Tumblr vs. WordPress

I finally migrated my old blog entries from WordPress to Tumblr. Entries are backdated and tagged, so feel free to peruse at your leisure.

Some observations of how my usage differs across the 2 platforms:

WordPress Blog - maintained from Nov'08 to Jul'09

  • Post frequency varied greatly, but typically no more than 1 post every few days.
  • Material was often adapted from assignments for other classes, or summaries of notes from talks attended.
  • Blog posts tended to be rather long, containing multiple links to related articles, author’s musings, mix of theory and hypothesizing.
  • Posts often ended with a question encouraging engagement, such as “what do you think?”

Tumblr Microblog - started Jul'10

  • Content is posted quite frequently, often several times a day.
  • The most frequent type of post is sharing an interesting URL, and not always with a comment or explanation attached.
  • Posts are short, sometimes just a line or 2 in length, more to-the-point, and typically do not contain supporting research/articles.
  • Posts rarely make outright attempts to engage readers (by asking a question,etc.)

What caused me to shift from my lengthy musings to brief “reblogs”?

  • The most obvious one: As a user, I’ve changed. I’m no longer a student; I finally have free time, and that means more time to keep up-to-date with industry trends and share them out with others.
  • “Mobile” makes content sharing simple. Now that I have a smartphone, it takes just seconds to snap and upload a picture via the Tumblr app. When I think of something I’d like to share, I can create a note, save it as a draft, and then return to it later on my computer.
  • Social media integration helps me reach my audience. When I was on WP, my only readers were lost souls who stumbled across my portfolio. Now when I post on Tumblr, my Facebook friends see my posts and are able to comment on them through the Facebook UI. Their engagement motivates me to create/share more interesting material.
  • The meaning of blogging has shifted. No longer is it just about contributing content to the web. Now it’s about connecting with others by engaging with content that is of mutual interest. The outcome? A new way to define self-identity via technology, in which content assembled from other sources can help to define who you are.

A Badge That Tells Consumers, 'Trust This App' - NYTimes.com

TRUSTe Badges - another way to increase user confidence in mobile websites & apps. Good to hear that they’ve tailored it towards mobile-specific privacy concerns (location info, accessing contacts/calendars, etc.).

The badges will be big enough to see on a mobile phone and if cellphone owners click on them, they can read more information about how the site or app handles personal information. If they click on it again they can lodge a complaint with TRUSTe.

Latin Text Generator for Mac OS X - LittleIpsum

LittleIpsum is a simple lorem ipsum generator that uses an interesting interaction: When you mouse over the menu item (“Copy 1 word”), the label starts incrementing (“Copy 2 words… Copy 1 sentence… Copy 1 paragraph…”) Selecting the menu item again copies the specified amount of text to your clipboard. You get the right amount of Latin text literally in seconds!

Compare this to my previous method of getting Latin text: Google “lorem ipsum”, select a link, highlight the amount of text I need, copy to my clipboard, returning to the program I want to paste it into. Yuck.

What other apps/widgets have you found that make your life easier and more efficient?

Samsung Galaxy Tab vs. the iPad

I can’t wait to design for this! Multi-tasking, “desktop” widgets, better web support (ahem, Flash), and cameras are going to make this so much more USEFUL than iPad.

Weighing half as much will help too. All those “doctors walking around with tablets balanced on their arms” scenarios suddenly seem much more plausible… have you ever tried holding an iPad with one hand for more than 2 minutes? It’s quite heavy!

On a side note: I’m a bit disappointed that I haven’t heard anything about a tablet with the added ability to use a stylus. Although there’s a lot to be said to building the UI around touch interactions, there are still some places I’d love to be able to use a stylus, such as handwriting notes (no, Steve, the iPad is not “a dream” to type on) or sketching things.

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UPDATE: There are in fact rumors about a bluetooth stylus! Fingers crossed (& ready for stylus action) http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/30/samsung-galaxy-tab-accessories-may-include-bluetooth-stylus-and/

Instant Adoption, the "Google Way"

Google does an amazing job at getting users to opt into new “beta” features.

I did the following in < 5 minutes:

  1. Hear about Gmail Priority Inbox for the first time (callout bubble)
  2. Learn what it is, and why it will “make my life so much better” (brief description and short animated video)
  3. Opt in and get started (click one button, and suddenly I’m in a friendly and familiar environment, but with just the 1 twist that I expected)

Awareness + Clear & Believable Value Proposition + Low Barrier to Entry = instant adoption!

Some other factors that led to my quick adoption:

  • Limited Beta: The limited beta approach adds an air of excitement and exclusivity. (Google’s been playing this angle for years, and it continues to work for them!)
  • Extremely clear value proposition: A brief, amusing animation was used to explain the new feature and why it’s worth checking out. The fact that this could be conveyed in less than 2 minutes speaks to the clarity of the message.
  • Trust: I’ve been using Gmail for years, basically to a point where I “count on it always being there for me” (you and me, Google, BFFLs!) So, why not try this new feature? You wouldn’t lie to me, right?
  • Nothing to lose: The “off” switch is quite visible. If I try it out and decide that it’s “not for me”, I can easily turn off the feature later.
  • Non-intimidating: Based on the brief intro material I’d seen, I already knew what to expect in terms of what would be the same/different. I didn’t have any worries like “Will I be able to understand this? Will I need to read lots of help documentation?” In general, the gradual build up of new features over time helps users to feel like they are growing and evolving with the product, rather than having to reorient themselves each time.

These all work well for Google’s free, consumer-facing products. Where else can we apply these techniques to increase user adoption?