Media: Gerry McGovern on the Clashing of Cultures

In "IT is from Mars; Web content is from Venus" New Thinking tackles the cultural conflict at the base of many unusable sites. What he is opposed to, says McGovern, is a 'particular technology mindset which exhibits a type of gadget addiction, an obsession with the new, and a relentless desire to automate everything it comes across.' He predicts a diminishing role for IT departments.

Instead, he puts responsibility for development at the very front end: marketing or communications: 'The managing editor who is in charge of the website must be responsible for everything — the content and the applications. They must ultimately decide whether new content should be published, or whether new applications should be developed. Their decisions must be based on a deep understanding of their staff, their customers, or whoever else their website is targeted at.'

His concern is the language, of course, and so he doesn't comment on the role of the usability professional. But reading this does make one think about the changing allegiances of our industry, as more time is spent with the marketing department nowadays and less with the techies in the backroom.

Associated Link: New Thinking: IT is from Mars; Web content is from Venus

Why 'The 10 Commandments of Web Design' are Complete Baloney
Source: SitePoint, 5 July 2008
 
Further to our earlier discussion...

Local Council Websites: Good, but no Cigar
Source: Webcredible, 4 July 2008
 
The 'Local Council Websites: Good, But No Cigar' report evaluates the top 20 Socitm council websites against 20 best practice usability guidelines.

Why does the OK Button say OK?
Source: Gerry McGovern, 3 July 2008
 
Most times I come across the OK button, something not-OK has happened.

The 10 Commandments of Web Design
Source: Business Week, 2 July 2008
 
To try and make sense of it all, BusinessWeek.com canvassed a broad range of Internet luminaries to discover the design rules they live by right now.

Bill Gates' email rant at the Usability Team
Source: Crunch Gear, 1 July 2008
 
The Seattle P-I has tracked down an old e-mail from 2003 that Bill Gates sent out to members of the Windows Usability team.

Can a better User Experience also be a Greener Experience?
Source: Catalyst Resources, 30 June 2008
 
By improving the user experience of its web collaboration software, Catalyst made it easier for clients to work in productive teams without travelling the globe.

The Spread of Telepresence Technology
Source: Tech News World, 28 June 2008
 
Rising energy costs and green concerns are fuelling a huge increase in demand for videoconferencing, collaborative software and virtual telepresence technology.

UK Usability market worth more than £200 million by end of 2008
Source: eConsultancy, 27 June 2008
 
The UK Usability market will grow by an estimated 20% in 2008 to a value of £214 million, according to research published this week by e-consultancy.

Research suggests growing importance of Usability to UK Businesses
Source: Business Strata, 26 June 2008
 
Integrated software for lead generation and marketing is valuable, but only as long as it's usable.

Web 2.0: Too Smart by a Half?
Source: Computer Technology Review, 25 June 2008
 
Will the Web 2.0 generation’s epitaph be, “They died with their options open?”