I was testing FriendCSV on Facebook (“The friendCSV app allows you to export your friends list and relevant data levels to a CSV doc that can be opened in Excel or any spreadsheet.”) and noticed that most of the people from Slovenia have their hometown set as –TOWN–, Bohinj (for example Ljubljana, Bohinj; Logatec, Bohinj, Kranj, Bohinj).

Here is an exapmle of Profile info tab where you can select your Hometown. If you choose Ljubljana, You get the following options:

And if you type Slovenia a drop down menu is populated with the largest Slovenian cities:

But they all have a strange association with two small places in Slovenia (Bohinj and Brezovica). Is Facebook presuming we all spend our vacations there? ;)

Well this is clearly a bug in their database or  ____place_for_your_suggestion___?

I like February – it is the best looking month in the year 2009.

It's nice to be a Neighbour

Yesterday I took a closer look at a billboard advertising entertainment show It’s nice to be a Neighbour. And from the distance it looked well crafted ad, however standing right next to it revealed a big mistake. I was surprized that the agency who did this was so sloppy! The dog’s pee on the floor looks totally fake (photoshoped on the ad). And why? Because they didn’t erase the pee where the wood is vertical.

Since 2005 NetLife Research team publishes bad usability calendar and I have just downloaded and printed it. It features 12 great usability rules each year and illustrates them in a form of calendar.

You can download it on http://www.badusability.com/

2009

1. January: Content is king – fix it first!
2. February: Simplicity is overrated.
3. March: Adapt your website for mobile devices.
4. April: Synchronization has to work. Test with several systems.
5. May: Mix content where it adds value, not just because it’s cool.
6. June: Make sure your site follows common web standards.
7. July: Metaphors from other areas don’t always work on the net.
8. August: You don’t need a hierarchical website to get your message across.
9. September: Designing to suit yourself isn’t always a good idea. Get real.
10. October: Just because it matters to you doesn’t mean it’s important to everyone else.
11. November: Make some choices for your user. They don’t need to decide on everything.
12. December: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

2008

1. January: Choose a presentation form that suits your content
2. February: Offer personalization only where it adds value
3. March: Keep novel choices visible; don’t hide information in dropdowns
4. April: Video is dandy – as long as it supports the user’s task
5. May: Don’t require Log in if you don’t have to
6. June: Who said usable has to be boring
7. July: Fitts Law: Bigger IS better – or at least easier to click
8. August: More navigation doesn’t always make your site easier to use
9. September: Don’t copy every fancy Web 2.0 element you see
10. October: Focus effort on your core content; the home page sees fewer visitors
11. November: One word: Oversharing
12. December: We’ve all seen enough Facebook clones now, thank you!

2007

1. January: Avoid graphic design take-over.
2. February: Give categories understandable names.
3. March: Write error messages in the user’s language, not the developer’s.
4. April: Don’t use colour as the sole way to get your message across.
5. May: Use real content in your prototypes.
6. June: Don’t fall into the “news site trap”. Avoid drowning your content in ads.
7. July: Restrain yourself: Avoid creativity for creativity’s sake.
8. August: If your search doesn’t work, remove it.
9. September: Be professional: typos, alignment errors and dated content undermine credibility.
10. October: Many relationships exist. Some of them are useful.
11. November: AJAX is cool, but only when it helps the user.
12. December: Choose the right genre for your content.

2006

1. January: Avoid pop-ups. They cover up the content and leads to unnecessary clicks for the users.
2. February: Give all pages suitable titles and subtitles.
3. March: Don’t make it complicated for the user to find the information on the page.
4. April: Red and green used together can lead to misconceptions for people with colour blindness (8% of all men).
5. May: Don’t let news and other information take up too much space from the main focus.
6. June: Don’t let the user wait. Avoid long downloading time.
7. July: Show important information in the same picture. Avoid scrolling, if possible.
8. August: Make sure the readability is good. Use plain fonts and limit the number of different fonts.
9. September: The users should know where they are at all times. The navigational hierarchy must be consistent.
10. October: Adjust the text for browsing. Bullet lists, tabulars and spaced out words make it faster to find information.
11. November: Use a language the users understand.
12. December: Practise minimalism. Avoid extra information and visual elements.

2005
(Translated from Norwegian with Google Translate)

1. January: Have a good contrast between text and background. Let users be able to read the text.
2. February: Do not use the arcane icons where users have to guess their functions.
3. March: Do not let the creative design destroy usability.
4. April: Do not use background images behind important information.
5. May: Present the information as simple and straightforward as possible.
6. June: Do not use hidden navigation so that the user must try and fail to find the content and features.
7. July: Be consistent! So users don’t exert themselves unnecessarily.
8. August: Follow standards and conventions! How can users use the experience from other solutions.
9. September: Let’s be clear what is interactive and what is not!
10. October: Do not use too small font size if you want people to read what you wrote!
11. November: Use alt text to make the content available to all.
12. December: Too much information makes people confused.

A nice surprise for my eyes.

And a bug lol

Dobrodošli na Facebook ili tak nekaj

I’m sad. My Youtube video didn’t load. It’s kind of …  puzzling!

The frozen message:

A sad message: