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09/29/2001 Archived Entry: "29-Sept-2001 -- WebWord Comment"

WebWord Comment -- I think that many people would say that the core competency of WebWord is usability. I think people would say that WebWord provides up to date and relevant usability information, including articles, interviews, and plenty of links to news.

However, over the last few weeks, I have pointed to things that are clearly not related to usability. Why am I doing this? What does it mean? Why am I going beyond the perceived core competency of WebWord?

I think it is interesting that several people have sent me emails thanking me for providing so many links to current events. Others have sent notes of praise about all of the interesting background information I have provided. They didn't know that I was able to dig so deeply into material beyond usability. Some people were truly shocked when I replied to their emails with links and information about warfare, government policies, geography, and so forth.

I think that topics such as terrorism, espionage and conspiracy, are incredibly interesting. Since this is mostly a personal site, with just a few links to things like my professional usability services, I feel like I can say what I want. I feel that I do not have to hold back too much. I can let it rip. If I don't post what I want because I am afraid of what people think, then we all lose. If my clients can't understand this, then they will probably just move along to people that are less willing to be human.

What does my position really mean? What are the implications? First, I'm going to flesh out some reasons for why I can do anything that I want, and then I will talk about the potential negative implications.

I am free. You do not control my words or me. I am willing and able to say what I want, when I want. You literally don't have control over me. You might not agree and you might send me nasty emails, but you don't control me. So, I can say what I want.

You don't pay me. There is not any fee to read WebWord. The newsletter, the interviews, the articles, the comments are all free. If you paid me, then you would have some control. You would be able to tell me what I should say.

Move along if you don't like what I write and what I talk about. I have many other interests than usability. Indeed, usability is just a small part of what I actually know about. I have a lot of experience in areas such as psychology, philosophy, project management, requirements engineering, software design, and more. I actually throttle down many of my desires so that the focus of WebWord is on usability. I do that to maintain the core values of WebWord. However, I don't feel that I should always be so closed. If you have an issue with that, move along.

Lastly, people should realize that I am not totally ignoring usability. In fact, I think that I am still pointing to a lot of really great usability news. Furthermore, I have written more articles than ever, and I am still conducting interviews. The usability engine behind WebWord has not stopped. If you don't want to read about warfare, skip the story. If you don't want to learn more about bioterrorism, don't read the article. You can still stay and read the usability news that is posted, if that is your cup of tea. This is like the pornography argument. If you don't like it, don't click on the links. (Note: I wonder if WebWord is just usability pornography?)

So, those are some of the reasons for why I have posted news that is not at all related to usability. However, there might be a price to pay. Let's take a look into this.

There is the issue that I am diluting the WebWord brand. When people think of WebWord, they probably think of usability. They might think about "John S. Rhodes" and my silly comments. However, the core meme associated with WebWord is usability. When I point to information that is not related to usability I get away from my core competency and I dilute my brand.

A related problem is that I might be confusing and alienating my readers. First time readers might be quite confused. "This is a usability site talking about Bosnia and psychological warfare?" I can understand how I am confusing people. I also realize that some of my readers might erroneously think that when I point to a site talking about how the Taliban is wonderful, that I love the Taliban. That just isn't true. I'm just trying to provide information and links to things that are interesting to me.

The point is pretty simple: I'm not just about usability. I hope that people can handle that fact. In fact, I hope people like it and encourage me to do more things outside of usability. I think it is going to happen naturally.

In terms of content, WebWord hasn't changed much in three years. But the world has changed and so have I during that time. I am extremely interested in requirements engineering. In fact, I am working on a Ph.D. in Systems Science and my research is in that area. I have a lot more to say on that topic, but I'll get to it later.

Replies: 18 comments

WebWord has lately become one of my favorite sites. More power to you. As you say, nobody has to follow any link if they don't want to read it.
We've all been affected by the recent events, and I too am extremely interested in what's going on in the world. Maybe some people are seeking escape. Good luck to them.

Posted by StOne @ 09/30/2001 03:45 AM EST

I found WebWord via some links. I dont recall where but since then I read it every single day. Youve pushed your way into the few links I check religiously.

That said, I dont have much interest in the warfare type links that youve posted but I still feel the CORE content that I come for is here so I have no objections to it.

I think you make a valid point about diluting your position here though. Perhaps you should launch a sub site that deals with other links that you find meaningful, this would allow the user to determine whether they choose to follow that train of thought or not.

