I read a piece of research sometime ago that looked into the different behaviour people exhibited in the way they got from one location to another. The researchers set up two different scenarios. In the first they created set pathways across a square in a university campus. In the second they created no paths and simply observed how people crossed the square to get from one location to another.

Unfortunately, I can’t remember either what the paper was called or what the outcome was of the research. But it got me thinking about the different approaches companies adopt in their use of social media within customer service specifically.

Perhaps I am being too simplistic, but in my mind there are those who create their own paths – Zappos, BestBuy, Dell, ComCast, ASOS, WigglyWigglers, (never heard of them, right?) amongst others, and then those who essentially follow in the paths of others – JetBlue, SouthWest, The Carphone Warehouse (Thanks, Frank and Tony!), BT, EasyJet, VirginTrains, Vodafone… 

What’s important to bear in mind is that there is no right or wrong path. Every company is different. There is only one Frank Eliason, Tony Hsieh, Lionel Menchaca or Heather Gorringe. There’s no best practice whitepaper, no set formula for determining your path. What’s key is to ensure that whichever path you follow, it’s the right one for you. And the only way to find that out is to take the first step and see where it leads you…

There are many different types of vision disorders that can affect a user’s ability to view web pages and way too many to cover off here. However, to give you an idea, I have simulated how the Foviance website homepage might look to someone with cataracts, macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. These are four of the most common types of vision disorders. Cataracts is the leading cause of blindness worldwide and in the UK, 2 million people are visually impaired with macular degeneration (40%), glaucoma (13%) and diabetic retinopathy (8%) being the three most common causes.

If the text size on your website is not big, flexible or clear enough, your visitors may encounter difficulties using it. You will hopefully understand from the following images and descriptions why it’s so important that web pages contain text of a decent size and is strongly contrasted against the background colour.

Cataracts can form at any age, but it mostly develops as people get older. It is one of the most common types of vision disorders and according to recent studies, more than half of Americans will have developed cataracts by the time they reach 80. A cataract is a clouding of the eye lens, resulting in blurred and faded vision. Its affect can be a bit like looking at everything through frosted glass and it makes it difficult to read small or poorly contrasted text.

Macular degeneration is the most common cause of vision loss for people over the age of 60. This condition causes a gradual blurring and loss of the central vision. This affects the person’s central area of sight, making it difficult to see objects that are looked at directly. Text on websites can appear fuzzy and small text is particularly difficult to read.

Glaucoma can affect people of any age, although it mostly affects people over the age of 40. Glaucoma is caused by an increase in pressure inside the eye, which damages the optic nerve. The end result is often the opposite of macular degeneration with the loss of peripheral vision and a blurring of the central vision. Having glaucoma can be a bit like looking at everything through a straw and makes reading difficult because text seems faded as well as blurry.

Diabetic retinopathy affects the network of blood vessels lying within the retina causing them to bleed and form scar tissue. The scarring pulls and distorts the retina, causing dark patches in the field of vision. Text appears blurred or distorted in these regions, making web content difficult to read.

So, how do you think your website would look to someone with vision impairment? Do you think your content can be read without significant difficulty? To be sure, you should always include users with vision impairments in the design and development process of your websites, and seek to gather their opinions and feedback on the quality of the designs.

Before opening the box I’d already heard the damming reports of the phone immediately losing reception when held in the hand.  This sounded ridiculous and I felt like one of the many geeks who had been over excited by a new gimmick and potentially bought it before all the teething issues had been resolved.  It is true, and I have experienced this problem with reception when on calls.  It’s a hideous design fault and even worse that Apple didn’t uncover and rectify the problem before launching the product.  Apparently, Steve Jobs is instructing users to use tape or nail varnish to resolve the issue – but having bought what is supposed to be such an iconic and sophisticated designed product, I’m not going to be ruining it by plastering over Apple’s mistakes.  I have instead had to resort to buying a case for the phone, which means that I no longer experience the loss of reception, but I am now carrying a beautifully designed product within a not so beautifully designed rubber case.    

Anyway, I’ve managed to get over this major design fault and believe it or not, I’m actually really happy with the iPhone4.

Out of the box, even before switching on the phone, it does feel pretty smart and sophisticated. The stainless steel rim and glass back completely convert the phone from feeling soft and curvy (as on 3G/S), to sleek and sexy.  The phone doesn’t actually feel that much thinner in my opinion and it may be a preconception based on the metal material used on the rim, but I can certainly notice the 2grams of extra weight in the 4GS.

As soon as you switch the phone on, the excellent high resolution screen is remarkable.  Images are crystal clear like photographs and colours are bright.  Talking of photographs, the camera is far and beyond the 3G offering – but as I mentioned in my previous blog, it wasn’t a challenge to create an improvement the original camera. With this great feature and integrated flash, you really don’t need to carry around a dedicated digital camera to take shots day-to-day.  Unfortunately, I haven’t had a chance to try out the FaceTime video calling feature as none of my close friends have managed to get their hands on this hot new phone, but I’ll be sure to blog my experience when I’ve used it.  

I’ve only experienced the 3GS iPhone as a guest user on a friends’ device, so it’s difficult to compare the speed of the device but I am not noticing the 4G phone to be that much quicker when surfing the web (unless connected through wifi, when it’s super speedy!).  I assume this won’t change dramatically until 4G is available throughout the UK…but for that, we could be waiting a while.  This isn’t a show stopper for me.  It’s great to be able to use the Internet whilst out and about, but I really don’t want to be one of those people that have their phone stuck to their hand; constantly checking Facebook or surfing mindless pages on the Internet.  I’ll stick to a book or the newspaper for that kind of entertainment, but having said that – it will be great to answer all those questions that come up and the only response I’ve recently had is “I’ll Google it when I get home”.  Now, I can Google it, there and then.

Although I realise this isn’t something new to the 4G, one thing I am totally impressed by on the iPhone are the zillions and zillions of apps that are available – there literally seems to be something for everything.  And, now with the iPhone4 new feature you can organise them into folders which is imperative given the volume of apps available.  Initially, when delving into the app store I went into overdrive, installing anything free.  However, in reality I wonder which apps will be really useful day to day and which ones really don’t have any place in adding value to my life.  It’s interesting to see which companies have and have not decided to create a dedicated iphone app.  In my next blog, I’ll be looking at which companies are really missing out from not having an app and which apps really have little to no use.  So, if you have any thoughts about that do comment…if not, watch this space.

The first thing that struck me is the type of phone Japanese users own. As Japan is generally considered to be the cradle of any new digital technology, I expected them all to have state-of-the-art touchscreen devices. But the reality is quite different: the large majority of them own big and thick clamshell-like phones, the market of which is dominated by the manufacturer Sharp.

Interestingly this corroborates what previous research in Japan has highlighted, that Japanese people regard small and thin devices as fiddly and over there, quality is associated with robustness, strong grip and physical controls.

But the main reason why Japanese phones resemble thick bricks is because in addition to being mobile phones, they are also mobile TVs. These clamshell phones are equipped with a large screen and embed a powerful aerial. Consequently, Japanese people can watch live TV on their phones and have been doing so for a while. In Europe and North America, we only started to talk about mobile broadband (4G) very recently thanks to the coming out of the new iPhone. But in Japan, mobile access to high speed Internet has been available for years.

And as a result, Japanese people spend their commute watching the World Cup live on their phone. In Japan at least, *they* have a team to cheer on.

2) First ever tweet: it’s okay to tweet ‘hi’ or about the weather. Don’t listen to everyone telling you to be interesting – it’s too difficult. You’ll get the hang of it soon anyway. Remember though that your mother, cousin or friend in Australia, might still like to receive the odd letter now and again. It’s nice to get something apart from bills or credit card applications.

