A Grand Unified Theory of YouTube and MySpace 166
Ant writes "Paul Boutin's Slate article explains the factors contributing to the success YouTube and MySpace: they are easy to use (usability), and they don't 'tell you what to do.'" From the article: "Both YouTube and MySpace fit the textbook definition of Web 2.0, that hypothetical next-generation Internet where people contribute as easily as they consume. Even self-described late adopters like New York editor Kurt Andersen recognize that that by letting everyone contribute, these sites have reached a critical mass where 'a real network effect has kicked in.'"
Re:Tell people how to do it right... (Score:4, Interesting)
I haven't been to MySpace in a while, since I think it all looks like vomit, but another complaint I had was that the thing seems to be about 80% covered in ads, and the ads are placed in such a way that you can't tell what's an ad and what's part of the site.
As far as usability, a good way for a site like this to run is to give everyone relatively limited customization. This way the site still provides a consistent look and feel, which is good for usability, but still lets users express themselves through whatever theme they pick. Let the people who know what they are doing design themes, and then give the users a way to customize them to suit their tastes.
Not Sure About Usability (Score:3, Interesting)
I feel this is the single most important factor in any software design be it applications, games, websites, etc... However, I have a myspace site and I find it cumbersome. Editing different things on the page are in different places. It really feels like something a programmer threw together and not something that was designed with usability in mind.
I come from a HTML background. Customizing MySpace has not been easy for me.
I am not sure, but I believe that is why there are programs out there that will do it for you. If it was so easy to customize, I doubt there would be a market for middleware design apps.
As for youtube, it is easy and straight forward. I would not call that usability, but it's just as good in my book.
Youtube (Score:5, Interesting)
google pages? (Score:5, Interesting)
Just today my wife complained that she had no easy way of publishing photos of our two small dughters (2 year old, and 1 month old) since I turned down my websever and never found time to bring it back up. Quick thought about google pages, and I logged her with her gmail account. She created a webpage with drag'n'drop in just three minutes and she was in hurry, because she was just leaving for a bus. Before she left I could give URL to some of my friends. I was amazed at how google pages were easy to use.
She is not a techie
Re:Youtube (Score:3, Interesting)
Teenagers and students (Score:3, Interesting)
Myspace is the carpark of the internet, and YouTube is the cinema
Re:i'm sorry, but you just can't say that (Score:3, Interesting)
No, because AOL is an ugly interface that provides plenty of used-to-be-exclusive content. And MySpace is an interface requiring users to make ugly and provide a mixure of original and non-exclusive content (much of it duplicated on a half dozen other social networking sites).
Re:What Textbook? (Score:2, Interesting)