Idea: Collect images around the web using a bookmarklet or extension. Scrapbooks. For inspiration, research, sharing. 1) Click bookmarklet. 2) Select images.
Does this exist already?
OpenIDEO Evaluation Phase: Register While You Wait
My marrow donor registration idea was short listed for the evaluation phase at OpenIDEO. The community asked great questions about the concept and I wanted to address their thoughts in an update. The original user journey was a blast to explore (waiting for fast food) but I wanted to replace it with something more sensible (waiting for a doctor’s appointment).
http://openideo.com/open/how-might-we-increase-the-number-of-bone-marrow-donors-to-help-save-more-lives/concepting/register-while-you-wait/
Chris F. posted two great inspirations about ways boostrapping could play a role in increasing the number of registered bone marrow donors. What are some prime times to ask people to learn more or register?
Inspiration 1: http://j.mp/gI7JE7
Inspiration 2: http://j.mp/gguOGM
Remember the last time you waited for a service. Maybe you were waiting for prepared food, or for a doctor or hairstyling appointment. Were you bored, anxious, wanting to do something valuable with that time?
Let’s give people a way to make the most of waiting: as time to learn about the bone marrow donation process: who they’d help, why it’s urgent, and how it works. And if they’d like, a sample kit to register then and there — or later is just as cool. Retail or transaction counters would be any-time drop-off points.
What might a high-level user journey look like? This explores one possible setting: waiting for a doctor’s appointment.
1) CHECKING IN: CALL TO ACTION
As Jane checks in for her doctor’s appointment, she’s asked: “Mary is fighting cancer and needs a marrow donation to recover. Would you consider being tested to see if you’re a match? We would just need to swab your cheek while you wait for your appointment.”
Jane wants to help but has some reservations. She replies “What’s involved?”. She’s given a page of information to read over while she waits for her appointment.
2) CONSIDER WHILE YOU WAIT
The page profiles Mary: her life, experience with cancer, and how someone like Jane could help her — or others like her — recover by simply registering.
The marrow donation process is outlined at a high level and its myths are cleared up.
3) SWAB AND REGISTER
Jane swabs her cheek with an attached Q-Tip… perhaps a lollipop / Q-Tip combo ala the Sweeten The Deal concept? After all, everyone hopes for a lollipop when they visit the doctor… :)
http://openideo.com/open/how-might-we-increase-the-number-of-bone-marrow-donors-to-help-save-more-lives/concepting/sweeten-the-deal-the-swab-becomes-a-lollipop/
Jane hands off her sample when she’s called for her appointment. That’s it!
—
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WAITING LINES
While I was researching this update I stumbled onto an an awesome Don Norman paper… It’s called “The Psychology of Waiting Lines” and it’s free:
http://j.mp/enm0Dj (Google Docs)
He explores eight design principles for creating a waiting experience that reduce uncertainty and enhance positive emotions. Two of the principles might be most useful for us:
The Wait Must Be Appropriate
In the original user journey, I explored using waiting time in a fast food service setting. While I had a blast playing with this idea, it likely isn’t the most appropriate time for an ask - fast food is all about instant gratification. Considering registration requires a bit more time and a different perspective for empathy, learning, and reflection.
Keep People Occupied
Don writes “Parks operated by Disney are famous for how they handle lines, curving them around so that they are visually short.”
Similarly, engaging people with inspirational stories about bone marrow patients — and how they can easily help — will make waiting times seem much faster.
That’s one big win for any organization that participates. Some other wins are:
- People prefer to support and advocate for businesses that support social causes.
- Supporting social causes increases employee morale.
What I’ve Learned From To-Do Lists
A few weeks ago I tweeted some love for the to-do app Strike. The creators at Zurb, an interactive agency in San Francisco, got in touch and asked if I’d write up my thoughts for their product blog. A huge chunk of my life is made possible by to-do lists so I jumped at the chance to explore this one. Below is the full manifesto-length post I wrote for them, their edited version is here: http://www.zurb.com/zurbapps/article/599/ad-agencys-designer-raves-about-strike
What I’ve Learned from To-Do Lists
What do you do?
