Alertbox: Why Country Sites Are So Bad
Jakob Nielsen <[email protected]> Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:30:55 -0400
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When a multinational company produces a localized country site,
usability is often lost. Local advertising agencies design
good-looking sites that don't communicate.
> http://www.useit.com/alertbox/country-site.html
Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for June 18: Why Country Sites Are So Bad
__________________________________________________________________
Usability Week 2012 conference
* Chicago: June 25-29
* Toronto: July 23-27
* Sydney: August 12-17
* San Francisco: September 23-28
* London: October 14-19
Full event program describing all full-day training courses.
> http://www.nngroup.com/events
Deadline to save $200 on advance registration for Chicago:
* This Friday, June 22
> http://www.nngroup.com/events/chicago/
Deadline to save 10% on early-bird registration for Toronto:
* This Friday, June 22
> http://www.nngroup.com/events/toronto/
__________________________________________________________________
Intranet Design Competition
The annual design competition to identify the world's 10 best intranets
is now open.
Call for Entries: Deadline June 27 (next Wednesday)
> http://www.nngroup.com/reports/intranet/2013
__________________________________________________________________
Outro for YouTube Videos
The introduction is the most important part of a web video, because
users are primed to abandon videos after a few seconds if they seem
useless. People really hate wasting time online.
But the ending is worth a bit of thought as well. The real ending
should obviously consider the recency effect: end videos with the
one point you really want users to remember.
> http://www.nngroup.com/events/tutorials/usability_mind.html
After the real ending, don't just stop the video if you're posting it
to an external service like YouTube. Add a 20-second "outro" with some
links to additional material and your logo with a catchy jingle, to
emphasize that you were the provider of this content. Users will often
close the window during this outro, but at least they will
remember/think a bit more about you and a bit less about YouTube. Also,
you prevent many people from getting the YouTube screen with links to
videos from your competitors.
Of course, if you also host the video on your own site, remove the
outro. It's only for external sites.
Copyright =C2=A9 2012 Nielsen Norman Group, All rights
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<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=f832e66083&e=f405d0f72c" style="text-decoration: none; color:#505050;"> </a>
<blockquote style="background-color: #ffffdd; color: #000000; line-height:130%; padding: 4px; margin: 0;">
<p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 2px;">
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=19032a99d1&e=f405d0f72c" style="text-decoration: none; color:#505050;"><span style="color: #505050;">Summary:</span><br>
When a multinational company produces a localized country site, usability is often lost. Local advertising agencies design good-looking sites that don't communicate. </a></p>
<p style="margin-top: 4px; margin-bottom: 0; font-size:120%; line-height:140%;">
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=6ef627f0d3&e=f405d0f72c" style="text-decoration: none; color:#505050;">Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox for June 18: <span style="text-decoration: underline; color:#0033aa;"> <strong>Why Country Sites Are So Bad</strong></span></a></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<h3>
Usability Week 2012 conference</h3>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=823712a51f&e=f405d0f72c">Chicago</a>: June 25-29</li>
<li>
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=420a3bc202&e=f405d0f72c">Toronto</a>: July 23-27</li>
<li>
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=5a110eee14&e=f405d0f72c">Sydney</a>: August 12-17</li>
<li>
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=010dddbcbc&e=f405d0f72c">San Francisco</a>: September 23-28</li>
<li>
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=6547f024ca&e=f405d0f72c">London</a>: October 14-19</li>
</ul>
<p>
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=807c205689&e=f405d0f72c">Full event program</a> describing all full-day training courses.</p>
<p>
Deadline to save $200 on <a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=275e5c14b9&e=f405d0f72c">advance registration for <strong>Chicago</strong></a>:<br>
* <strong>This Friday</strong>, June 22</p>
<p>
Deadline to save 10% on <a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=653b9d5a4b&e=f405d0f72c">early-bird registration for <strong>Toronto</strong></a>:<br>
* <strong>This Friday</strong>, June 22</p>
<hr>
<h3>
Intranet Design Competition</h3>
<p>
The annual design competition to identify the <strong>world's 10 best intranets</strong> is now open.</p>
<p>
<a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=0fdc5f4d06&e=f405d0f72c">Call for Entries</a>: Deadline June 27 (<strong>next Wednesday</strong>)</p>
<hr>
<h3>
Outro for YouTube Videos</h3>
<p>
The <strong>introduction </strong>is the most important part of a web video, because users are primed to abandon videos after a few seconds if they seem useless. People really hate wasting time online.</p>
<p>
But the <strong>ending </strong>is worth a bit of thought as well. The real ending should obviously consider the <strong>recency effect </strong>(as further discussed in the course on <a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=b7304186d2&e=f405d0f72c">The Human Mind and Usability</a>): end videos with the one point you really want users to remember.</p>
<p>
After the real ending, don't just stop the video if you're posting it to an external service like YouTube. Add a 20-second "outro" with some links to additional material and your logo with a catchy jingle, to emphasize that <em>you </em>were the provider of this content. Users will often close the window during this outro, but at least they will remember/think a bit <strong>more about you </strong>and a bit <strong>less about YouTube</strong>. Also, you prevent many people from getting the YouTube screen with links to videos from your competitors.</p>
<p>
Of course, if you also host the video on your own site, remove the outro. It's only for external sites.</p>
<p>
(The bigger issue of how to deal with your own content when distributed through external sites is a question of <strong>Mega-IA</strong>, as further discussed in the course <a href="http://useit.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=538d934a891681a5d850bb4e5&id=d4068bea21&e=f405d0f72c">Information Architecture 1: Structuring and Organizing Web-Based Information</a>.)</p>
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