Stories Worth Pondering on a Sunny Memorial Day

Today was a holiday here in the US. A friend in New York City and I commiserated over email about the fact that we were both inside plugging away - he in New York City and I here in San Diego. In both places the weather was about as perfect as one could ask. Well, my Boogie Board will come out another day and his...I'm not sure what the NYC equivalent of a Boogie Board is.

In today's virtual travels, which included a meeting with someone in Canada (he also was stuck indoors because it isn't a holiday in Canada), there was opportunity for roaming. In case you too were inside today (or even if not) I share some fun and thought provoking stories I stumbled upon.

First of all, in case you haven't heard enough about Facebook, the hot off the press rumor is that they are developing a smart phone. What a coincidence - just recently I pondered about the relationship between people's politics and their phones. What ilk of voter do you think would flock to a Facebook phone?

Next, in case you thought you had a breather from hearing about Apple Computer, somewhat less hot news, but noteworthy for its implications nonetheless, is that the company is going political. Steve Jobs might be rolling over in his grave, but Tim Cook headed for Congress recently. One can only wonder what Cook and John Boehner spoke about. Does Beohner use an iPhone? I haven't written much about politics in this blog, but that may change if things stay this interesting.

Apropos of today's indoor activities, I must ask: do you have "mouse finger"? That annoying pain in the middle joint of the right index finger experienced by heavy computer users (like moi). It comes from hitting the left mouse button all day long. Here is a nifty video about a new motion controlled technology that may eventually give us all happy fingers.

Now this financial technology idea has huge potential for someone with the right combination of skills. Harness supercomputers to monitor the stock market and trades in real time, in such as way as to provide opportunities to prevent financial crash and burn. With which we are all too familiar. What a great idea. I hope someone gets right on this.

Finally, a Memorial Day story. A cool technology (that is a pun, trust me) that will be very good for helping military personnel. I am at odds with myself to decide if civilian populations ought to be allowed to get their hands on this - or rather in this. These. In These. Special texting gloves. Unless you are a firefighter (do firefighters text?)

I hope you all had a great day, whether you were indoors or outdoors.

Lacking an Understanding of Psychology Can Doom Your Efforts

Mobile devices are inherently interdisciplinary and one would hope that the design and development of them would include a solid understanding of psychology by their creators. But it may not always be so. A few days ago I was in a car with a friend, trying to use her Android to obtain GPS coordinates to a place we wanted to go up in the mountains. If you read my earlier post that included a venture to a Verizon store, you recall that I had a fairly dismal experience trying to investigate the Android. So this was my first experience trying to use an Android in a live situation under some mild pressure (we needed to figure out where we were going before we reached the limits of cell and satellite coverage). I had a heck of a time trying to figure out the UI (User Interface) on the device. All these cool apps covering a wide range of useful tasks and I finally put down the phone in frustration and we headed up the canyon using old fashioned biological GPS (Guidance via Perceptual Sense-making)

My user experience with the Android was terrible. I wondered how the designers and developers had conducted their user research prior to developing the interface. Case in Point: The little magnifying glass on the Android does not Zoom in and out. With a magnifying glass right there in front of you, and used for zooming on other applications, who would intuitively think to do that funny expanded swooping maneuver with your fingers? Who came up with that idea? I'd be willing to bet it wasn't the potential users (someone please, correct me if you have evidence otherwise, as I'd love to hear about the origin of that particular feature of smart phones). Did the product team conduct live interviews and focus groups for example? If so, how did they pose their questions and / or perform their observations?

You have to apply some psychology to the process if you want to produce effective products. Understanding the psychology of human interaction dynamics is important when conducting any type of user, client or student interview, observation or research. It is all too easy to unintentionally lead the conversation or activities and thus bias the information you are gathering. At that point you see what you want to see, and it filters into your end product.

If you want to collect data that is as free as possible from your own perspectives, you have to be on the ball. This applies to usability work, and broader user experience investigations as well.

