Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Will IE8 “Break” the Web?

Last week Microsoft released a beta test version of their next generation Web browser, Internet Explorer 8. This new update offers one thing that will make Web developers cheer: considerably better standards compliance than previous versions. However, it has already generated considerable controversy because that very same standards compliance is breaking many Web sites that incorporate fixes or workarounds for problems in IE 6 and 7.

Read More

Monday, March 10, 2008

Building Better Customer Service With the Google “Sucks Index”

What is the Google “Sucks Index” (GSI)? Go to Google Search. Enter your company’s name followed by the word “sucks.” Hit return. Voilà! There before you in the results represents a summary of what you need to fix to provide better customer service.

This is the advice of Jeff Jarvis a professor at the City University of New York. According to Jarvis, the GSI for Wal-Mart turns up 165,000 results. Google itself has a GSI that totals 767,000.

Read More

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Apple’s Design Secret: 10-3-1

Michael Lopp, senior engineering manager at Apple, delivered a presentation at the SXSW conference this last week in Austin, Texas that provided a glimpse into that company’s wildly successful design methodology. One of the insights he revealed was a 10 to 3 to 1 process that Apple designers must follow. Helen Walters is at SXSW blogging for Business Week’s Tech Beat and this is how she described 10 to 3 to 1:

“Apple designers come up with 10 entirely different mock ups of any new feature. Not, Lopp said, ‘seven in order to make three look good’, which seems to be a fairly standard practice elsewhere. They’ll take ten, and give themselves room to design without restriction. Later they whittle that number to three, spend more months on those three and then finally end up with one strong decision.”

Read More

Friday, March 07, 2008

What Technology Would It Be Hardest For You To Give Up?

A new Pew Internet study shows people would have a more difficult time giving up their cell phone than any other technology. As the table at right shows, cell phones are followed by the Internet, television, and landline telephones as the toughest to do without.

There are some big changes in the 2007 results. Cell phones have replaced landline phones at the top of the list and the Internet has moved ahead of television into second place. Landline phones have seen the most precipitous decline in the last five years, and Blackberries or other PDAs have seen the most significant rise in the chart.

Read More

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Mexican Import Bellies Up to the Web to Introduce “Activitdades de Pacificos”

While most companies these days have learned to take advantage of marketing opportunities on the World Wide Web, there aren’t many that are bold enough to leave traditional TV spots behind entirely to pursue a relatively low-budget magazine, billboard, and web campaign. Meet Pacifico, a Mexican import beer that has done just that.

A recent New York Times article highlighted the small beer company’s marketing tactics. Based in the Western United States, Pacifico has been looking to branch out for a while now. The company has a small market share (less than 1% of domestic giant Bud Light), but is growing rapidly. Sales volume has increased at a compound annual rate of 14.8%, and the brand is continuing to gain popularity across the nation. 

Read More