silverlake to soho » tech http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog delivered fresh Thu, 29 Jul 2010 16:19:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 5 Things Facebook Missed in its Redesign http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/tech/5-things-they-missed-in-the-facebook-redesign/ http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/tech/5-things-they-missed-in-the-facebook-redesign/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:48:01 +0000 joey http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/?p=64

new facebook design, facebook redesign

Before delving into specific missed opportunities, we’d like to throw it out there that we love the redesign. The overall look and feel of the platform is dramatically improved, but there are five key design elements that Facebook could work on that would greatly simplify the internet juggernaut.

General Navigation

  • Repeated Functionality
    • Guess how many places you can click on from the home page to view your profile? At least two, and why? We’re not sure but regardless, it clutters up the elegant redesign.
    • Why have two buttons labeled “home” and “profile” on the right, when the big “facebook” logo takes you to the home page? Perhaps the design team wanted to make the navigation more explicit. We’re certain there are some really smart people at Facebook who can figure out a much easier and cleaner way to direct users to these pages..
    • On many of the internal facebook applications, there are two search bars, which seems a bit redundant … more on Facebook search later.
  • Notification icons & design
    • We’re personally a big fan of icon buttons instead of text, so kudos to facebook for implementing this on the top navigation. However, is it just us, or are the buttons unclear?
    • Icons are REALLY hard to see (we know they are meant to be notification buttons that highlight when an interaction has occurred, but for new users this can be confusing).
    • They also switched the icons for notifications and messages (notifications used to be a chat window icon and now they are globe?) Why not standardize the iconography across all platforms? For example, Facebook could’ve used the inbox icon in the iPhone Application for messages.
  • Existing functionality removed
    • Remember how sweet it was to be able to view your recently added friends right from the top bar drop down? We obviously don’t have the usage statistics on facebook functionality, so maybe they removed items that weren’t frequently used. That doesn’t change the fact that we still miss this feature dearly!
    • On the events application, users can no longer just view pending requests!

Lackluster Search Capabilities

  • Advanced Search / Profile Search
    • Do you guys remember back in… 2004 …. when you could search for people based on their interest… or even more basic stuff like gender… contact information… Maybe we’re missing something, but one of the biggest draws to facebook is the fact that everyone is on it.
    • Why not make it easier to find someone you know (especially if you’re friends with them)? If you get a call from an unknown number but you know it’s your friend, guess what, you can no longer search phone numbers.
  • Searching for Media (Photos, Video, Links, Notes)
    • This is the KILLER right here. Remember that really chill picture from last summer that you titled “summer with friends”? Well guess what, you can’t search for it anymore.
    • Maybe we’re missing something, but facebook is sitting on the data that you care about the most, and the majority of it is unavailable for search

Friend Organization

facebook friends

  • Browsing friends
    • “Ohh what’s the name of my friend that went to Cornell and graduated in 2003?” The only way to find out who you are looking for is by navigating to YOUR OWN PROFILE and clicking on “View Friends.” You can no longer browse for people using the two other places your friends are displayed.
  • Friend lists
    • We get it, you’re trying to push friend ‘lists’ for privacy and chat options. Why not make it easier to just drag and drop friends into groups. This would make them 10x more useful + easier to manage.

Groups & Fan Pages

  • Converting Groups to Fans
    • Ok we admit, this is more of a pet-peeve but before there were facebook pages, there were groups. Just take “Snapple” for example. There are multiple groups that were created before you could create a branded page.
    • Why not salvage that community you built on your facebook group and with one click, change the group into a page?

Branding & Direction (facebook lite?)

  • Facebook lite
    • Disclosure: We LOVE facebook Lite. It’s SUPER FAST, no applications, just what you need and right there. You can see the design has made some headway into the facebook’s new look but the larger questions remains, what does facebook light do for the average user right now?
  • Posts / Updates?
    • Maybe it’s just us, but have you noticed sometimes if you post an update on the homepage, it doesn’t update your profile status, and vis versa?
    • It’s possible that we may be doing this incorrectly, but the way facebook manages your profile status seems wonky
    • Also the experience isn’t very consistent, sometimes it’s a status update, in other places it’s a post. Pick one!
    • We get that posting and status updates are different, but maybe it’s time to combine them (a la twitter). Perhaps the most recent thing you post should be your status? Just a thought.
  • Purpose & privacy
    • The more facebook changes, the harder it is to define facebook’s objective.
    • If “privacy is dead,” then why is it so hard to search for profiles? Why is it so hard to search for PUBLIC photos or videos you upload?
    • To us, there are a lot of inconsistent implementations of applications across the board.