3) It’s okay to unfollow me: I’ll get over it. A real friend unfollowing me in real life, now that will take a bit longer to get over…

4) If you’re starting out, give Twitter a chance. Type in something you’re interested in: a film you’re thinking of seeing, a possible holiday destination, a book you want to read (you never know the author might even be on Twitter).

5) Remember to be you, remember to share, remember to help others, and remember to tweet; remember you’ve also got real friends.

6) When the sun is out, remember to tweet from under a shady tree. The screen on some smartphones just doesn’t go well with the sun.

7) I’m trying to remember to use FourSquare, but keep forgetting. It takes about 21 days to learn a habit. Reminder to self: set alarm to go off at 10:31am every day for the next 21 days to use FourSquare.

8 ) Don’t read all the stuff with titles like 37 tips for social media success, 29 tips to becoming a power tweeter, 52 tips to making cash via Twitter… read a real book, it’s much more interesting and a better way to spend a summer evening. Pour yourself a glass or two of something as well.

9) Friday 5.30pm, turn off all access to social media, mobile phones, computers. There is a real life to go back to somewhere out there…

Note to self: Remember to charge up battery Sunday night.

One call to my bank confirmed it was a simple confirmation SMS, however it was interesting that my response to this device was not a positive one. From a customer experience point of view, what my bank probably considered as an innovative customer-orientated gesture did somewhat backfire in my case. The main reason for my mixed response was that this communication was unsolicited as I had no memory of signing up for such a service; consequently I initially felt it could not be trusted.

From a customer point of view, it seems that my bank has automatically opted me in to a service without the courtesy of asking. My initial feelings were that confidential details (my mobile phone number) had been used inappropriately. My next step is trying to find out how to opt-out of receiving SMS alerts and confirmations. However, interestingly the customer service person I spoke to wasn’t sure if there was a way to do this – watch this space for updates!

-really stimulating discussion about the #DEAct  and here’s a few of the tweets from the networking event:

 @andrewgerrard Arguing over who is responsible for an infringement report will eventually grind the #deact to a halt #digitalsurrey
@thoroughlygood I can’t help wondering whether reaction against #deact favours shouty people enabled by internet. Guests at #digitalsurrey excluded.
@abigailh We can’t give everything away free #debill great comment from @andypiper #digitalsurrey
@abigailh Music is an important social resource #deact – u can’t stop sharing through established social channels c/o @JamesFirth #digitalsurrey
@andrewgerrard We’re all agreed that the #deact covers a range of very complex issues – so how on earth did it get passed in the way it did? #digitalsurrey
@andypiper My own opposition to #deact comes from ludicruous heavy handed disconnection clauses. Copyright still complex issue. #digitalsurrey

…and you can read more tweets using #digitalsurrey.

 -great opportunity to meet tweeple IRL. The convergence of the virtual and real world establishes, re-inforces or consolidates relationships built online and solidifies the ties that bind networks together. What was brought home to me was that we are essentially social creatures: there’s nothing like sharing stories and experiences over a drink or three.

-the willingness of people brought together by a common purpose to share and pool their knowledge. In tandem with this, was the amount of passion in the room as people discussed different aspects of the #DEAct and how it might affect them specifically or the implications of it more broadly. These ‘grass root’ discussions are important: they affirm our individual right to discuss and debate such things. In parallel to the discussion taking place in the room, was the discussion taking place on the backchannel. The two co-existing side by side, fueled by the same people.

-through the event I have met people who…

…work for the BBC in Africa and told me about a project the BBC ran awhile back (and it is still running) trying to preserve sounds for posterity: Sounds diary.  Whatever sound means something to you, you can save it.

…works at the University of Surrey on photography and digital imaging, looking into how the sense of smell can be applied to photographs

…work at IBM, Virgin Media, BBC, University of Surrey, Econsultancy, Raffle.it, 3, Vodafone, Telegraph Media Group, Tweetmeme amongst others, as well as the usual recruitment consultants. But knowledge isn’t limited to people working in well known brands, and there are many more people representing local businesses sharing their stories, insights, and their take on the #DEAct. 

