This is just a short 15 minute podcast on User Experience for Start-ups I was invited to make with Bronwen for Pollenizer a few weeks ago. I'm slowly typing up the transcript and will upload that as soon as I'm done.
Listen to the Podcast
It's quite a high level discussion aimed at start-up folk or anyone thinking about getting into the start-up space. For more detailed info, have a look at my slide deck: Lean Usability for Startups... Or get in touch for a chat :)
SenCity is a once-in-a-lifetime international event that is finally premiering in Australia.
The event goes beyond music with all senses being stimulated including: expressive dancers, a SenseFloor, Taste sensations, Video projections, light effects, sign interpreters and hairdressers the music event transforms in a overall experience.
The event is primarily targeted at a Deaf and hard of hearing audience, but of course is also open to the hearing community to open up wider social networks for the deaf. Although many deaf can't hear the melody of music they can feel the emotion of it through their other senses – touch (vibration), sight, smell and taste.
Through the use of special techniques such as “Vibrating dance floor”, we can let deaf people feel the music the way others hear it. Therefore vibrating sensors are installed under the dance platforms and plugged into the amplifiers so that the entire dance floor responds to the frequency of the music.
The lyrics are interpreted into sign language by so called “Sign-Singers”.
“Visual-Jockey”and "Food Jockey" provide more positive sense impressions.
Furthermore the nose of the party guest will be stimulated. The fragrance compositions of the “Aroma-Jockey” evoke similar emotions as the music does.
Additionally in the Sense Chill Zone, side performances are provided, e.g. Hair dressers, Make-up artists and massages. - SenCity Sydney
SenCity
27th August 2010
Home Nighclub
Darling Harbour
You can support the event through FundBreak.
Further Reading
Twitter powered captioning for Live streaming video
The concept of combining video and twitter feeds for recorded events was first proposed Tom Smith in February 2009[1] after experiencing Graham Linehan's BadMovieClub[2] in which at 9pm exactly on the 13th February 2009, over 2,000 Twitter users simultaneously pressed 'Play' on the film 'The Happening' and continued to 'tweet' whilst watching, creating a collective viewing experience. - Twitter Subtitling, Wikipedia
First Thoughts on iPad Potential for People with Intellectual Disabilities
An iPad, with a simple-to use interface similar to those presented by augmentative communication apps, would be a lot less expensive than single purpose AC devices or multi-function computers. - John Rochford at Clear Helper
Quote of the week
By
Shane Morris. He has such a funny dry sense of humour sometimes:
Q:
You’ve been involved in the industry for quite some time, and seen it mature. Where do you see it going from here?
A: "I think of it this way: once we were in the business of telling people their baby is ugly. Then we progressed to advising people how to make their babies more attractive. Nowadays I help companies work out what sort of baby they want, or whether they’d actually prefer an Xbox." -
UX Design: What it is, What it Takes, and Where it’s Going
And this just made me laugh...
Do websites need to be experienced exactly the same in every browser?
After some tweaks and updates I've finally uploaded my most recent presentation on Lean Usability for Startups. The presentation was originally given at the
WebDu Conference in Sydney a few months ago.
The presentation includes:
- definitions
- low cost techniques all startups should consider using
-
low cost and free tools available on line
- tips on conducting user research
- tips for reducing costs
This is by no means an exhaustive list, and I plan to follow up with more techniques and tools over the coming months.
The presentation concludes with 12 Lean Usability Principles, including:
- Remember the Minimum Viable Product process (focus)
- Embrace failure/ design iteratively
- Talk with people that accurately fit your user profiles
- Talk with your target audience as early & as often as possible
- Be creative with incentives
Of course, this is just a slide deck without the presentation audio track... Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments you may have
Some discussion questions...
- What lean user research techniques have you used in your startup?
- What are some of the difficulties you've faced in conducting any sort of user research for your startup?
- Have you come up with any good incentive ideas to encourage people to engage and provide feedback?
- What other lean usability principles do you apply to your startup or other low budget projects?
