Update on the Target and accessibility on Techcrunch

At the beginning of the month I weighed in on my feelings on the Target accessibility class action law suit. Now it seems others are doing the same in a heated way on comments in Techcrunch blog on the subject. This debate definitely is gathering momentum, ultimately I think the days of building websites that are inaccessible are over.

Amazon secures patent for SEO friendly URL's... What?

Wow this truly floored me. The US Patent Office (USPTO) has granted a patent for placing a "search string at the end of a URL without any special formatting.". See the diagram left that helped them seal the deal with the USPTO.

A popular technique known as URL aliasing and URL rewriting evolved which allowed developers to move away from non friendly URL's like this:

http://www.domain.com/index.aspx?id=63304&mode=wide

To friendly URL's like this:

http://www.domain.com/vacation packages wisconsin

URL Aliasing been around for many years, and was popularized by Google's search engine. Using this URL format is beneficial in two ways, it's ultra search engine friendly give the pages ranking a boost, and its more user friendly.

On doing some research on this the subject the USPTO is meant to granted patents for something that aren't obvious. Also unless you can prove you were using this technology prior to Amazon filing this patent in 2004 you could be in trouble. This is pure madness! It would seem that this technique utilized by hundreds of millions of data driven websites and blogs are now in breach of Amazon's patent?

Accessibility, Standards and Targets class action lawsuit

The other night I was talking at length to my brother in law Steve about his field of engineering and its various certifications and standards and comparing it to my field of web development. This isn't the first time i've thought about this issue, In a previous blog of mine I went hunting for professional organizations for web development.... there weren't many.

He argued that "no one is going to die if a website doesn't work in Firefox, however in my field if a wall collapses and kills someone we got a problem. Thus we have standards, rules and regulations to make sure that doesn't happen". I agree that no one is going to die if a website doesn't render right but as more mission critical services move online web standards become more important.

Steve is a member of an independent professional organization for engineers known as Ashrae which develops standards among other things for the field of engineering. In the web world we have the W3C which is independent and then corporations like Adobe, Google and Microsoft who play a part in helping to innovate and drive web standards. However nothing is really enforced unless your designing for government who demand section 508 compliance.

He said that engineering has been around for thousands of years, and web development is a new field of expertise and standards and enforcement of those will take time. So it was funny today when stumbled across two separate articles:

• http://ajaxian.com/archives/two-rulings-that-could-improve-web-accessibility


• http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20071003-lawsuit-over-website-accessibility-for-the-blind-becomes-class-action.html
  

Both talk about Targets class action lawsuit for not being 100% accessible to the blind? I shouldn't need to state it, but I will for clarification, Target is a corporation not a government body so no standards apply right? I guess not!

My point to my brother in law is that as more services move online, whether its shopping, banking, bill payment or yellow pages there need to be standards enforced to ensure everyone, young and old, 56k or broadband, iphone or pc can access your site. The lawsuit against Target could prove to be a big factor in enforcement of standards online..... Time will tell but this will be an interesting case to watch!

The website development process told by Lego :)

This article is both informational, and humorous! :)

http://www.pingmag.jp/2005/12/09/the-website-development-process/

Create collection of articles on "Planning, Managing Web Sites and Web Site Projects"

Today I was looking for some example document for a web content plan. I have a structured approach i've used for years, but I always want to keep abreast of things and see what others in the industry are doing. I didn't really find anything concrete howevers on my Google hunt I stumbled across the following page that had a great collection of articles on "Planning, Managing Web Sites and Web Site Projects". Definately worth a look if you need help.

Agile isn't an excuse for sloppy project management or development

Those who have read 37Signals book: "Getting Real" should be well versed in what Agile Development is all about. Basically the theory you can do more with less is the easiest description I have of what Agile Development boils down to. I am warming up to the idea of a development process that is less linear, and more pliable to the demands of a fast paced on demand "Web 2.0" world.

That being said in a recent Dr Dobb's newsletter I read this article on the disciplines of development using Agile methodology.

Google to take on Facebook by more open API

It was only a matter of time before one of the top three: Google, Yahoo or MSN did something with respect to Facebook.

Google is apparently working on opening up its API's for existing services even more than Facebook. See this article for more detail.

Ditch your news section or press room and build a blog!

It still amazes me to see sites launching with a news or press room. This seems like one of the legacy web 1.0 items thats still makes its way into most corporate domains.

Granted if you are a fortune 500 company perhaps you still need your official new release section. However for most small to mid size companys this seems like serious overkill. The "one to many" broadcast approach is clearly over with the rise of social media, web 2.0 and functionality that allows for your users to engage in a conversation with you!

Some blog facts:

• Blogs are hip
• Authentic
• Let you engage with your user = two way conversation!
• Let your users identify with a personality along with your news
• Build Community: They create repeat visits (stickyness) by users
• Content can be syndicated via RSS and email subscriptions
• Build Traffic: Ultra SEO friendly helping to get you found
• They create conversation on other blogs = Online PR +Seeding!
• Cross Sell: Generally they create a lot of referrals back to your corporate site

Recent validation of Linkedin - networking 2.0

I recently had a situation in my day job where more work than we could handle. I needed a qualified group of five internet developers with varied skill sets such as: XHTML/CSS, Flash, .NET, PHP and we needed them quickly.

