Maximus Internet » Mobile

What is Web 3.0?

jminder — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:53:04 +0000

Jonathan Minder explores the term Web 3.0 and breaks down the impact on business. I had the opportunity to have my Web 3.0 article published in the 2010 Rady Business Journal.

The Rady Business Journal is a culmination of the entrepreneurial spirit and the academic acumen of the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego; it was created to provide insights into the rapidly changing business world.

Download Full Article or Journal: http://rady.ucsd.edu/journal/

Rady Business Journal

Usability as a Differentiator

jminder — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 14:38:49 +0000

As I’ve discussed in past posts, many companies are finally starting to realize the value of usability as a differentiator. Although there is infinite room for improvement across all industries, I’ve recently enjoyed using one seriously improved experience solely based on better usability.

I have a bank account that rebates all ATM fees so I don’t care about which bank I visit to withdraw cash. I’ve never paid attention to the amount of the fees, but if I did, I would consider paying more for a better user experience. About 6 months ago, I had my first experience with the redesigned Bank of America ATM’s. What an improvement! Bank of America, or more likely the firm they hired, certainly thought through the user experience and did some testing prior to deployment. As a result, if I have a choice, I will always use the Bank of America ATM solely based on superior usability. Bank of America made these improvements in response to an update by Wells Fargo so hopefully they will continue to compete on user experience.

Of course there are other examples. For regional travel, nothing beats http://southwest.com. I thought their most recent updates were a step backwards, but Southwest still holds a major usability advantage that captures my business over other airlines. In the airline business, the most frustrating brands are those that refuse to acknowledge the problem.

As more companies realize the advantages of superior user experience, usability will become a competitive matter, improving for all of us. This trend is already accelerating in mobile applications because limited interface options dictate superior core task functionality as a requirement, even for bad designers.

Do you have any differentiating user experiences to share?

Is Your Email Ready for Mobile?

jminder — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:40:26 +0000

When was the last time you looked at your emails on a mobile device? According to a 2007 Marketing Sherpa study, 64% of key decision makers read their email on mobile devices. You can bet that number has gone up since 07. If you’re email isn’t easy to use on a mobile device, you’re losing readers and money.

Mobile web and email is a throwback to the early days of the internet. Users have a small screen and limited functionality, so usability is extremely important. The solution is to test your emails on a number of different devices and incorporate features like a “view mobile version of this email” link in your header.

Here is a more comprehensive list of mobile email considerations from September:
http://theemailwars.com/2009/09/29/mobile-should-you-care/

Call me if you need help making your email mobile friendly. Otherwise, happy holidays!