I’m an Experience Designer at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which is an ad agency in Boulder, Colorado. My role is a dash of information architecture, a scoop of interaction design, topped with design strategy and research. The documents my team and I make get people talking about considerate ways to shape the user’s path in future products.
How do you manage and prioritize your tasks?
My to-do lists come across like a bossy parent: “Do laundry!”, “Go food shopping”, “Start taxes” (a to-do list in itself!). Listing what and when to do things — and giving those things order — is how I balance all my responsibilities, chores, and aspirations. To-do lists free my attention to focus on the moment. They help me clear the path ahead and ensure all my other bases are covered. Past-Me may sound like a bossy parent, but really, he just wants the best for Future-Me.
So what’s the deal with making lists? Why are they so magical and revolutionary? I think it comes down to three things:
Reminders
“Gurhkas”. This word — the name of an Indian restaurant near where I work — is scheduled to pop up in my to-do list next month. The place came up over drinks with co-workers in early February. As in “Yeah, let’s go sometime!” Anyone familiar with “we should do ___ sometime” knows these statements, while genuine and well-meaning, are pretty much destined to be forgotten (especially after a few drinks). Enter my mobile to-do list app (Things), which I launched to record this idea. Then I kicked the “due” date about a month in the future. To-do systems enable a super-human, infallible memory. So long as I keep checking my list. =)
Clarity
Building a design strategy preso was a new challenge. Most of the time, my client-facing thinking takes the form of docs like user flows and wireframes, but this was a chance to help define the vision of a pretty complex feature from the ground up. Feeling a little stuck in my tracks (a great place to be with an open mind, because it signals there’s learning up ahead) I made an exhaustive list of all the ideas I could think of. After much editing and reordering, an outline emerged, and I was on my way. Shaping the path is messy work. Lists are a means of cleaning house.
Direction
“Research guitar lessons” speaks to me from the bottom of my master to-do list. It’s been there since last November. Important enough for daily reminders — but I don’t have the time or energy to act on it. Lists have a beautiful structure: stacked objects in a single column. Actions come one after the other, never to the side, which demands the author take a stand and rank the priority of each item. As long as “Research guitar lessons” stays at the bottom, I know other things come first. Knowing what’s next keeps the momentum going.
The main software I use for all my to-dos is Things for iOS and Mac. The app corrals to-dos into a few helpful buckets:
Inbox: Freshly captured, not categorized yet.
Today: A to-do that’s due today, or in the past.
Next: The “Master” list. To-dos with or without a due date.
Scheduled: Any to-do (or repeating item) kicked down the road to a later date.
Someday: To-dos without a due date or scheduled due date.
Projects: A folder with one or many to-dos.
Areas of Responsibility: An area of responsibility has one or many projects, or free floating to-dos.
The bulk of this mental model comes from David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” — a must-read for any productivity geek. Though I’m probably preaching to the choir. =)
How does Strike help you?
Strike is a to-do reboot. It strips away the categorization and scheduling features of conventional apps and approaches list-making with a new set of values. There’s a lot of vicarious projection in list making: “Whoa, Future-Me is about to do some impressive stuff!” And the folks at Zurb designed an interface that brings the message of each to-do item front and center, clearing the mind to envision all kinds of future accomplishments.
I like how the update and delete functions are given gestures instead of buttons, or text links that compete for your attention. Since even the blinking text cursor in Word distracts me, I really appreciate tools that hide as much under the hood as possible. And Strike’s great interactive walkthrough takes care of discoverability issues.
Themes are a neat addition that let me set the mood to my taste. The first crop has some good ideas in the mix (soothing sky, textured wood, favorite colors) and it’ll be neat to see other possibilities.
Adding a social layer via shared lists might be the feature with greatest ripple effect. Collaborating on to-dos with other people adds a totally new perspective. It affects each of those “magical” properties of to-do lists I mentioned earlier.
Reminders —> Reputation
Putting to-dos in front of people is a sure fire route to kudos points. Wouldn’t you think better of me if you knew “build stone pizza oven” is the top item on my list? (it’s not, but someday!)
Clarity —> Conversation
The ability to easily share to-do lists and collaborate is a great conversation starter. Working in a team, it’s a way to catch missing, incomplete, or controversial / unsettled items early on.
Direction —> Status
Shared to-do lists provide a look into how things are progressing in a group. It’s cool to see what other people have done — and vice versa — without needing to interrupt them and check in.
Strike a lot going for it, but of course there’s room for improvement. If I want to access my lists again, I have to remember to bookmark my lists or hunt through my browser history. Keeping a record of my lists is a task the app should take care of. And I’m puzzled by the pillbox used to change completion styles. (just a toggle would do the trick imho).
Overall, I think Strike is the most exciting to-do app to come out in a long time. I’m looking forward to using it for quick to-do lists, and for shared lists with coworkers and friends.
Thanks for reading my two cents on to-dos. I hope you’ll say hey on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jonathangcohen
OpenIDEO Concept (Bone Marrow Donors) - Register While You Wait
This is a concept I added to the OpenIDEO challenge about increasing the number of bone marrow donors. It’s “Register While You Wait” - http://bit.ly/eaJjiz
Description: Leveraging retail and other transaction spaces for bone marrow donor education, motivation, and registration.
Chris F. posted two great inspirations about ways boostrapping could play a role in increasing the number of registered bone marrow donors. What are some prime times to ask people to learn more or register?
Inspiration 1: http://j.mp/gI7JE7
Inspiration 2: http://j.mp/gguOGM
Remember the last time you waited for a service. Maybe you were waiting for prepared food, or for a doctor or hairstyling appointment. Were you bored, anxious, wanting to do something valuable with that time?
Let’s give people a way to make the most of waiting: as time to learn about the bone marrow donation process: who they’d help, why it’s urgent, and how it works. And if they’d like, a sample kit to register then and there — or later is just as cool. Retail or transaction counters would be any-time drop-off points.
What might a high-level user journey look like? (the image I posted explores this in a quick-and-dirty whiteboard sketch)
1) AWARENESS
At Burger World, Jim ponders his order while waiting in line. Also posted on the menu: “Bone Marrow Information Kit - Free” He’s intrigued… what’s that all about?
2) CALL TO ACTION
Mark takes Jim’s order. After the transaction is complete, he asks Jim if he’d like to read over a Bone Marrow Information Kit while he waits for his Mega Burger. Jim’s had enough of Angry Birds and takes him up on the offer.
3) SWAB WHILE YOU WAIT
The one-page information kit first appeals to Jim’s heart: a story about a person in need of bone marrow. Next, information about how donation works allays Jim’s fears about the process. Last, an envelope with a sample kit is attached to the bottom of the page. Jim swabs his cheek and writes in his contact information while he waits.
4) SAMPLE HAND-OFF
Mark calls Jim’s order. Mark gives a burger to Jim, and Jim gives a sealed sample kit to Mark. Mark adds Jim’s envelope to Burger World’s pile of outgoing mail.
5) THANK YOU (not sketched)
A few days later, Jim receives an email from the Bone Marrow Registry. His sample was received and he’s been added to the list of potential donors.
—
How does this feel to everyone? It feels promising for promoting awareness and education, as well as making registration as easy as possible. But I suspect people might feel rushed (would need to emphasize they could drop-off the kit later) and all these kits could be expensive…
Would love to hear your thoughts on this! Thanks for reading.
Which barrier(s) does your concept address?
Which step(s) of the journey does your concept apply to?
more rss make better thoughts
rss problems that reeder doesn’t already solve—
following sources (each site handles in different way). reader could list 99% most popular sources in app store discovery format and manual add for the long-tail.
track which rss posts are “marked” as read and which are “actually” read. could experiment with actually read posts:
-automatically distribute a list of actually read posts to social networks
-smart recos
scanning flat lists for something interesting
- what are your friends reading right now?
- aggregating similar stories across multiple followed sources (ala techmeme)
-shouldn’t be about parsing the long-tail. should be about always having something interesting to read.
—or—
you “like” different sources. not about the effort of scanning through exhaustive lists. jsust a curated selection of things to read based on what you like. can give manual weight to sources to alter the feed. if the list is never ending, it can’t be about the chore of marking as read.
accountabilibuddy
you’re matched with another person that has similar goal as you. you must submit progress reports or else something bad happens. basically stickk.com with way more peer pressure.
or you apply for consideration into membership with your action plan. plan reviewed and approved or denied. each time you apply you pay fee until it is specific enough. or it is community reviewed.
DiFara’s sounds, smells, sights
Visited DiFara’s over the winter break and jotted down some raw observations. Was interested in capturing some of the magic of this place.
SOUNDS
In a cast-iron tray of Sicilian pizza hot out the oven, cheese sizzles against the sides of the pan. The cheese is golden brown and bubbling up. (Everyone beams at the pizza and smiles at each other)
Joe snips leaves from a floppy bushel of basil directly over finished pies. The scissor cuts reverberate with a few pointed clips at a time. (This step directly precedes the pizza hand-off)
Conversation between patrons is at a low whisper. Going off Brooklyn norms of noise, courtesy, patience - this place is in another universe. People are packed shoulder to shoulder, waiting 45 minutes for pizza, and nobody minds. (A big machismo guy walked in, asked the wait time for 3 pies. 3 hours. He politely wished everyone happy holidays and walked out.)
A tinny radio plays z100 (NY’s pop music station). The volume isn’t oppressive, the song is Vampire Weekend’s “Holiday”.
A refrigerator stocked with soda gives off a loud, rolling hum. When it quiets down, you hear people crunching into blackened crust.
SMELLS
Lightly charred dough grabs your senses when you walk in. This aroma persists for the whole visit.
Occasional blasts of roasted garlic, fresh basil, burnt cheese.
SIGHTS
Fluorescent light shoots through smoky air.
Their aprons are blanketed in flour. Otherwise, they dress casually.
No LCD, CRT, or any other kind of digital screens.
Joe and family occasionally step on top of an empty crate of tomatoes to keep watch over the pies in the highest oven.
Joe’s daughter scribbles orders onto a yellow lined note pad - crosses out orders as they’re finished.
Wall color is hideous, Ninja Turtle green.
All pizza prep takes place in the same room as eating and ordering. A low counter that separates patrons from the work allows everyone to watch the process.
Joe’s son makes frequent trips to grind small batches of cheese. He catches the shredded cheese in a shiny bin, which looks to hold enough cheese for a single pie.
Only utensils for eating are plastic.
Cheese swirls around a steaming pizza hot out the oven as it lands in a pizza box.
A box of plastic straws rests on top of a 2011 Zagat award plaque.
Tagline on the DiFara’s t-shirt: “Worth the wait.”
to-do strip
problem- keep current task in focus at all times execution- horizontal strip occupying 10% vertical height at the bottom of the screen. displays text in large font size. maximizing another window won’t overlap the strip nor will the stip float over the window. for example, a 1000 pixel height screen with the to-do strip active. the to-do strip occupies y coordinates 900 through 1000. maximizing chrome would enlarge its window to occupy y coordinates 0-900.
some rambling thoughts on kindle design
Hardware
Page turning buttons are in an awkward position for most one-handed grip styles. Wonder about placing another instance of these buttons near the bottom inset edge of the eink display. Or an instance on the device’s back. Or an accelerometer gesture.
How much weight do the audio speakers add? How often is this feature used? How much weight / size would be lost if the speaker hardware got the axe?
Amazon kindle logo on front distracts from content. I’d rather have it removed.
Device might benefit from a slightly concave back. The flat back slides out of the hand, especially in one-handed grip.
LED lighting around the perimeter inset edge of the display? Sony tried this and wonder if prototypes of this are being refined in the Amazon test kitchen.