I dig webword and I consider it to be a very good source of information, of the type Im seeking. Should it become watered down with articles that dont appeal to my interest I would likely stop reading rather than sift through the articles looking for what I want.

Which, obviously, leads me back to the separate site idea. People have come to respect you for your links on useability perhaps they will for other articles as well.

But my thinking is dont mess with a successful formula, you may not like the results.

Take care and keep up the awesome job! A site of worthy links in a sea of internet is, by itself, something to be proud of.

Posted by Ruzzman @ 09/30/2001 06:42 AM EST

I find the WTC links interesting, but I would prefer to get back to usability. As is, I have a few days left in me before I abandon WebWord. Maybe I'll return in six months to see if it's back to normal.

Posted by JS @ 09/30/2001 08:53 AM EST

I guess I should add that a million and one weblogs have interesting WTC links. Stuff I find on WebWord I also find on Fark or Metafilter or whereever. WebWord was unique, but since Sept 11 it's been one of many voices.

Posted by JS @ 09/30/2001 08:55 AM EST

OK, I'll admit it. Webword is one of the few sites I check every day. So you must be doing a good job, John. Not many sites qualify for that honour *cheeky grin*

You've got to ask yourself, "is Webword the personal weblog of John S Rhodes, or is it a resources page for Webword, the usability company?". Actually, it doesn't really matter what you think. It's your readers' impression that matters (marketing is a battle fought in the prospect's mind. You don't own your brand, your customers do.)

If it's a personal weblog, you're free to post whatever you want and people are free to just p*ss off if they don't like it. ;)

If, however, it is seen as a "usability weblog", then you might lose some readers who expect to find usability-related information here. Some people may not care about "guerilla warfare", others may simply be from other countries (like me.) Some of these losses may be temporary (especially subscribers to your newsletter) but some may never come back if you carry on too long.

It's totally up to you to decide which route you want to take.

Of course, there's an easy way out. You could simply divide your layout in two sections, one for the main regular content, and the other for "John Rhodes, the person". People who want usability-related stuff will simply look at, say, the middle column, and people who want to know more about what's on John Rhodes' mind can look up, say, the right column. Both types of users are happy.

One school of thought is, "if they don't like it, let them move on". This is fine if this is just a personal blog, but if John wants more people to read it (and hopefully one of them will hire him), then turning away readers may not be such a great idea.

Is this constructive feedback? Mail me at webguru@vsnl.net :)

Posted by Madhu Menon @ 09/30/2001 09:09 AM EST

WebWord is a site I check out every day.

Your usability posts are always informative. Your recent WTC posts are actually very refreshing. As a man of free will, it is my duty to know both sides of the spectrum before judging. One thing I don't wanna be is a mass-media-lead automaton.

However, I didn't know some of your readers were objecting to this non-usability-related content. Perhaps this is a usability problem in itself. If this is a site for both usability and personal rants, I would suggest seperating your columns appropriately like this.

One thing to consider for the suggested layout is that the comments in the Personal Rants column (or whatever you wanna call it) will have to be heavily edited in order to save space. You'll also need to use a smaller font. On the other hand, if this layout doesn't work on smaller screens (I haven't tested this yet), something will have to be done about the menu column on the left. I suppose you'll have to go through your logs to see if that particular section's in heavy use.

So John, keep up the great work!

Posted by Francis @ 09/30/2001 11:54 AM EST

I agree with John that usability is more than guidelines and step by step instructions. The core of International usability study is understanding your audience and what makes them tick in order to give them the content and interface best suited for them.

As usability professionals, it is your obligation to understand these dynamics and to understand the mood of the times. When critics accuse developers of being too isolated from their constituency, it is because developers are so insulated from the experience of regular users.

I agree with John's decision to link beyond usability towards content expanding on user experience and cultural studies. Having read and heard from many US usability professionals, many of them acknowledge their weakness of international and multi-cultural dynamics of usability. Jakob Nielsen, to his credit, has been one of the few people that has stated that a better understanding of international usability is needed since much of the rules and guidelines need to be modified in that setting.

In that spirit, the more we can understand about the world around us, the better. If you prefer not to learn, don't click.