So while the power of social media may have initially brought us together, meeting IRL (that’s ‘in real life’ by the way) keeps us coming back for more…

Both official and unofficial campaigns are raging online among the major political parties. Mr Cameron himself is tweeting away, even though the party saw the dark side of social media after doctored Tory posters went viral. Labour has been working on their social media presence, with Gordon appointing an MP to be in charge of all things social, and the creation of Twitter accounts and blogs. Some of the great unwashed are using social media to launch their own campaigns, and the Liberal Democrats are the focus of such a campaign called ‘InVinceCable’, which is pushing for Cable to be made Chancellor of the Exchequer in the event of a hung parliament.

A large proportion of Obama’s social media strategy in his run up to the presidential election was an email campaign. The UK parties have cottoned onto this and started their own email campaigns, however none of them really seems to be taking full advantage of this, or any of the other social media channels. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen has taken a look at the email campaigns and has ranked the Conservatives as coming out on top across a number of factors, including email design. Labour, however, have stated that they have a more sophisticated emailing campaign, where they can target their emails at voters more efficiently.

Social media has also presented an opportunity for the previously unheard to voice their support. Last week Christina Odone made an error of judgement when she posted an unpleasant attack on Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris on the Telegraph website. This included inaccuracies and unpleasantries, referring to him as “Dr Death”. Gone are the days when people can make such comments without rebuff (did Jan Moir’s attack on Stephen Gately teach us nothing?) Apart from a few ramblings in support of Christine, Dr Death’s supporters inundated the site with support after a ‘rallying cry’ was placed on Twitter.

The potential role for social media in this election is huge, both in engaging voters and evaluating the effectiveness of campaigns. Historically, younger demographics are disengaged with politics. However, social media might be just the ticket to rectify this. According to a study by Lightspeed Research on behalf of New Media Age, social media such as Facebook and Twitter campaigns, is increasing interest in the upcoming election in more than half of 18-21 year olds. The report also showed that over half of 18-25 year olds are more inclined to think favourably of parties using social media as part of their campaign strategy.

So maybe the political landscape will change. Social media will not only make people aware of what is happening, but might also make them seem closer to the ‘action’ and might make them believe that their vote can make a difference. Speaking to people using the channels they are familiar with and receptive to, will no doubt make party political messages resonate more.

It’s impossible to tell yet how much of an effect social media will have on the election result, but increasing political awareness among the younger generation can only be a good thing.

The thing I like most about LOUC is that it serves as a reminder of the perils of hubris when designing and managing complex systems; the peculiarly human folly of believing we can completely control everything around us. This has particular relevance when researching user experiences, as we’re no longer focusing how an individual process or function works, but taking a holistic view of the whole customer experience and the impacts and consequences different channels have on one another. It also has wider implications for our impacts on society and the world around us; thinking laterally, going beyond the problem, extrapolating the long-term impacts, being considerate of others rather than just ourselves. Oh dear, sounds like Socialism! Call the Hyperbole Police!

Plenty of examples of LOUC can be found in the world of gaming, as you would expect from any complex organised system, but perhaps my favourite comes from first person shooter (FPS) Red Faction: Guerrilla. Released by THQ in 2002, Guerrilla appears at first glance to be a fairly predictable (and somewhat mediocre) sequel to the original Red Faction. A staple feature of FPS games is the default weapon, with which you usually start the game and invariably resort to when you run out of ammo. In Doom it was fists, Doom 2 a chainsaw, Half-Life a crowbar, and in Red Faction it’s a sledgehammer. Ordinarily the default weapon has limited value in getting you through the game and, at best, is good for venting frustration on a locked door or sneaking in a couple of cheeky blows on an enemy before he ‘frags your arse’. However, as one wily gamer discovered  (and gaming journalists soon picked up on ), when combined with a reduced difficulty setting, the sledgehammer option suddenly and completely changes the nature of the game play.

