Back in October 2012, LinkedIn announced a redesigned profile page. They’ve been slowly rolling it out to users, and finally updated mine this week.
What’s new in the new profile design?
For starters, the interface has been refreshed, with sections clearly noted. And it features inline editing, meaning you can make changes right from your profile without switching to a separate “edit” view. See something that needs updating? You can change it right there.
Your recent activity is highlighted near the top of your profile. While this is useful to see if someone is actively interacting on LinkedIn, it will make me think twice before posting a link or liking an update.
There is a new visual representation of your network–a sort of simplified InMaps view–and you as you hover over other LinkedIn members, you’ll see a card pop-up with additional info about that person. Their goal is to stimulate interaction and engagement with your network.
What’s no longer there?
There are some features, particularly third-party apps, that don’t show up anymore. I only used a couple of these; the TripIt widget and the Reading List. Not really critical.
Overall, I like the new design. It’s not going to rock your world, but it’s a nice update to an otherwise stodgy user interface. But what do you think? Let me know in the comments, and feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn.
One of the challenges of designing for the web is that the font you want for your design may not be available on the computers your audience use. Resolving this usually requires either 1) Ditching the design intent and sticking with broadly supported font families; 2) Creating images containing text, in which case you can use whatever font you have; or 3) Using a web font type kit.
Option #1 is unappealing to most designers, although it shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. There’s a good reason that those fonts are widely used. They’ve stood the test of time. Ever see the documentary Helvetica? Watch it.
Option #2 is not so great, though I’ve seen it done and it can work successfully if kept to a minimum. Images are always heavier than text alone, and much more difficult to update. Search engines can’t read them well, so you need to include ALT text.
Option #3 requires a little more effort, but the results are much more flexible. There are several web font kits available.
TypeKit was one of the original. They are a commercial service with access to a large library of quality, licensed fonts. You can get a free account for a single website, which is what I did recently for U.S. Speed Sport. You can see the page title (“Drag Racing” in this case) uses a special font provided by TypeKit. The drawback with the free account is that you have a limited library of fonts, and you’re required to display the TypeKit badge. It’s not obtrusive and might work for a smaller site, but bigger sites will probably want to pay for the non-badged license.
Google Web Fonts is a free alternative that is based on the TypeKit code. The javascript kits are very similar. The advantage here is that there is no badging requirement, but the library is even more limited than TypeKit’s free level.
My most recent discovery is a site called Font Squirrel. They literally hundreds of web fonts available in prebuilt kits, and you can create your own. I haven’t had a chance to use Font Squirrel yet, but it looks promising.
As long as I can remember, this simply designed wooden game sat on the coffee table in my grandparents living room. Growing up, I loved playing the game with my grandpa and grandma. The gameplay was simple. You spun the top, hoping it knocked the eight wooden balls into the eight divots. Each divot had a point value. Once the top stopped, you added up your score. Your opponent took their turn, and you repeated until you were tired of playing or dinner time arrived — whichever came first. Dinner usually won.
This was all long before the age of Mortal Kombat, World of Warcraft and even before the Internet (as we know it today). I didn’t care (not that I knew better). The game was just fun!
My grandparents have both since passed on, and the game now sits on my coffee table, in my living room. And the game still makes me smile. Partly, it’s the memories that it brings me. But a big part is the simple joy of a well-designed game. No batteries required.
Sometimes in life, it’s the simple things that bring us joy.
I shot these photos with my iPhone 4 mounted on a GorillaMobile tripod. To capture the motion of the spinning top, I used the Slow Shutter Cam app. I created the collage with Diptic and stylized it to give it a “70’s” look and uploaded with Instagram. I’m really pleased with the results.
Sometimes in life, it’s the complex things that bring us joy.
What is a browser? Ask the typical man (or woman) on the street that question and you’ll get some surprising answers.
Back in April 2009, some folks at Google did just that. They took a video camera to the streets of New York City to ask people “What is a browser?” Watch…
Clearly there is a disconnect between the tech-saavy and the rest of the world. So what does this mean? In my world, it means that those of us who create programs, web apps or devices need to do a much better job of simplifying, demystifying and educating. Certainly it means we use far too much “lingo” that is meaningless to most people. And it might not matter. After all, most people are getting around the Internet just fine even if they don’t know the proper answer to the question “What is a browser?” Should we care?