Posted by Frank Yu @ 10/01/2001 12:25 AM EST

It's not simply an issue of separating content. John's WTC links have eclipsed his usability links. e.g., 90% WTC, 10% usability. If the usability side of the site had been kept up I would have been willing to put up with weeding through the noise.

Posted by Bob @ 10/01/2001 01:45 AM EST

link to dem war links but shut the trap about your dumb life. ill pay 40 a month for you to only post links with no comments.

Posted by Anonymous Coward @ 10/01/2001 02:17 AM EST

diloot your booze and your meds with some wata dood

Posted by Anonymous Coward @ 10/01/2001 02:19 AM EST

I use to visit webword on a daily basis, I can get most of the links you post here by going to 2-3 other sites but it was easier to just stop by here every afternoon.

I only visit maybe once a week now, the reason being is that when I come here I'm in my usability mode. I don't want to be distracted by things that have nothing to do with usability.

I think of the links to WTC articles as another useless media menubar in IE, something I turn off as soon as I can. Only I can't turn this off, so instead I use another resource.

Posted by Mick @ 10/01/2001 11:23 AM EST

Personally, if I hadn't found any current events information I'd have been surprised. Didn't the events change your life? It did mine. I find it comforting to see that others are dealing with circumstances by reaching out, providing information that they find. Could you find it in other places? Maybe; I found it here.

The formula for any presentation to the public is; some criticize it, some throw stones, some don't know what's going on, but some get it! That's all you can really care about John, the ones that get it.

Posted by gday @ 10/01/2001 02:43 PM EST

John, you of all people should know that ranting against and blaming your users is shortsighted. Why not drop the defenses and absorb what your users are saying that they want and need? This is hurting your brand, reputation and relationships.

Cool off, take a step back, and separate your column into topics.

Posted by Please separate your column @ 10/01/2001 02:50 PM EST

This has turned into a great collection of comments. I want to thank everyone for their participation. If you are lurking, I want to thank you too. Freeloading could never be more important.

What is the outcome? What actions will be taken?

The outcome is that I realize, now more than ever, that WebWord readers are able to think. You are not afraid to tell me what you want and what you need. Although you do not directly pay me, you do spend time here. Time is money, as they say, and it is your currency at WebWord.

What do you want? More specifically, what do want from me and what do you want from WebWord. Well, from me, it seems like you want some thinking and some opinions. You are not sheep and you don't want me to be the glorious leader. That is excellent. However, you do want me to provide you with my thoughts. That is what I will continue to do. It will mean that I will sometimes talk about things beyond usability. You are grown up enough to give me this room. Thank you!

On the other hand, you want WebWord to be a usability resource. That means that 80-90% of posts should be about usability, not the opposite. You want usability? Good, because that is what I will provide.

I think the message here is two-fold. Since I drive WebWord, and I have many interests, WebWord will not always be about usability. You can handle that. However, WebWord is known as a top-notch usability resource. It is a core competency. I have to make sure that is properly balanced with other information provided.

How about that?

p.s. Regarding the ideas about setting up a separate area or blog � that is smart. I was thinking about that over the last several weeks. I�ll keep you posted on my decisions.

Posted by John S. Rhodes @ 10/01/2001 04:00 PM EST

Here's one more tip about making WebWord users your first priority.

Reverse the order of these links:

Link to this entry * Add your comment

Are you wishing to promote linking or user discussion first? The whispery voice says: "If you build community, links will come." Now get back out into that corn field!

Posted by JS @ 10/01/2001 07:24 PM EST

Yes, reversing the order of the comments is important. I definitely need to get to that...!

Thanks for the reminder.

Posted by John S. Rhodes @ 10/01/2001 07:32 PM EST

I have to admit when I saw all the links to WTC I was a little upset. I guess upset isn't the right word for it, but I wasn't exactly humming with excitement.

However, once I read the comments and checked out some of the links my perceptions changed a little. Although I feel the focus of the site should've remained on usability first, the links you provided were great!

Count me amongst the regular visitors in favor of two separate blogs -- one usability only, and one personal. I'd read both, but it'd still be nice to have them separated.

Posted by Neil @ 10/02/2001 12:59 AM EST

Nonononono, I was not suggesting reversing the order of the comments (although that's a fine idea).

On the front page, reverse the order of these links that appear under each log entry:

Link to this entry * Add your comment

The potential audience for the first link is much smaller than the second.

Posted by JS @ 10/02/2001 06:54 PM EST

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