Review: Alertbox scores 1.7 on the Joy Index

Jakob Nielsen's recent activity is now starting to make sense to me. First we had the 'Flash not so bad' announcement. Then on 24 June we were informed that 90% usability guideline compliance should be reached in 2017. This means there is no need for any new usability guidelines from Jakob, as we just need to wait for designers to implement the ones he has already published.

What will Jakob do next?

With the latest Alertbox article (User Empowerment and the Fun Factor - 7 July 2002), we can see the blueprint for the next five year plan.

'...we must modify the methodology to encompass more awareness of fulfilling, engaging, and fun design elements.'

There we have it. Jakob has decided to embrace the touch feely side of usability, and is starting to redefine himself as the Joy Giver. In this Alertbox article, 'joy' was mentioned 9 times, whilst it has only been mentioned 8 times in all previous Alertbox articles. This 'statistic' illustrates the new direction Jakob is taking. It is a shame that Jakob has not published any reader comments on useit.com since October 2000, as I would love to hear what his readers make of this lurch towards the 'feelgood factor'. Is this an example of the new kind of metric we will get from Jakob?

Associated Link: Alertbox: User Empowerment and the Fun Factor

Increase data Usability, save Billions
Source: ZDNet, 6 September 2010
 
Data usability? less sexy than social emotional interfaces, more money than you can imagine.

Three Things Steve Krug Didn’t Tell You About Usability Testing
Source: George Saines, 2 September 2010
 
Don't make me think. Well, ok, maybe a little bit.

Trace exactly what Users are doing
Source: killerstartups, 30 August 2010
 
A new tool lets you watch all of your website activity, in real-time replays.

Google boosts Usability with Gmail revamp
Source: V3.co.uk, 28 August 2010
 
Long overdue improvements to Gmail may increase its appeal to business users.

Tech4Africa conference runs in Johannesburg
Source: bizcommunity, 26 August 2010
 
A new conference in Africa recognises usability as a central concept to IT uptake.

Top 3 Usability Tips for Building Better Blogs
Source: CMS Wire, 24 August 2010
 
If you're compelled to blog, may as well get it right.

Outdoors and Out of Reach, Studying the Brain
Source: New York Times, 23 August 2010
 
Fascinating account of how heavy use of digital devices changes how we think and behave, and how a retreat into nature might reverse those effects.

Tips for International In-home User Research
Source: System Concepts Ltd, 20 August 2010
 
In-home user research can provide richer, more illuminating information than lab-based studies. Here are some tips for a successful in-home international research.

New Study- Gender differences in Web Usability
Source: Demystifying Usability blog, 18 August 2010
 
Comscore has released a new study (June 30 2010) entitled Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet.

UX Myths: Usability testing is Expensive
Source: UX Myths, 16 August 2010
 
Many organizations still believe usability testing is a luxury that requires an expensively equipped lab and takes weeks to conduct.