Firecat Studio

Jason Fried on Why Work Doesn't Happen at Work - (TEDxMidwest)

Just found this TEDxMidwest talk by 37Signals founder Jason Fried, where he makes a great case that the typical office isn't the best place to get real work done. He touches on something I find fascinating, the serial, phased nature of dreaming and how it relates to ideation and creativity.

Jason is a fan of coworking as well. If you haven't tried working from someplace different, join us on a First Friday for just a little while, and try it.

The M&Ms

He makes an eloquent case about home having fewer, less damaging distractions than the average workplace. And M&Ms - Managers and Meetings - as the worst involuntary interrupters, are PAID to interrupt.

My favorite quote: "Meetings are terrible, toxic, poisonous things." Expensive to the organization, talking about stuff that should happen, rather than doing actual productive work, too many people attending, and usually scheduled for much too long a period.

His 3 Productivity-Enhancing Suggestions

• No-Talk Thursdays. Just the first Thursday, just in the afternoon. Just silence. An uninterrupted period to allow people to focus. Four hours of quiet time is the best gift you can give.
• Encourage assymmetrical communications. Instead of face-to-face or phone, which interrupt, encourage the use of eMail and collaboration products like Basecamp that allow people to consume information when they're ready for it.
• Cancel one recurring meeting. And find that those meetings you think are indispensable, aren't.

Unique Selling Proposition Workshop, Customer Empathy Map

At last Friday's Firecat coworking and brownbag session, Kate Hayward led a quick but deep excursion into creating a unique selling proposition (USP). Several expert marketers were in attendance, so the insights were flying.

Kate posted her empathy map (below) that she had posted on the writeboard, and shares her own answers to the leading questions in her workshop here in her blog, Eggsactamundo. 

I'm still working on the Firecat Studio USP. Have you made progress on yours?

I also ordered the Business Model book Kate recommended, Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers and Challengers, by Alexander Osterwalder. Let me know if you read it (and what you thought), or other books you find relevant to this work.

One Steve Jobs Treatment Post on Quora Nearly Tubes Career

Like a lot of smart, connected people, Ramzi Amri, a cancer researcher at Harvard Medical, participates in Quora. Quora is a social networking site with a question and answer format. Because it was adopted early on by lots of tech industry leading lights and bright minds, the site is full of high-quality content.

Much of the content is, however, speculation. It's a place where we feel free to share opinions. But because these posts are publicly available to anyone through search, Amri's post ended up being misquoted and misused on a high-visibility, top-keyword-laden news item: Steve Jobs' death. And it nearly cost Amri his career. Here's Ramzi Amri's Quora post describing the nightmare.

Note that Amri was careful in his post. He says, "In my Quora piece, I clearly state in my first line that "I do not pretend to know anything about the case on a personal level and I never participated in the care of Mr. Jobs" and I conclude with a full paragraph on the importance of respecting people's treatment choices, no matter how much we may disagree with them."

Amri's debrief on the situation is worth a read. Be sure to scroll to the bulleted reasons he suggests the piece went viral. 

Takeaways

1. If you type it, you own it. It's hard to overstate how "permanent" and "findable" our online musings are, so we all need to be aware and careful of what we say. 
2. Continue to monitor threads you participate in. And when something you said gets attention - pay even MORE attention. Amri's post got additional juice from a Gawker article, which inaccurately described Amri's credentials. Then the Daily Mail picked that up and distorted them even more. 
3. Defend yourself. Amri was able to get his employer, Harvard, to see what had really happened and take the correct action. Going public correcting any misconceptions at once, repeatedly, may help. I certainly appreciate reading about his experience.
4. Consider the source. I hope most of us have learned to check rumors before spreading them, and check facts before publishing.

You'd think what he wrote, and what he did afterward would be enough. But it nearly wasn't. I want this to be a world where we can feel free to share - but we need to be careful out here in cyberspace with our indelible, distortable words.

Lowe's Gives Itself a Social Media Black Eye

Home improvement giant Lowe's pulled its television advertising from the show American Muslim due to some pressure from an ill-informed email campaign conducted by Florida Family Association, reports Ben Popken in AdWeek. 

In bowing to pressure, they fanned a small fire. By not moderating the bigoted comments on their Facebook page, they threw gasoline on it - allowing the discourse to degenerate.

So What Should Lowe's Have Done?