• Human interaction dynamics will lead someone to want to agree with their conversational partner if they feel that person is of higher status or in a position of power in some way. This can happen on a subconscious level. You the interviewer or observer have to be alert to not letting on what your hopes are for what you see and hear or what your opinion is of what you see or hear. You say "What was hard about that?" and the other person will look for hard items even if they didn't experience any. Contrast that question with "How easy or difficult was that"? The latter provides no clue as to where you might stand on the ease or difficulty of an experience.
• You want to appear non threatening and personable in an interview without falling into the "friend trap" of holding a conversation where you will naturally dominate the conversation because the other people view you as the dominant party. Ask their opinions and for expanded explanations and avoid sharing your own - smoothly. If asked your opinion, here is a Bad Way to do respond: "I don't want to share my opinion on the ease of use of XYZ. My opinion isn't relevant here". True, but a real put off and conversation stopper. Worse Way to Respond: "I find it easy to use." Now the user feels stupid or perhaps condescended to and is likely to change their responses to not look stupid, or change their responses by simply giving up on sharing with you on that topic. Better Way to respond and redirect: "I am still forming opinions on that subject. Could you tell me more about what you think (feel) about XYZ?" This approach is accurate (you are forming opinions as you gather data) and redirects the conversation back to them and their experience.

You can try out your use of psychology in a computing context: pick a device or system you own, give it to someone else to use and see how much information you can obtain from them without dominating the conversation or guiding their answers them with your opinions. The person doesn't have to be brand new to using the device or system. although that can make your job easier.

A New Spin on "Should I get a smart phone?"

An article in yesterday's New York Times (link below) discussed advances in artificial intelligence, the future of AI and what it means to be human. As a computer scientist, many of the questions and topics posed were the same ones we have discussed for decades such as:

What are the possibilities and implications of using AI to augment human capability (i.e. help humans do better at what we already do well, or could do well) vs using AI to replace humans? The former has always been a goal with positive implications for most people and the latter has always been a goal that provokes uneasy, mixed reactions. That duality has not changed, although the article makes the point that the lines are blurring between the two.

An interesting example is the pervasive use of smart phones. No argument: they augment human capabilities: find information faster, sooner, in more detail, add to it, pass it on, discuss it, disseminate. Provoke thought, enlightening discussion, be "on" whenever we want.

I don't have a smart phone and people sometimes say to me: "Lisa, you of all people? No smart phone?". It isn't that I don't want one. My gadget nerd side wants one - bad. On the other hand, there is the issue of the blurring line between my human self and, dare I call it, my technology self. Something there says: maybe not a good idea?

I am already mainlined into my computer almost 24/7 and I when I think about the withdrawal symptoms that occur when I am off for very long...hmmm. Is my computer a part of my bloodstream and nervous system? When did that happen anyway? If we agree that yes, my computer is an extension of me, what happens if I get a smart phone and it never leaves my pocket. I have friends (you know who you are :) who post from their smart phones wherever they are (the library, the donut shop, the laundromat, 15 feet away from the parking lot) and I wonder what would happen if they were forced to stop? Could they do it without becoming as grouchy as a caffeine addict (of which I am one) who misses their morning coffee? Not a pretty sight.

The very last line in the NYT article is a quote that really bothered me: “The essence of being human involves asking questions, not answering them,” he [John Seely Brown] said.


Say what???????? Evolution would argue otherwise. Besides which, life would be SO BORING if I didn't spend time seeking answers to the endless barrage of questions my mind comes up with. 

So...as we become more and more connected, and the lines blur between augmentation of human abilities and the replacement of human requirements to actually do things for ourselves ("hey, if I can have the computer take care of it, why should I do it?" goes the refrain) do I want a smart phone really?

Yes.
No.
Yes.
NO.
YES.
NES, YO.

This is why I have not bought one yet. I need to work this out - am I enhancing myself in a beneficial way or am I creating a part of myself that will supplant myself while I'm obliviously typing away?

I want to be the one answering the question. I don't want a computer to answer it for me. Much as I love them.


NYT Article that inspired this post (and discusses many topics that have nothing to do with what I discussed here): http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/science/15essay.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha26