stellargirl returns

a proposed solution to displaying deleted tweets in search results

The other day I tweeted out a link to the first government-sponsored TED talks, a story I was pretty excited to share. In my regular pursuit of crafting the perfect 140 character tweet, I rearranged some of the words to give due credit to the original tweeter (@whitehouse) and to also add my own reaction to the story. In doing so, I mistakenly overlooked that the word "via" was stuck right up against the url for the story.  URL FAIL.

I deleted and retweeted to make sure that people got the correct link, since the link was up for retweet and was already breaking for people.  Seems easy enough,  but like any tweet that gets deleted on twitter, there is a permanent record in the search results found on search.twitter.com. 

Now we could get into a lot of arguments about whether these deleted tweets should stay or go. They are part of the fabric of twitter, and you can call people out on some crazy stuff they put out there that they can't take back. i.e. If you send an email you regret, well, there's not really any turning back, now is there?

In the interest of keeping information correct, however, removing typos, updating links, giving due credit, these are all benign reasons to remove and update tweets.  That's the power of the internet and websites, the ability to be reactive and always have the most current information. Check out any wikipedia page during a current event -- things change!

So if twitter is not willing or able to remove the deleted tweets from the search results, I propose that they use a little bit of CSS to show that they've been deleted. I'm assuming that clicking the trashcan icon through the web interface must add a "marked for deletion" piece of data, so give those tweets a style that indicates clearly that they're deleted tweets. See my screenshot below for an example.

View the actual results page on twitter

What do you think?

walk or don't walk, you have this much time to decide...

I had an amazing day yesterday in Washington DC for Redux DC, an event bringing together regional speakers from the IA Summit and the IxDA Interaction conferences of 2009.  After an educational day of great presentations, a Rhodia filled with scribbles, and a brain full of ideas, how could I not stop and ponder this walk/don't walk light that I encountered on nearly every block of Georgetown?

What stood out to me the most was the high number of seconds on the clock. I stopped at this particular corner and observed it for a few cycles, out of curiosity and also because I had to find the correct ISO on my camera to capture double digits instead of single (they must alternate at an undetectably high speed). I passed a few corners and commented to my companions before I committed to watching it begin, count down, and reset again.

Here in Philadelphia, our walk/don't walk signs have changed slightly in the last few years.  Basically they work like this (from memory): The light turns green for cars, and pedestrians get the "walk" sign, the white outline of a person walking.  Once the traffic light turns yellow, you get the blinking hand and a countdown on the clock, starting at about 10 seconds.  That always signifies to me, you better HUSTLE if you want to get across this intersection (they're usually at larger intersections in center city).

In Georgetown, the clock begins the second you get the walk signal and the traffic light turns green.  It starts at about 48 (or 45?) seconds, and down goes the clock.  From a pedestrian's perspective, seeing that high of a number actually helped me plan earlier on whether or not I was going to make that light.  I'm not sure it's as effective to a driver, who may be distracted by the countdown, especially because it was on the same pole as the traffic light, instead of the traffic light hanging from a central point above the street.

Being a city dweller for upwards of 13 years, I rely on my feet to get me mostly everywhere. They're my single most reliable form of transportation.  Living in NYC for over four years, taught me how to move quickly and weave through crowds of people moving at varying speeds.  Walking is something that can be leisurely or determined, depending on where you're headed... and where you're going.  There must have been some reason why the urban planners of Georgetown deemed this a necessary design change. I'd love to hear their reasoning.

On a final note, I'm glad I got to spend a small part of yesterday wandering around Georgetown, a lovely area.  Many thanks to the organizers of RedUX DC for inviting us down.

Read more about RedUX DC from the twitterverse.

saving for later on amazon.com

I have this habit on Amazon of constantly throwing things in my cart and then bumping them to "Saved Items--To Buy Later" (there's no move to wishlist option). I used to be masterful at cultivating my Amazon wishlist, which would actually be rather fruitful around birthdays and holidays, and sometimes for no occasion at all. Somewhere along the line, I stopped sharing what I wanted and decided to shuffle it around behind closed doors. Periodically, I go in and delete things that I know I am never going to buy, but I have a weird curiosity about watching the prices rise and fall.  Generally, the increases and decreases are pretty minimal, but I have seen items drop 50% or more.

I'd love to see this data broken out a bit more. What if the increases were separated from the decreases?  Show the price decreases first in the list so the user can spot deals quickly.  How about including a percentage with that dollar amount? Sure it may seem like an insignificant number, but it's still a number. Who doesn't love a deal?

Do you ever read the unit price at the supermarket?  I actually base a lot of shopping decisions on that.  If I have to decide between Brand A or Brand B, small size or big size, sometimes the deciding factor is actually a difference of a few cents on the unit price.  I'm not even that thrifty!

Having a limited background in ecommerce, I'm curious to know if "saved for later" equals abandonment, or if hanging around in a stagnant cart somehow carries more weight.  What if my items expired after X amount of time and I got some kind of messaging to quickly move them to my wishlist, which is searchable and viewable by others, which could lead to actual purchases?

I also wouldn't mind seeing an item's price history. They seem to ebb and flow so much, that I might actually act quicker to make sure I get it while the gettin's good.  There's nothing worse than mulling on an item and viewing your cart to see that it's gone up quite a bit.

These are all nice to have features, but I think for some people, it will make the difference between a sale and a save.

my current muse: UX Book Club

A few weeks ago, I attended the inaugural meeting of UX Book Club Philadelphia, organized by our very own Livia Labate. Our first book selection was Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design by Bill Buxton.  I didn't finish the book in time for the meeting (and neither did anyone else) but that didn't stop us from having a lively discussion about what we had read so far.

Recently I have been trying to figure out exactly what User Experience means, how it fits into my career path, and how I can learn more about it.  As much as I'd love to drop everything and go to one of the great graduate programs out there (that sadly are not in Philadelphia), I'm also not really in a place where I want to hit the pause button on my life for two years to immerse myself in learning the discipline.  That's why events like UX Book Club, which are conversational and enriching, are extremely valuable.  My mind has been going a million miles a minute since we met, which definitely classifies it as MUSE territory.

Much like doing this whole @weeklyblogpost thing (forcing myself to blog!), UX Book Club got me to finally pick up a book I had been meaning to read, and to have the chance to exercise my brain a bit. I found myself waxing philosophical with my fellow book clubbers about education and urban planning, as well as positive (and negative) user experiences we've had.  Sitting at a table full of UX practioners and enthusiasts makes for engaging conversation, trust me!

I'm still plugging away on Bill Buxton's book, and very much looking forward to our next gathering.

From the UX Book Club website:

The UX Book Club idea was formed by Steve Baty and others on a couple of mailing lists late in 2008. The idea was that people could get together to talk about their favourite user experience books - and other books of interest to user experience people - and share their views, learning from one another.

Get more information about meetups in your city by checking out the UX Book Club wiki.

overthinking transit and change

The inspiration for writing about transit began when I made a point to notice this sign as I descended the stairs at the Tasker-Morris stop on the Broad Street Line last week: Exact fare only. The cashier has no change.

This is not a very friendly message. Since I have a monthly unlimited transpass, I can ignore that sign and keep moving. A few years ago, when I wasn't on the monthly plan, that sign used to anger me every day. Not only did this station require exact change, they did not have token machines either. Unless you're a seasoned rider, you would not know until you get to the cashier that the fare is $2. And if you had a $5 or a $20 bill, it didn't matter. $2 in bills or coins was all that would get you through that turnstile.

As I was pondering this frustration the other day, I realized (to SEPTA's credit) that in the years since I used to visit this stop regularly, they have gotten token machines! Yes, I have seen them many times, but it dawned on me that they did solve one part of the problem. Technically you don't need exact change anymore. If you have a $5 bill, you can put it in the machine and get a few tokens to be used for future trips.

But if you want to buy some tokens with all those quarters you've stashed for a rainy day, forget it! This machine does not accept coins.

Well SEPTA, you are trying.

I'm still holding out for NYC's MTA plan: MetroCards with declining balances that can be filled up at any station at any time, with cash or credit. Now that's convenient.

isepta is the wave of the future

There's been an unstoppable buzz in Philly and on Twitter lately about iSepta, "Simple Septa Schedules on the Go", the amazing iPhone application put out by the rock solid development team of Randy Schmidt and Chris Conley (aka ümlatte), skinned in a beautiful interface design by Jason Tremblay.