• Announce why they were pulling the ads - and point out the underlying corporate principles under which the decision was made
• Respond quickly to the outcry following in the channels where the debate was happening (Twitter, Facebook)
• Use its available online presence points - web, Twitter stream, Facebook page - to clarify its commitment to its principles and values.
• Moderate comments on the Lowe's Facebook page according to its principles, and be transparent about that moderation.

Here's an example of what they could say:

While we support the right of all customers and visitors to voice their opinions, we require all posts to adhere to [Lowe's Facebook page posting policies].  

Have you faced a social media backlash? How'd that work out for you, and what advice would you give businesses who want to engage in social media, but fear events like these?

Update: Here's another article on the Lowe's/American Muslim situation from E.D. Kain in Forbes.

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), in Infographic Form

We're Against SOPA

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) could seriously impair your ability to promote your business or organization online. Mashable today posted a great infographic that walks us through complexity with grace - provided by Business Insurance Quotes.

I Greatly Admire This Infographic

I love this about it:

• Very complex idea, walked through a step at a time
• Suitable for printing on a plotter and making into a poster
• The organizational elements of "folders" with different slants on the issue
• The use of icons. Often these are overused, but here they are adding good value.
• The "guideline" to show the user which elements to read in which order.

I'd love to dedicate a coworking brownbag session to designing an infographic. The exercise is a good one for any team to really understand a process, service or system. Creating one together creates a deep level of shared understanding.

Do you have great examples of infographics to share?

What's your take on SOPA?

Cat Videos are the Future of Online Advertising

OK, they're a gimmick. But gimmicks work well too. Think about how you felt the first time you saw a customized JibJab movie?

Principles for Responsible Online Data Gathering

Effective online business means gathering data; consumers are understandably reluctant to share data, fearing it will be used against them. A great way for digital advertisers and marketers to avoid regulation is for the industry to proactively regulate itself, and to empower consumers and users with control over their own data. And that's happening.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a data privacy report with recommendations in December 2010 with specific recommendations. The Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) responded with self-regulation principles and a recommended accountability mechanism.

Who is the DAA?

The DAA comprises these heavyweight digital advertising/marketing organizations:

• the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s)
• the American Advertising Federation (AAF)
• the Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
• the Direct Marketing Association (DMA)
• the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)
• the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI)  

Online Behavioral Advertising Principles

The Education Principle calls for organizations to participate in efforts to educate individuals and businesses about online behavioral advertising and the Principles. Example: This blog post.

The Transparency Principle calls for clearer and easily accessible disclosures to consumers about data collection and use practices associated with online behavioral advertising. It will result in new, enhanced notice on the page where data is collected through links embedded in or around advertisements, or on the Web page itself. Example: Privacy policy links located on data gathering forms.

The Consumer Control Principle to provide consumers with expanded ability to choose whether data is collected and used for online behavioral advertising purposes. This choice will be available through a link from the notice provided on the Web page where data is collected. Internet Service providers (including Internet access service providers and providers of desktop applications software such as Web browser toolbars) must obtain the consent of users before engaging in online behavioral advertising, and take steps to de-identify the data used for such purposes.

The Data Security Principle calls for organizations to provide appropriate security for, and limited retention of data, collected and used for online behavioral advertising purposes. Example: Processes to control access to and expunge consumer data.

The Material Changes Principle calls for obtaining consumer consent before a Material Change is made to an entity's Online Behavioral Advertising data collection and use policies unless that change will result in less collection or use of data. Example: Pushing notifications of privacy policies or terms of use - rather than simply posting updates passively.

The Sensitive Data Principle recognizes that data collected from children and used for online behavioral advertising merits heightened protection, and requires parental consent for behavioral advertising to consumers known to be under 13 on child-directed Web sites. This Principle also provides heightened protections to certain health and financial data when attributable to a specific individual.

The Accountability Principle calls for development of programs to further advance these Principles, including programs to monitor and report instances of uncorrected non-compliance with these Principles to appropriate government agencies. The CBBB and DMA have been asked and agreed to work cooperatively to establish accountability mechanisms under the Principles.

Multi-Site Data Principles

Last week, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) announced “Principles for Multi-Site Data” - specifically governing data gathered on one site used by another site or organization.

The Multi-Site Principles call for self-regulation and accuntability codify existing industry practices prohibiting the collection or use of Multi-Site Data for the purpose of any adverse determination concerning employment, credit, health treatment or insurance eligibility. Like the OBA Principles, the Multi-Site Data Principles provide specific protections for sensitive data concerning children, health and financial data.    