Formally we would try two things:

• Mine existing freelance resources
• Go to a local staffing firm that specializes in interactive to find the desired candidate(s)

We tried option one, and everyone we knew was committed. Option two takes time and we were under the gun with tight deadlines.

So what do you where you in a bind and need to recruit in a vacuum? Networking 2.0 utilizing your social networks!

Within a few hours of identifying the need I hit my LinkedIn network. By the end of the day I had answers and people lined up to do the work. It was instant validation to me of the power of social networking tools like LinkedIn, and putting my network that i'd built overtime to work for me.

How to filter feature requests on your web application

Yesterday I attended the iPhone Tech Talk conference in Chicago. Many items where covered from requirements, usability, design and application development for the iPhone plaform. One part of the presentation that resonated with me was how Apple approaches development of software applications. Below is an excerpt from the presentation:

Good Design at Apple….

“Comes from saying “No” to 1,000 things to make sure we don’t get on the wrong track or try to do too much.”

- Steve Jobs

Define Your Solution

What problem will your application solve?

• Create an Application Definition Statement
• Summarize the intended purpose of your application
• Let it guide everything you do
• Filter every aspect of your application through definition statement
  

This is also inline with a chapter in 37signals book “Get Real” titled "What's the Big Idea".

Its an interesting approach i'm looking to incorporate into future projects I work on. Often with web project you can get bogged down in features that are outside of the core objective and vision of the site, using this methodology means you can abandon a lot of traditional distracting features before you burn you time and money.

Good user experience can improve your bottom line

I came across the following presentation when I was browsing on Slideshare and it really resonated with me. I often talk to designers or information architects about improving the usability of a web app by simplying things. For instance use more descriptive form buttons - "submit" is vague, include functionality such as breadcrumbs and site search as people expect them to be there etc. Essentially don't make me think!

One thing I often notice with new site designs is they are tested by power users, we know that the logo links back to the homepage, we know how to use utility nav and how to filter results in a datagrid. However the best test i've ever had is my wife or my mom. To be honest if they can't perform a task or find something on a new site chances are other users will have the same problem. Ultimately a bad experience frustrates users and ensures they will give up on your site and go to the next listing on Google.

I encourage you to view the following presentation by Brian Winter from CareerBuilder on providing a better user experience.

Interview with Jakob Nielsen

I just was over at e-consultancy.com and stumbled across an interview with Jakob Nielsen. Neilsen weighs in on AJAX, Flash, RSS/XML icons and his general feelings on usability as it relates to the web. An interesting read.

Humor - Internet crash in Web 2.0 world!

Agile development: Get more done with less - "Get Real" by 37signals

I've just finshed reading the book "Get Real" by 37signals (developers of Basecamp) and i've got to saw its a fairly controversial and radical way to look at developing web 2.0 apps using the Agile development methodology.

My key take aways from the book are you can get more done with less. Less people (superstar developers), no meetings, no information architecture and no web farm to start. I recently met with a client of ours at Hanson Dodge Creative and talked with them about the shift from the web 1.0 brochureware "website" to the fire breathing always changing web 2.0 "web application". Already a developer of desktop applications, his final words where "welcome to the world of software development" which is so true.

Modern day web apps are complex with true object orientated programming and 3 tier architecture:

• Presentation Tier (XHTML, CSS, XSLT, Flash, AJAX)
• Logic Tier (.NET, Web Services, API)
• Data Tier (Database, XML

So yes todays web 2.0 application is becoming more complex to build, 37signals "Get Real" offers a different methodology and approach to breaking things down and building web apps using their Agile method from inception through completion. If you haven't read it already you can read it free, buy the pdf, or book at 37signals site.

The power of community and social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and Myspace

Lately it seems the shift to community driven websites and social is becoming bigger and bigger, everyone is jumping on the Web 2.0 band wagaon. Whether you look at the success stories of YouTube, MySpace, Facebook or any of the other bigger user generated content (UGC) sites it seems "community is king". I've got to admit I was a late adopter of MySpace and Facebook, but I have been a member on the UK equivalent of Classmates.com known as Friends Reunited since 2001. As someone who's lived in 3 countries: Australia, England and the U.S. Through these sites i've noticed first hand the power of social networks and community first hand as I began to reconnect with classmates and old friends who lived all over the world. My 10 year high school re-union was organized through it… I can’t even imagine the effort involved in doing this prior to the internet!

Now in my professional life one site that has had a profound effect on me is LinkedIn. Again I embarrassed to say I a late adopter, a sales rep from a software company invited me after a pitch and I was on the way to becoming LinkedIn.

In my opinion LinkedIn has become the most important and useful professional community and social networking site I use today. Gone are the days of word resumes, my rolodex full of business cards and costly searches for new hires and vendors. LinkedIn has provided a great platform for helping prospective, existing and former clients keep in touch (networking). Not to mention a great tool for recruitment. Having your LinkedIn profile linked on my blog has also helped in the seeding giving me an SEO lift.

I've been involved in participating in question and answers sessions centered on the internet and web technology. I've also been approached by software vendors, headhunters and job seekers who instantly qualified me as they know who I am and what I do, some of this can be good or bad depending how you look at it.

So if you are looking for a way to build your professional network and get connected with a community that opens up networking and career opportunities today I suggest you to get LinkedIn.