Software
Javascript for Displaying an External RSS Feed on a Webpage
I wrote some code that’ll grab attributes from an RSS feed and assigns IDs for displaying on a webpage. The code references my Tumblr blog but it’ll extend to any RSS feed.
/*Javascript for Displaying an External RSS Feed on a Webpage
Wrote some code that’ll grab attributes from an rss feed and assign IDs for displaying on a webpage. The code references my Tumblr blog but it’ll extend to any RSS feed.*/
window.onload = writeRSS;
function writeRSS(){
writeBlog();
}
function writeBlog(){
if (window.XMLHttpRequest)
{// code for IE7+, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari
xmlhttp=new XMLHttpRequest();
}
else
{// code for IE6, IE5
xmlhttp=new ActiveXObject(“Microsoft.XMLHTTP”);
}
xmlhttp.open(“GET”,”http://blog.jonathangcohen.com/rss.xml”,false);
xmlhttp.send();
xmlDoc=xmlhttp.responseXML;
var x=xmlDoc.getElementsByTagName(“item”);
//append category to link
for (i=0;i<3;i++)
{
if (i == 0){
//print category
var blogTumblrCategory = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“category”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
document.getElementById(“getBlogCategory1”).innerHTML =
‘<a class=”BlogTitleLinkStyle” href=”http://blog.jonathangcohen.com/tagged/’+blogTumblrCategory+’”>’+blogTumblrCategory+’</a>’;
//print date
var k = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“pubDate”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
thisDate = new Date();
thisDate = formatTumblrDate(k);
document.getElementById(“getBlogPublishDate1”).innerHTML = thisDate;
//print title
var blogTumblrTitle = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“title”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
var blogTumblrLink = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“link”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
document.getElementById(“getBlogTitle1”).innerHTML =
’<a class=”BlogTitleLinkStyle” href=”’+blogTumblrLink+’”>’+blogTumblrTitle+’</a>’;
}
if (i == 1){
//print category
var blogTumblrCategory = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“category”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
document.getElementById(“getBlogCategory2”).innerHTML =
‘<a class=”BlogTitleLinkStyle” href=”http://blog.jonathangcohen.com/tagged/’+blogTumblrCategory+’”>’+blogTumblrCategory+’</a>’;
//print date
var k = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“pubDate”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
thisDate = new Date();
thisDate = formatTumblrDate(k);
document.getElementById(“getBlogPublishDate2”).innerHTML = thisDate;
//print title
var blogTumblrTitle = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“title”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
var blogTumblrLink = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“link”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
document.getElementById(“getBlogTitle2”).innerHTML =
‘<a class=”BlogTitleLinkStyle” href=”’+blogTumblrLink+’”>’+blogTumblrTitle+’</a>’;
}
if (i == 2){
//print category
var blogTumblrCategory = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“category”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
document.getElementById(“getBlogCategory3”).innerHTML =
‘<a class=”BlogTitleLinkStyle” href=”http://blog.jonathangcohen.com/tagged/’+blogTumblrCategory+’”>’+blogTumblrCategory+’</a>’;
//print date
var k = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“pubDate”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
thisDate = new Date();
thisDate = formatTumblrDate(k);
document.getElementById(“getBlogPublishDate3”).innerHTML = thisDate;
//print title
var blogTumblrTitle = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“title”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
var blogTumblrLink = x[i].getElementsByTagName(“link”)[0].childNodes[0].nodeValue
document.getElementById(“getBlogTitle3”).innerHTML =
‘<a class=”BlogTitleLinkStyle” href=”’+blogTumblrLink+’”>’+blogTumblrTitle+’</a>’;
}
}
}
function formatTumblrDate(k){
d = new Date(k);
var curr_date = d.getDate();
var curr_month = d.getMonth();
curr_month++;
var curr_year = d.getFullYear();
printDate = (curr_month + “/” + curr_date + “/” + curr_year);
return printDate;
}
(Source: <script src='http)
games that build skills
mission statement? useful skills extend outside of game as result of playing. like if you beat mario it’s like yay, but then what? but if you win/lose stock market game, youve learned something useful. competition side effects.