Transparency and consumer control for purposes other than OBA. The Multi-Site Data Principles call for organizations that collect Multi-Site Data for purposes other than OBA to provide transparency and control regarding Internet surfing across unrelated Websites.Collection / use of data for eligibility determination – The Multi-Site Data Principles prohibit the collection, use or transfer of Internet surfing data across Websites for determination of a consumer’s eligibility for employment, credit standing, healthcare treatment and insurance.

Collection / use of children’s data. The Multi-Site Data Principles state that organizations must comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

Meaningful accountability. The Multi-Site Data Principles are subject to enforcement through strong accountability mechanisms.

See the full Multi-Site Data Principles document for more info. 

Gary Vaynerchuk Nails the Importance of Social Media for Business

I frequently give presentations on the significance of social media, and strategies for business adoption and use. Gary Vaynerchuk, author of "Crush It" and "The Thank You Economy" gives similar presentations, to larger audiences.

I met Gary at South by Southwest a few years ago; he's a serial entrepreneur, now a social media consultant to large brands; he mastered social media through running, among other things, a wine business. I find Gary's style a bit sleazy, but I appreciate his knowledge and delivery, and he's got social media dead-on right. In this presentation, he is more direct and clear than I've ever seen him.

Highlights (I'm liberally paraphrasing here):

• Social search will overtake SEO.
• Near-field communication (NFC) will again transform how we do business; your mobile phone will deliver location-related offers based on recommendations and activity from your trusted social network.
• Nobody cares about privacy, and in related news, without privacy everybody finds out what you're up to, so be good, ethical, and add value.
• He nails the Inc. 500 crowd for not monitoring the social dialog for their brands.
• He dismisses the notion that we need to prove the ROI of social, then turns around and shows that demonstrating ROI is more possible with Social than with other forms of advertising/marketing.
• This is a culture shift, and buckle your seat belts, because there will be many more, coming at us faster.

I find myself evangelizing social media a good bit, and I was gratified to learn that Gary runs into the same misconceptions and arguments against social media that I do. I jammed on hearing Gary address many of the same objections and misconceptions.

I'm indebted to Jennifer Navarrete for making sure I didn't miss this. 

Warnings:

1. If you're offended by profanity, give the clip a miss, it's got the f-bomb and several others curses.
2. It's long. But I found it worth listening to the whole thing. The end is particularly good, so if you're going to bail out, listen to the last Q&A.

 

Let me know what you think. Have you read his two books?

If you need this kind of talk delivered to a business audience – minus the profanity – I'd love to hear from you. 

Your Audio Invitation to Firecat First Friday, via NaPodPoMo

My dear friend Jennifer Navarrete of Brewing Media is the founder of NaPodPoMo, the National Podcast Posting Month, which is in turn based on NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month. The idea is, for the month of November, create ONE podcast every day, to get yourself into a routine, convince yourself it isn't that hard, and make enough progress to prove you can do it!

I've always intended to podcast, but kept stopping myself. Here are some of the ways:

• I need a real microphone.
• I'm not dressed for a video today.
• I don't have the right equipment.
• I can't decide which service to use to distribute it.
• I need to make time to plan out a whole series.

Cinchcast took away my barriers - a simple iPhone app, from which I press "Record", talk to it, and then press Post, with the option of posting to Facebook, Twitter, or straight to my blog. It really WAS a cinch.

And Jennifer took away my barriers with the simple suggestion of "Just try it." Thanks for being a great role model and coach for fearless adoption and "fail fast" methodology.

Your Invitation to Firecat First Friday

Because I'm geeked about our upcoming Design Thinking workshop for Firecat First Friday, that's the subject of my first-ever Podcast - your invitation to come out, try coworking, and attend a free, high-value seminar that will get your creativity flowing.

And here's the link to register.

 

Above the Fold - Still Relevant?

 

Many of our design discussions include the term "above the fold." Some designers think it's no longer relevant; we are still having the discussion.

What's the FOLD?

The "fold" refers to the top half of a newspaper - the part of the page that is visible to a buyer at a point of sale, such as a newsstand or newspaper vending machine.

In my high school journalism class, and later working for the Daily Texan, UT Austin's college newspaper, "above the fold" was hotly contested layout real estate - only the lead stories and most important "teasers" made it there.

Designers and information architects still debate the relevance of the "fold" - but I believe we all agree that getting mission-critical site content immediately delivered to the users is a primary goal.

This practice of stacking the most important stuff at the top to help sell newspapers was (and I argue, still is) useful to web designers. Lead with your strengths. Capture the user's attention. Immediately communicate what is MOST important.

