Trailer Sharing Test

"Dream" Trailer - Maleficent on Disney Video

test spongebob

Fanhattan Review - It's a Start to Something Cool

A co-worker of mine of mine recently hipped me to this app called Fanhattan that seemingly attempts to aggregate all movies and TV shows in order to provide the user with a variety of on-demand options to digitally access content from, whether it be streamed or downloaded.  Check this article on TechCrunch about it: Fanhattan Promises Better Internet TV Through The Power Of Data 

The problem with this app is that this app doesn't deliver on that promise. It only shows some movies and some TV shows and only access to *EST or **SVOD content providers. Even if it is available for "free" on Hulu, it will only direct you to Hulu Plus, Hulu's paid service. Clearly they want you to spend $ in order to watch. I guess watching ads is not good enough for these stakeholders.

Also all digital streaming services are not available, like Crackle and Flixster. This limitation happens to coincide with their limited catalog as it does not contain TV shows like Seinfeld or movies like Step Brothers. Obviously the folks that are investing in this app have chosen to exclude their competitors. Looks like studio battles are still very much alive and kicking with no end in sight. This is really too bad. By creating apps like this that have so much potential but are yet so limited by the stakeholders they eliminate the entire reason to have an app like this in the first place! If people don't use it, then there's really no point. I only see a need for this type of product is if it makes good on the promise of better Internet TV. 

It needs to actually make finding/consuming content (on the go or in your living room) better through data by actually providing the following: 

1. Include every movie and TV show you can find in the IMDB database. (Be studio agnostic!) 
2. Have an exhaustive list of digital content providers and prioritize those providers by "free"/ad-supported models, then direct to consumer models. Either way the content providers are still getting paid. (Be provider agnostic!)

This app will be doomed for failure unless the business owners can convince the stakeholders of this.

Fanhattan is currently only available as an app on iOS devices but they have web and connected TV app plans in the works. See their vanity website for more details: http://www.fanhattan.com

*EST = Electronic Sell Through aka buy it once and own it "forever"

**SVOD = Subscription Video On Demand aka a service you pay a monthly fee for like Netflix and Hulu Plus.

The Usage of Login, Log-in or Log In?

Part of my job is to write copy and the use of login comes up quite a lot. I have a feeling this comes up for other folks out there so I thought I'd post the rules and help shed some light on this tricky use of proper web grammar.

Here are the rules:

When used as a verb – it’s two words: log in (to log in)

When used as an adjective or a noun – it’s hyphenated: log-in
o (your log-in password) (your log-in)

You should never use of login.

It's Raining eBros! Hallelujah!!

This week I launched two more interactive eBrochures for Lexus. This brings my total to 6 eBrochures using the Zmags tool. Four of them have been completely interactive (with flash and video) and the other two just normal PDFs transformed into an online experience. I plan on writing up an extensive review of the Zmags tool but until them please take a look at my two latest projects: The LS line eBrochure & The GS eBrochure.

The LS Line



The GS

List of Recommended Reading for IA / UX Professionals

When I was working on LStudio.com I had the pleasure of working with Josh Galban, a very accomplished Information Architect. I have not worked with many IA professionals as the IA has usually fallen in my lap to figure out. I can say that after working with him, I wish I had had him on all the projects I have worked on in the past. While my main focus and expertise when building websites is on production. How are we going to build this sucker? What kind of talent do I need? How much money do I have? and How long is this going to take? It's nice to have a person on your team always thinking about... Is this the best way to build this?

I really learned a lot working with him and was very impressed with his documentation and thought process. After the project launched I had to have lunch with him and pick his brain as to how he became such an expert. I asked him for a list of resources I could read to hopefully one day be just as informed as him and this is what he sent me.

"Jody, here's a long list of recommended books that have shaped how I work.  I strongly recommend these to UX professionals.  I don't keep up with many websites or blogs, but I've mentioned the ones I find most helpful:

First, I haven't read this, but it's probably going to be one of the best books around on user experience design.  I will probably read it, love it and recommend it from now on:
Designing for the Digital Age by Kim Goodwin

The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman
This is one of the pioneering works in UX design.  It's based on Norman's cognitive psychology research.

About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper and Richard Reimann
Cooper is another key figure in UX design.  He has laid the groundwork for much of what UX people do.


Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug
Very short book on how to get good feedback on the merits of a design before committing lots of money to build something out.

Jakob Nielsen's website http://www.useit.com/ and books
I love Jakob Nielsen.  He's done a great service to the discipline by deriving results and insights based on empirical research.  Though, his presentation of those findings can make them a bit hard to stomach.

Bruce Tognazzini's website http://asktog.com/
Great insights from one of the key designers of the original Mac UI.

Edward Tufte's books and his website http://www.edwardtufte.com/
The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Envisioning Information
Visual Explanations
Beautiful Evidence

Jared Spool's company User Interface Engineering and website http://www.uie.com/
I recommend subscribing to his newsletter and Brain Sparks blog.  These days, they're doing a lot of research on how designers work.

The Ecological Approach to Visual Perception by James J. Gibson
Gibson is another pioneer of the UX discipline, but most practitioners have never heard of him.  Gibson pioneered a branch of psychology called "Ecological Psychology" which has nothing to do with the green movement.  His work explores human cognition has evolved and been shaped by the physical environment and the limitations/capabilities of the body.  He coined the term "affordances" which later showed up in Donald Norman's work.  "Affordances" are the indicators that give us an idea of how things work and how we can interact with them.  Underlined Links, for example, have become affordances for interactivity on websites.

Any of Henry Petroski's books
Petroski has several books about the evolution and design of everyday things like toothpicks, pencils, paperclips, books and bookshelves.  Get exploration of the forces that come together to shape an object.


The Paradox of Choice: Why Less Is More by Barry Schwartz
Computers as Theatre by Brenda Laurel
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud
The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst
Source of Power: How People Make Desicisions by Gary Klein
Serious Play: How the World's Best Companies Simulate to Innovate by Michael Schrage
A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander
Writing Effective Use Cases by Alexander Cockburn
Why Businesspeople Speak Like Idiots: A Bullfighter's Guide by Fugere, Hardaway and Warshawsky
Crossing the Chasm by Moore
The World Without Us by Weisman"

Since this list is soooo in-depth I had to share it with my readers. Please leave a comment and let me know if you know of any other resources that an aspiring IA should read. Thanks....

eBrochures Using the Zmag Tool #2

Here is the second eBrochure I produced for Team One.