robzand.com

messing around. someday i hope i’ll be able to predict and control shots like these. until then, i play. the rest of the photos are here.

Amazon recently released a new beta service, “windowshop”. The service allows users to browse new, popular, and promotional items in a serendipitous fashion. The experience is introduced quite politely, users are encouraged to “lose themselves”, the navigation method is explained, and for attentive readers, a sound warning (this site has sound) is given.

the windowshop product page is warm and inviting

Upon navigating to the first screen, the user is greeted with a large, friendly product image, notable for its stark contrast to the typical amazon product page. calls to action are small, and in their subtle way invite the user to browse rather than shout at them to buy. i love the idea, could see myself spending an idle 5 minutes at the site, and feel it is an effective way to merchandise products to a user not in an intense, research/buying mode. there’s only one problem, amazon won’t quite let me lose myself.

the user sees 8 navigation possibilities

each product view hints at 8 other products one step away from me horizontally or vertically. as a user i expect to be able to navigate to one of these 8 items (and remember you implied this when you told me on the first screen to navigate using my arrow keys - ok, technically i can’t move diagonally). this works well enough if i navigate laterally from the first product in any vertical product category; however, if i navigate deeper into a category and then move laterally, i am not taken to one of the 8 visible products, instead i’m taken to the first item in the category i’ve navigated to. my serendipity is now controlled and an important implied contract with the user has been broken.

you can’t control serendipity

serendipity is just that. a chance outcome encountered while aimlessly meandering. in the real world, if i start walking east on 14th street on the south side of the street and i hit fifth avenue i have 4 possibilities: north, south, east, and west. i have no magical power to transport myself to the north side of sixth and 14th, nor can any invisible hand transport me there. yet, this is exactly what windowshop does. i go north on fifth towards 15th, and suddenly i’m at 14th and sixth on the north side. NOOOOOOO!!! this is impossible. in the real world should 5 firetrucks descend on 14th and sixth while i’m crossing at fifth, if i want to see what’s going on i have to haul ass down 14th. and i might miss it. that’s serendipity.

a virtual experience allows certain liberties from the physical. i might be able to fly, or otherwise transport myself faster than i can in real life, but as a designer if that’s what you want me to believe, you must provide some sort of affordance which enables that behavior. let me control the experience otherwise you risk losing my trust. and when you lose my trust, you also risk losing my business (or whatever thing it was you were trying to coerce me to do).

pulse park, originally uploaded by kateshanley.

kate got the winner tonight. this photo is from rafael lozano-hemmer’s interactive public light sculpture, pulse park at madison square. the show starts at 7pm each night, through november 17. the lights are controlled by individual’s heartbeats.

i’ve been playing with byline for iphone for the last few days. it’s not bad, but not perfect. consequently, i emailed their support team with my comments. the email makes a fairly good commentary, so i’m publishing the text of my message here:

been playing with byline. truly this will be killer if apple ever turns on the background process so that it will stay in sync.

i like byline, but there are a few annoyances.

i have feeds not in folders, how do i access these?

also, sometimes, i want to access specific feeds that ARE within a folder, how can i do that?

eg, read all RWW items within the tech folder?

hiding empty folders (or sorting according to items unread) is highly desirable.

inline browser is greater, as is permanent previous/next arrows at top right.

right now i end up bouncing between byline and google reader to accomplish tasks, which unfortunately increases the syncing burden. so if no wifi around… screwed.

ironically, i set up my folders in part to optimize google reader on iphone. i don’t want to do it again.
apps should adjust to me not vice-versa.

rob zand and kate shanley were married september 20, 2008, on the brooklyn bridge.

complete flickr photo set

kate and i were married on september 20, 2008, a perfect fall day in new york. it seems from day one we agreed on two things: the location would be the brooklyn bridge and our best friends would play an important role. marc conte, my friend since 7th grade pre-algebra performed the ceremony and kate’s best friend tom cardamone was the ring-bearer and maid of honor. surrounded by family, friends, and hundreds of onlookers we exchanged vows - an amazing experience.

the ascent to and descent from the bridge were also incredible. car horns and congratulations followed us all the way.

to all those who attended and/or wished us well over the past month, we thank you.

the photographs which appear here were taken by evan sung, who by the way, doesn’t do weddings but made an exception for us. thanks evan.

we got our photos today. quickly i grabbed a few to post. more to come. many thanks evan.

see the set at flickr.

rob zand and kate shanley were married september 20, 2008, on the brooklyn bridge.

bridges, originally uploaded by robzand.

another photo from our walk last week

lower manhattan III, originally uploaded by robzand.

we spent the afternoon in williamsburg and walked back to manhattan across the williamsburg bridge just in time to catch sundown. the view made dodging bikes worthwhile.