Sure - a web page can be long, and research shows people can and will scroll to see more, if:

• they realize there's more content on the page they're not currently seeing, such as headings or images "peeking" at the bottom of the fold. 
• they believe that you offer something of value on this page - somewhere. In other words, they're motivated enough to keep looking.

This "get to it" mentality of users is one reason we steered clients away from having an "intro" or splash page (with our without Flash animation) that users had to watch or click through to see the website. People are busy and distracted, so don't play games - get right to it. 

Determining Your Website's Fold

So one of the most important design decisions up front is: What is our TARGETED size? We can rely on some folks to scroll, sure. But we don't want most users to have to scroll to see the most critical content. We have several ways of making a good, educated guess.

1. If your website has enabled website analytics, such as Google Analytics, Omniture or WebTrends, we can know from your server records the screen resolution through which visitors are seeing your website. Your IT staff or digital agency may already know much more about your visitors than you're aware of.
2. We can look at aggregate browser statistics from organizations like WikiMedia (the publishers of Wikipedia) or W3C Schools, and adjust for any differences between your target audience and these general web public" audiences.
3. We can do surveys or usability studies of your existing website or a proposed new design. We have inexpensive remote usability tools that generate heat maps of user activity - showing how many people clicked where, when given certain tasks to perform.
4. We can ask your users - either in surveys, or by walking around and looking over their shoulders. The over-the-shoulder method is specially useful when we're designing internal applications or intranets/extranets.

But - It's Complicated

Unlike newspapers, which are produced in a relatively few standard sizes, we can't know for sure (without some expensive and time-consuming research) where the fold is for our users. It varies. For starters, people use all sorts of devices, browsers and screen resolutions, as this screenshot from Firecat's own analytics suggests (click the image for a full-size view).

See how many pie wedges there are? A few years ago, there were a couple of big wedges, and many smaller ones. This is one reason designers are now saying "Stop worrying about the fold." 

But it's not that simple. As designers, it's our job to do our research and select a target size that will serve most of your users well, the majority of the time. Sure, it's more fun for a designer to work with a bigger canvas. It takes a talented, experienced designer to use available space extremely well. Firecat's designers welcome the opportunity to evaluate their designs across several platforms and browsers, such as:

• iPhones, Androids, Blackberries and other smart phones
• iPads and other tablets
• Various monitor resolutions
• In multiple browsers
• Using Google's Browser Size Tool

There are many simulators available to help designers check how a design might appear, many are plugins integrate right into their favorite browsers. 

The Fold Is a Moving Target

Over the years, we've moved our most common targeted size from 600x480 to 800x600, to 1024x768, while taking into account these additional maddening factors that reduce available "fold" area:

• The screen resolution does NOT equal the browser window size. Most users fail to "maximize" the screen, including myself (my team twitches their mouse fingers when I pull a site up on the projector).
• The available browser window area includes a bunch of "chrome" from the browser software - Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and so forth.
• Users often have additional "chrome" taking up space due to browser extensions they run.
• Mobile use is growing exponentially. When warranted, we test our designs on iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry - even if we are developing an alternate mobile experience. Users want to be able to surf the "real" website on these devices - not be prevented from seeing the full site instead of a different web version they're routed to automatically.

Our Favorite Size to Target - Right Now

These days, on the majority of projects, we design with 1024 x 768 screen resolution in mind, which translates to roughly 960 x 740 as a relatively safe targeted area (minus the "browser chrome." We also hedge our bets by:

• not placing critical elements on the far right side (where they'd be truncated)
• ensuring logo/branding stays top left - this is usual design pattern for a very good reason
• placing "there's more below" visual cues at the bottom of the likely fold area, such as headings with text AND images
• avoiding horizontal lines that signal "end of page" and might cue users to stop looking lower

What Belongs Above the Fold?

This is a great question, and one you should spend some time considering. I believe these elements should be above the fold on almost every site:

1. Your logo/identity.
2. Your phone number or other "best" contact information for your primary prospects/users.
3. A search feature.
4. Global navigation choices.
5. A couple of sentences that say what the site offers, to whom, and why.

If you've done all that, you've led with your strengths. The rest can go below the fold.

We often recommend a slideshow or gallery in the top spot, with a few well-chosen words or calls to action. Animation, dynamic media and video are great for delivering a lot more content above the fold, and we hope you know people don't read as much as you'd like them to. 

What's your take on "the fold"? Are you making the most of your best screen real estate? Firecat Studio offers a free website analysis, so contact Firecat to arrange yours.