Well, I don’t we need to care that people use whatever new words we introduce (i.e. browser) but it does matter that people understand the basics. How do I get around and find the stuff that’s important to me? How do I avoid getting “tricked” by the bad guys on the web who want to steal my credit card number or my identity? And how do I make my computer, my mobile phone, and all my other connected devices serve me, and not the other way around?
Simplification
Keeping it simple has been one of the big reasons for the success of Apple. The iPod Shuffle doesn’t even have a screen. You just load it and play. The iPad is enjoying popularity with older people as well as toddlers precisely because it is so damn accessible. Not a lot of bells and whistles — it just works, and does it well.
In the world of the web, we don’t do so well. The web is littered with sites with dozens of choices all shouting for our attention. Steve Krug’s seminal book on web usability — Don’t Make Me Think (affiliate link) — addresses this problem head-on and largely on target. If you create websites or apps for any connected device, get his book and read it. If you’ve already got it, pull it out and read it again. The bottom line is that we creators and curators make things unnecessarily difficult for folks. Make it — and keep it — simple.
Communication
Some techies sneer at the newbies and their lack of what they consider basic web know-how. In their mind, the average Joe needs an education. Do they? Or do they just need someone to explain it to them? Both are close, but even better, why don’t we simply communicate better?
I’ve always believed strongly that communication is the responsibility of the communicator. In other words, if I want to communicate a message to you, it’s my job to do it in such a way that you comprehend and fully understand my message and it’s intent. We need to become better communicators.
Circling back to the video, Google thought a bit about this problem and figured there were some basics about how the Internet works that everyone should understand. They put together an online book titled Twenty Things I Learned About Browsing and the Web. The reading experience is very similar to using a Kindle or iPad, but just works in your browser. And the format of the book looks very much like a children’s book, which some people find charming and others condescending. But they get an “A” for effort.
As for me, I have my work cut out for me. My very field — knowledge management — draws blank stares from most people (who quickly regret having asked what I do). And many of the practitioners in the field have been raised on a steady diet of acronyms, obscure lingo and academic theory. It’s become part of their DNA, and they perpetuate this knowledge management geek-speak as a way to make themselves feel somehow a little smarter.
This reality is not unique to my field. The web makes it easy for almost anyone to become a creator, and we all have a long way to go. If we really want to reach people, we need to work on simplification and communication.
For years, designers have struggled with integrating interesting, expressive fonts into web pages. Until now, the general rule has been to stick to the commonly available font families — the default stuff installed on every Mac or Windows PC — and use images for anything out of the ordinary. This works ok, but (alt tags aside) search engines will not read your text-as-an-image. Not to mention the fact that it introduces yet another file to download, and increases the total weight of the page.
A new project from Small Batch Inc. looks to change all that. Typekit promises to give you the ability to embed fonts on any web page with full fidelity and typographic control.
Typekit is not yet available, but you can sign-up here to be notified as soon as it is.
A few days ago, the WordPress blog unveiled the visual design of the upcoming WordPress 2.7 expected to be released in a few weeks. While this won’t offer dramatic changes to readers of this or any other WordPress-powered blog, it offers some really nice improvements for those of us who publish a blog.
Here’s a preview of the new dashboard:
The new dashboard is really a great improvement, with at-a-glance views of the stats effecting your blog. I also like the “quick post” feature and the ability to reply directly to comments. An already amazing product is getting even better.
I was reading an interesting story about how Netflix (one of my favorite services) is going to start downloading rentals directly to set-top devices hooked to your TV. Great idea, but what really caught my eye was the quote from Reed Hastings, Netflix CEO and founder:
“It (the set-top device) is going to be very slick and easy,” said Reed Hastings, Netflix’s chief executive officer. “We want the TV experience to be very relaxing and not like visiting a Web site.”
What struck me about Hasting’s quote is how he casually damned all of the web in one swift stroke. Apparently, the web is neither “slick and easy” nor relaxing. Is it really that bad?
