other than screening for obscenities). Yes there are risks but members are usually so involved in these online communities that they police themselves and filter out the offenders. Also, people will complain if you monitor too much. Of course, for Pharma there is always the issue of AEs and off-label usage so they must be closely monitored.

How do you get internal buy-in and involvement? You have to get buy-in at highest level to be successful but make it easy for upper mgt to get involved. Ask CEO to spend 10 min a week to post comments rather than writing a weekly blog that is more time consuming or will most likely be written by PR dept.

How do youy manage risks? If your goal is to have zero risk you shouldn't be doing this. Your goal should be to reduce risk as much as possible while delivering as much return as possible. Go to your legal team with all the potential risks and solutions for dealing with them.

Every online community should have a mission statement and constantly recheck and revise to make sure your community stays focused.

Resources:
Smallworldlabs.com/blog
Communityguy.com
Web-strategist.com/blog
Onlinecommunityreport.com

That's it for now, will try to add more later. Look for more on using the back of the napkin to solve problems.

SXSW: Catching Up with Accessibility--The Basics Quickly

2008-03-08T15:42:00.001-05:00

Had a wonderful, inspiring panel given by Shawn Henry of the W3C on accessibility this morning to kick off the interactive panels. She brought to light how important it is to include various accessibility features when building a site. And it doesn't just apply to those who are deaf or blind. Age is also an issue in discerning contrast in colors.

Testing should be done with screen readers and header and list tags must be used appropriately. This allows those with disabilities to use the reader to scan the page for content areas (navigation is one of them as well).

Links should be coded so that the actual links aren't "click here" but rather the benefit or action. This assists in making the site usable for those using a link scanner. It also benefits the business by increasing the marketing highlight on those key words (not to mention boosting SEO rankings).

I'll write more and fill in some blanks later. Here are some of the resource links she provides. This is a picture of one of my later panels. Susan may also be posting here as well so stay posted!

SXSWorld 2008

2008-03-07T09:54:00.000-05:00

And we're off! We leave later today...