Weblog usability
Came across Jakob Nielsen’s Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes (via Ministry of Propaganda). And this is how Dutch Diary fares in the usability tests.
1. No Author Biographies - FAIL.
I don’t intend to put up a whole bio, but I will get down to putting up something abt me sometime in the near future. I guess Jakob Nielsen is right when he says “users want to know who they’re dealing with.”, coz I know that I look for the About page the first time I come across a blog. Coming Soon. Coming Soon.
2. No Author Photo - FAIL.
And thats gonna remain a fail.
3. Nondescript Posting Titles - FAIL.
I tried to pass this on this post and don’t you think its utterly boring?
4. Links Don’t Say Where They Go - FAIL.
I think this one is unnecessary. if you place the mouse on the link and take a look at the status bar, it shows you where its headed. And usually the context gives you the reason you might want to click on it.
5. Classic Hits are Buried - FAIL.
This is a valid point. By the time I have enough posts, and hopefully some classic ones, I will fix this.
6. The Calendar is the Only Navigation - FAIL.
I have categories, but then a whole lot falls under Musings. ButI fail this one because the teacher is too strict.
7. Irregular Publishing Frequency - FAIL.
Something for me to think about. Now I post almost daily or at least once every two days. But thats because I am not in a particularly busy phase in my life. So I am essentially setting up expectations that I know I won’t be able to keep up. Oh what the heck! I will post when I can..:) I have rss feeds, so that should make up for irregular postings.
8. Mixing Topics - FAIL.
And I fail this happily. I think a blog is someone’s journal. And people are versatile and multidimensional. I write about all the interests me and all that affects me. Its like accepting a person as a whole. Accept my blog as a whole, with the range of topics that I write about. I don’t think its necessary to start a blog for different topic you write about. Having categories is good enough.
9. Forgetting That You Write for Your Future Boss - FAIL.
A girls gotta say what she wants to say.
10. Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service - FAIL.
Overall Score : 0/10 
heh…I fail all of those tests too.
Comment by venkat — October 30, 2005 @ 8:20 am
Welcome to the club ! =)
Comment by Sue — October 30, 2005 @ 10:57 am
re #1: So I’m going to learn soon where you’re from and can potentially add you to my blogging abroad list? You don’t seem to be Dutch but I haven’t figured out yet where you’re from. Unless I’ve missed something.
Comment by Armin — October 30, 2005 @ 4:00 pm
Hi Armin, Thanks for dropping by and the offer to include me in the blogging abroad list =)..i must say I have used that list to find some good expat blogs..
Comment by Sue — October 30, 2005 @ 9:49 pm
>> No Author Biographies
This works great of you have a well established personality. Otherwise just because I do not have a PhD in economics people do not take my posts on economics seriously, even though they make perfect sense.
Similarly, a lot of times people comment and say ‘yes’ yes’ on a crap post just because you are famous. Example Anil Dash’s post on absence of women in “Web 2.0″ society. A lot of people have been drawing attention to this for a long time, but when Anil said that, it created ripples.
Comment by Sig11 — October 30, 2005 @ 10:09 pm
I think more than credentials, I often look for a common link when I come across a new blog. If the blog owner has something in common with me - be it age, gender, place in life, same sort of ideas, what they will write about - then i will want to visit the blog again. Often you can find these out if you read some blog entries. But the author bio is just an easier way.
As for PhD credentials, you are right abt how people judge what you write by your reputation. But If you are famous, you will definitely have a bio online. So, if theres no bio, I automatically assume the person is a non-entity. Cant get any worse then, if you write a bio.
Comment by Sue — October 31, 2005 @ 7:35 am
>>Cant get any worse then, if you write a bio
Not sure of that. Suppose I am a 14 year old kid writing on technology and I had put up my bio stating this. The credibility that I would have got even if I had not written my bio would disappear. Something I have seen happen many a times.
Comment by Sig11 — October 31, 2005 @ 8:50 am