Randy dreamed up iSepta back in March during a day where he was was riding the rails.

Within minutes, many of Randy's friends started responding to such an idea, myself included. We've all experienced frustration trying to navigate the Septa schedules (see below).  It's not that they don't do the job, they could just do it so much better.  How do I read this thing?

That's where Randy, Chris and Jason stepped in to make it happen. iSepta was released to the local community for design feedback, usability, user experience, etc.  Twitter was used as an open forum for people to find out about the app, test it on other devices like Blackberries and on the web, and now SMS!  As you can see below, the interface is so much easier on the eyes.

Well today is the big day, iSepta has launched! Click on over to the ümlatte blog for a detailed summary of the project and all the latest news.  This is a big day for Philadelphia!

adding an album has never been easier!

Hey wow. It looks like Typepad made an update to their album typelist functionality and that makes me pretty happy! I've bitched about the limited functionality previously, specifically how sometimes the wrong album title/art will come up when you try to add a new album to the list. Typepad was super responsive, commenting on this very blog with a suggestion: adding the ASIN# directly from Amazon. It is a bit of a hack, for sure, but it did the job ok. Mostly I was pleased with their customer service and responsiveness.. thanks Typepad!

But NOW, now things have gotten sort of interesting. When you go to add an album, you get a keyword search box - awesome!

Type in your album / artist name... and voila! All kinds of results! I tested this out with Prefuse 73 and was presented with an array of options:

And as you can see, I added Preparations to my Listening to... list. That was easy and fun. Yay.

If you're looking for a new mellow pandora station, I've been listening to my Badass DJs station all week... it's really mellow, but has enough electronic beats to keep me focused at work. Try it out.

fun with the google calendar

Google calendar recently updated their reminder functionality.  Now you have the option to receive your event reminder up to 3 different ways.  Previously, you set up what you were interested in in your preferences and it would default to that.  I like to get my reminders via text message, but sometimes I forget to set an appropriate time and have gotten reminders for all-day events at odd hours in the middle of the night.  Now I can see right away how and when I will receive my reminder and adjust accordingly. Neat!

interactions in your environment

During a presentation on user-centered design at my place of employment last week, I found myself gripped by one concept that I had not previously considered in detail when thinking about interactions:  ENVIRONMENT.  Steve Kuhn, our effervescent speaker, gave a few examples of how environment is a crucial part of creating products for your users.  For example, will the user be interrupted frequently, will they be in a hurry, is their environment safe?

Since I am a fan of mass transit interactions, I brought these ideas with me as I got a new MetroCard in NYC this past weekend.  I am already comfortable with the interface, so it's easy for me to fly right through it.  However, it's pretty easy for most people, I would think, because the interface is broken into manageable pieces and involves simple, clear instructions and graphics. 

More importantly, the subway is often populated with people from all over the country and the world who are unfamiliar with their surroundings, so the interaction needs to be easy.  These users may also feel a little unsafe or out of sorts in this new and foreign environment.  They seem to catch on quickly, so that must be a good sign.

Next on deck: Automatic Teller Machines, so close, yet so far away...

why i hate banana republic today

Earlier today I was rifling around the Banana Republic website, mostly to check on the account balance of my Banana Republic credit card, which I often use to purchase pants / jeans at the GAP - because they make pants that fit my caboose!  I went to sign into my account and was immediately presented with a screen to RE-register!  And I am pretty certain that this was not the first time I have had to do this in my brief period of owning this card (about 6 months). 

After entering my regular login information, I was forced to create an entirely new account: new username, password, etc.  And my existing username was, you guessed it, taken!  So, in honor of having to go through this special process, I took the username yousuckass ('you suck ASS' not 'you suckas!').  I apologize if any of my readers were hoping to create an account with the same name. Incidentally, I also apologize if my choice of words offends!

I was already annoyed with BR for making me create a super complicated password that has a minimum number of characters and must combine letters and numbers and must not end in a number, etc. Yes, I know it addresses security concerns, but it's inconvenient!  But having to start my registration from scratch was pretty darn unacceptable. 

I returned to the site later today to log in with my newly acquired username and password, only to be met with the news that the entire site has been shut down for maintenance.  Hey, Banana Republic (and GAP and Old Navy), you STINK!