Well, that’s just our opinion, what do you guys think? Leave us feedback in the comment section, thanks!

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]]> http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/tech/5-things-they-missed-in-the-facebook-redesign/feed/ 4 Search on … Bing. Google’s lack of a decision engine http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/stuff/search-on-on-bing-googles-lack-of-a-decision-engine/ http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/stuff/search-on-on-bing-googles-lack-of-a-decision-engine/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:26:58 +0000 joey http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/?p=83

I love this ad – it’s smart, catchy, fast, great music, and all signs of a winner. The commercial itself is brilliant, it shows off exactly how we progress through traditional search engines.

Now after watching that ad, watch any of the Microsoft ads for Bing.

Obviously the commercials for Bing are exaggerations of a multiple search query experience. But Bing does a really good job of aggregating data on a single search to help you find relevant information. For example, compare one search of “Paris” in Bing vs Google.

Google search results for “Paris”

google search results for paris, google paris search

  • Paris on google maps
  • Wikipedia
  • Links to travel
  • Links to google news about “Paris”
  • Related searches

Bing search results for “Paris”

bing search results for paris, bing paris search

  • Aggregate information view of Paris including: official site, weather, attractions, neighborhoods (this is all before it even shows you the search results – which are almost identical to Google’s
  • Wikipedia (and then all the same links as google)  and every search result comes with an aggregated information view of what’s on the actual page.
  • After the search results, it gives you sectioned results
  • Weather
  • Maps
  • Hotels
  • Attractions
  • Flights
  • Paris Nightlife
  • Learn More about Paris
  • Related searches

Final Thoughts

Obviously, this is only one example, but it’s relevant because of the content  in Google’s advertisement about search. Personally, I still use google because of the asthetic. I tried to look for the option to turn off the background images on Bing (I think the gradients and image backgrounds look very 2004) and I couldn’t find them.

Based on results alone, Bing does a better job than Google if you’re not sure exactly what you’re looking for. However, Google really shines if you know exactly what yo want out of your query but you cannot remember the URL of the page.

What do you think? Bing or Google? Let us know by leaving a comment.

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]]> http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/stuff/search-on-on-bing-googles-lack-of-a-decision-engine/feed/ 4 3D in the home is dead on arrival http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/stuff/3d-in-the-home-is-dead-on-arrival/ http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/stuff/3d-in-the-home-is-dead-on-arrival/#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 07:23:48 +0000 joey http://silverlaketosoho.com/blog/?p=8

The Story of 3D TV

 

You’re relaxing at home, trying to watch this year’s Grammy Award Show comforably. Throughout the entire evening, the pundits have been hyping and promoting their “3D tribute to Michael Jackson” and you’re saying to yourself , “hey, this should be pretty cool. I love MJ.”

And then everything you fear about 3D TV come true: the broadcast prompts you to “put on your glasses” to enjoy the show -pause.

3D in the home will never work if it requires glasses

OK seriously, let’s think about how this situation is going to play out in the future. Are the networks and TV manufacturers really expecting people to buy a set of 3D glasses and keep them lying around the house? What about if you have guests? Is the new social ettiquette going to transform into BYO3G “Bring Your Own 3D Glasses”?

Seriously? No. The mere thought that I would have to put on glasses to watch TV (which would be even worse if you already wear glasses) is completely absurd. Not only that, there are at least three different kinds of 3D technology. Are the networks expecting viewers to purchase three separate pairs of glasses?

Someone didn’t think this through, and until they do, you won’t find me in front of a 3D display unless it’s an IMAX or a digital movie theater. Is it just me? Let us know what you think about 3D movies & TV in the comment section.

-J

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