in Editorials

I’m developing a new web app

To stave off the mental sandpaper that is unemployment, I’ve begun working with David Husa, Jon Swanson, and John Emau on a new web app. While I’m not really ready to describe the full breadth of the system we’re developing, I can say that we’ve begun work on a Ruby on Rails powered gaming platform. We’re putting a new spin on an old game, and already have a lot of pretty innovative changes to the old mechanics in mind.

So far we’ve planned out a general structure for the code, mocked up a portion of the UI, and (mostly) set up the development environment. I’ve spent the better part of the last two days learning how to configure a Linux web server, which has been a very rewarding experience. While there were some bumps in the setup process, I relish any opportunity to give a new bit of web technology a try. Having always been curious about Linux web servers, I’ve finally got an occasion to dive in an configure one from the ground up.

In the next month, we hope to make a lot of progress on the back end/UI, however this being a side project means updates will be inconsistent, and no doubt slow.

in Interesting Links

UseIt usability study on eCommerce design

UseIt usability study on eCommerce design

I just read this study conducted by The Nielsen Norman Group that took a look at 507 tasks common to an online purchasing experience. They compared the results of this study to one they conducted during the dot com boom, and their new data corroborated the old, which is further proof that usability testing goes beyond design fads and trends and can be used to better understand human interaction. Of the whole article, I found this paragraph most enlightening, as it pertains to questions I’ve been asking myself as I’ve worked on CrowdCompass’s new website.

Of users who started by searching the web, only 39% completed their task on the first site they selected from the SERP (search engine results page). That is, almost 2/3 of search users abandoned their first love and proceeded to do business elsewhere. This outcome demonstrates that SEO and good search engine ranking are necessary but not sufficient for Internet business success. It’s actually more important to satisfy users once they arrive at your site. Search users exhibit little loyalty to sites they happen to click on.

in Interesting Links

Schema - Advanced Microformats

Schema.org

I know I’m late to the micro-format party, but I think it’s as good a time as any to start effectively explaining my content to search engines. I was prompted to take a look at these while planning a proposal for developing some high-conversion targeted landing pages for specific market segments at CrowdCompass. I might take a look at rolling them out here on my blog first to get a better understanding of them. If I do I’m sure I’ll post some examples.