Traditionally, FPS’ struggle with the balance between realism and playability: the one-shot kill vs. damage meter debate. Reducing the difficultly level of a game to ‘Easy’ will allow you to take a few more hits before dying, but your reputation as a hard-core gamer won’t be so lucky should any of your buddies find out you’re a wuss. Guerrilla tactfully avoids this problem by replacing ‘Easy’ with ‘Casual’, which cleverly suggests you’re a busy professional who doesn’t have a lot of time to play, rather than outing you as a ‘leet noob hax’ – an individual whose game playing abilities are decidedly sub-par.

Playing on ‘Casual’ mode allows you to absorb more damage meaning you can fight enemies up close and slog their brains in truly awesome fashion with the sledgehammer, no longer have to worry about snipers taking you out with a sneaky head shot and, thanks to the fully destructible environment, you can take out entire buildings at your leisure; smashing the foundations and supports and watching the accompanying destructive orgy from a safe distance thanks to your trusty jet pack. The monumental sales of the Grand Theft Autofranchise emphasise the popularity of sand-box games which remove restrictions and let players explore and interact with a vast world on their own terms…and a healthy dose of unreality via nigh-invulnerability and cartoonish violence just ramps up the fun.

This gets to the heart of the definition of playability and, paradoxically, how difficult it is to define. The usability of an interface can be measured quite effectively using heuristics, and many attempts have been made to compile a set of heuristics for the usability of computer games, but none of them adequately address the issue of playability. Perhaps because, conceptually, playability cannot necessarily be quantified; ‘fun’ is subjective and what one person likes a dozen others may not. Not to suggest that fun is the only measure of playability, far from it, but it is an important one. I daresay the creators of Guerrilla never deliberately intended the sledgehammer/casual game mode combo to be a key mode of play in the game…if so, then one imagines they would have promoted it more instead of waiting for seven years for it to be discovered.

Regardless, the word is out, and thanks to the exponential power of the internet meme, there will most assuredly be a second wind for sales of Guerrilla, and its place will be forever assured in the gaming oeuvre not as the mediocre FPS it was supposed to be but as the kick-arse unintended consequence it ended up.

The company claims that no passwords were stolen but I can assure them that at least one password was: mine. Earlier this week I logged into my Gmail account to discover that a considerable number of strange email messages had been sent out to numerous contacts in my address book during the previous night. These emails consisted of a random name in the subject line and a non-descript hyperlink in the subject. This link, predictably, took the unsuspecting user to a rather unsavoury website peddling knock-off Viagra. Many of those who received such an email were savvy enough to recognise it as spam and immediately deleted it. But others were not, and there ensued embarrassing conversations about the mechanics of both spam email and erectile dysfunction medication…neither of which I particularly wanted to explain to my mother.

Security experts will tell us that this kind of experience is a wake up call for frequently changing your passwords and so on, but I do all that already; my passwords are strong and impossible to guess, I change them frequently, never write them down or share them with anyone. I’ve created a number of Gmail accounts over the years, for various work and personal purposes, and although I know of many people whose accounts have been compromised it’s never happened to me before. I’ve done all the things Google’s security page advised me to do after I reported the incident but my confidence has been shaken. I know in my logical mind that this was most likely a random one-off event, could have happened to anyone, but despite all the reassurances I still have this niggling concern about the security of my account due to the scale of the data theft from Google’s computers. Faced with the reality of being hacked, I realise now how much I took for granted the veneer of data integrity; I believed Google, like any large corporation and uber-brand, to be a paragon of security. Perhaps even more than others given the physical and virtual lengths to which they will go to reassure users their data is protected . Much like with doctors or pilots, I need to believe that those in whom I place my unmitigated trust are deserving of it…the thought they may be fallible is unnerving to say the least.

Call the Hyperbole Police of you must, but this is my most personal of personal data, my holiest of holies. I guess I was lucky that whomever it was that accessed my account only sent out a few dozen seemingly innocuous spam messages…I can’t even begin to imagine what might have happened had their intentions had been more malicious.