Ads and Affiliates: Google AdSense vs. Other Advertisers
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"Google AdSense payouts have decreased, but it still provides the most revenue for many sites, even if it don't disclose its revenue share. Date: Mar 16, 2005, 16:23 PST"

Site Design: What If JavaScript is Turned Off in Visitor's Browsers?
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"About 11% of Internet users seem to have JavaScript disabled in their web browsers. It's wise to have alternatives so that this significant minority can view your website easily. Date: Mar 15, 2005, 17:08 PST"

Conversion: Review: Landing Page Handbook: How to Raise Conversions -- Data and Design Guidelines
From: www.wilsonweb.com

" Date: Mar 9, 2005, 14:30 PST"

Conversion: Engaging Site Visitors with SitePal Animated Speaking Characters (Avatars)
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"SitePal speaking animated avatars can make a significant difference in engaging visitors and increasing conversion rates. This brief article gives preliminary results of how SitePal increased visitor time-on-site by 33% and number of page views by 17%. Date: Mar 9, 2005, 11:47 PST"

Marketing Tools: Defeating Pop-up Blockers
From: www.wilsonweb.com

"Windows XP SP2 effectively blocks most pop-ups. However, Dynamic Popup Generator side-steps the current crop of pop-up blockers and enabled me to nearly double my subscriptions from a pop-up window. Date: Mar 2, 2005, 15:39 PST"


Ego Surfing With Preople
From: www.webpronews.com

"Anyone who writes a blog does a bit of ego surfing now and again. Or even again and again. It's true, isn't it? You know, looking for your name on Google and Technorati to see how many mentions you have."

Google's Blogger out of Juice?
From: www.webpronews.com

"As Infoworld reports like many others today on problems with Google's Blogger tool, the property deal they made back in February begins to make sense."

Reports from the Linux/Java camp visit to Microsoft
From: www.webpronews.com

"The competitive summit continues. I'm bummed that I haven't had much time to make it over there. It's cool that they let the attendees blog."

Is CNN Paying Yahoo for RSS Subscribers?
From: www.webpronews.com

"As you can see from the image below, Yahoo and CNN are running small text links on My Yahoo! that encourage readers to add CNN.com's main RSS feed to their personalized page."

Linspire Releases Five-0
From: www.webpronews.com

"Linspire today announced the release of its latest operating system, Linspire Five-0."


PSPs on the Black Market
From: www.wired.com

"With supplies low and demand high, people are finding alternative ways to get their hands on Sony's gaming system. Also: Microsoft still hasn't appeased the EU.... How parents treat kids online.... and more."

Qwest Sweetens the Pot
From: www.wired.com

"The company raises its offer for MCI in a bid to scuttle Verizon's deal. Also: Human error leaves the IRS vulnerable to hackers.... Viacom looks to split itself into two companies.... and more."

Hey, Don't Toss Those Fishy Chips
From: www.wired.com

"Chip manufacturing is very wasteful -- microprocessor manufacturers throw out millions of defective chips each year. But half of those could still be good, according to new research. By Amit Asaravala."

Yahoo Steps Into Blogs, Networks
From: www.wired.com

"The web behemoth's new hybrid service combines several popular internet features. Also: Microsoft takes control of its own online adverts.... BlackBerry maker settles patent dispute.... and more."

India's Cheap Windows on Hold
From: www.wired.com

"The no-frills version of the Microsoft OS being pushed around the world has been delayed in India. Also: Comcast saves TiVo.... The Dutch crack down on file sharing.... and more."


Applying Usability Principles to Your CMS
From: webword.com

" "In this first of two articles, I'll offer a general introduction to the problem of CMS usability with a particular focus on contributor interfaces. Part two will look at usability in the context of specific features, including classification, workflow, search, help, and other subsystems. The articles will examine usability through the lens of Web content management systems, but the themes should generally be applicable for managing content of all kinds."

Read the article...

(Thanks Daniel Szuc!)"

Flickr -- Usability Tag
From: webword.com

" Small group of photos posted on Flickr with "usability" as the tag.

My favorite is Remove Product Confirmation Web Dialogue. Nasty!

p.s. user interface (software / web images), information architecture (lot's of people and diagrams), and Rhodes (Greek Island). Interesting. "

IBM Mouse Adapter Helps Hand-Tremor Sufferers
From: webword.com

" "The adaptor is a box into which both a computer and a mouse are plugged. The device filters out shakes using technology similar to that used in camera lenses to calm the effects of unsteady hands. It can be used with any operating system or computer type without additional software."

Read the article...

"

Ignoring Usability?
From: webword.com

" I'm in a situation right now where I am being forced to work with a multitude of new user interfaces. There is virtually no time to record usability issues. Furthermore, I'm not going to use these interfaces again.

Assuming these applications are critical to the safety and welfare of other users, is there a moral obligation to try to improve the usability of these applications? What if these applications are NOT critical? Is there still a moral obligation?

What I am doing right now has very little to do with usability. I'm trying to get through several tedious tasks as quickly as possible and I'm not going to interact with these tools again. Am I obligated to do a simple ROI calculation to determine if it is worth the time to raise issues?

What would you do? What are your thoughts? How do you act in situations like mine?

"With great power comes great responsibility." -- Uncle Ben"

There is No Spoon and there is No Usability
From: webword.com

" Usability isn't anything at all. It doesn't exist. Instead, usability is a label given to the results that we see or want. Just as osteoporosis isn't a disease, usability isn't the outcome of usability testing. You probably didn't know it but osteoporosis is just a label given to a cluster of medical symptoms. Analogously, usability is just a label given to a list of desirable features or outcomes associated with a product or service.

Let's not mistake the outcome of the usability process (e.g., testing) as usability itself. And, let's not clump usability methods together and call them usability either. Putting this another way, we should stop using the outcome as the label. Usability methods don't create usability, but they do produce outcomes that are beneficial to users. Usability methods help foster satisfaction, efficiency, desirability, and more, but usability methods don't produce usability itself.

You can measure temperature but you can't measure usability. For example, I can say that it is 78 degrees Fahrenheit in my room but I can't say that my room has any type or level of usability. There is not a usability metric. At best, we can throw together several usability outcome measures together, such as level of satisfaction and completion rates, but we can't measure usability itself. There is no metric for it. It just doesn't make any sense.

Summary: Usability as a term should be thrown into the pit. It isn't real. It doesn't exist. "


Thank You, Microsoft
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"I recently reported that Yahoo was in the process of launching its own AdSense type program (which is great news for web publishers). Well, it appears as if Microsoft won't be far behind... There's no news yet about Microsoft creating..."

More Yahoo 'AdSense Clone' News
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"News.com recently reported more information about Yahoo entering Google's AdSense territory. Check out the story here. Yahoo is already building an opt-in notification list for publishers that are interested in their "upcoming programs." Get on the list NOW to be..."

Good News For Us!
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"Well, it appears as if my speculation is finally coming true... Over a year ago, I predicted that Yahoo would follow Google's AdSense lead and release a similar program of their own. They'd have to in order to keep up..."

I Have A Strange Feeling...
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"I have a strange feeling that long form sales letters on the Web are going to become less and less effective. Call it a hunch. As an avid tester, I am discovering some interesting things about how long visitors stay..."

Virtual Real Estate -- The Coming Boom!
From: www.marketingsecrets.com

"Write these words down... Virtual Real Estate. We are about to experience a major explosion during the next 5 years and it will all be centered around Virtual Real Estate -- which is the development of web sites. There will..."