Why lists can suck – Internet Trends Philosophy

Are we a culture that looks just for the headline?

The internet is awesome obviously. The abundance of information in such an accessible form is transforming our world and our ability to interact with one another.

But, we’re now left with an ongoing challenge in filtering that information. Most of the Social Networking websites, like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are giving the humans a way of filtering and being more in control of the way that we take in information. This is good.The brain can only take so much data and it goes into overwhelm. Some people’s threshold is obviously set higher but we either learn ways of organizing and prioritizing the data stream or we give up and/or go nuts! (wanna be geeks like me should know  )

So when someone publishes a list of “30 Plugins for Twitter on WordPress”, and I get no recommendation or advice on the application of the plugins I am left to have to do all that work myself. I am grateful for the list don’t get me wrong, but it also means more work.

That’s one reason why software does so well. It repackages the interface so as to give us more control and a different way to create as well as interact with information. Firefox is not just a browser. It’s a way to make things happen on the web that is distinctive. The add-ons give you more control over your experience.

I see the growing demand for 2 things:

1. Trusted Sources

We need to have trust in the source of the information.

Brands like BMW and Rolling Stone magazine obviously have an established trust for their customer base in being able to deliver a reliable experience and proven track record.

Media on the other hand started with radio then TV, Cable and now the internet has spawned a massive industry of both companies, entrepreneurs and web-geeks. Now anyone can publish at the very least their own blog and at the most, a fully fledged empire and/or following.

Trust suddenly becomes a BIG issue in this environment.

So what do we look for to get a sense of trust online ?

• Consistency and Simplicity – We feel more comfortable if we are doing the moving and choosing. Flashy ads and pop-ups are jarring and add to the manic nature of the web. Strong headings, open space and consistent elements such as header and sidebars are important anchors that keep your visitors comfortable.
• Faces and Videos – If we can see you we can assess you quickly. Having a good professional photo of yourself is a must and a video is even better.
• Branding and Credibility – The repeated associations created by how an individual or company is represented both on their front and in the public eye. As consumers we evaluate everything very quickly and try to decide whether it is useful to us or not. Quality content is key here. It is easier to sell anything, especially ideas, when something is presented cleanly and concisely.

2. Control Over Our Experience

In an information saturated market, we crave control.

The rise of the iPhone has shown us that you can have both control and creativity in a hand held device. The iPhone apps give you the ability to choose and customize your experience to suit your habits and needs.

Twitter is a great example of this. Limiting the characters to 140 means that it can all fit into a single mobile phone text message, thereby aggregating someones activities in a more convenient way.

What do we need to be in control of the technology?

• Interface – The hardware and software we use to communicate with the world and our friends, needs to be familiar, clean, and visually accurate. A sensible, logical merging of human intention and physical devices and/or software is important. Again the iPhone would have to be a great example of this.
• Training – The best interface in the world still requires a learning process. If you take the time to learn something thoroughly it will pay off in productivity and responsiveness. Here we also look for people we can trust to simplify the process. e.g. Video Training sites have gone crazy recently.
• Accessibility -  As we travel and things change we seek a consistent way to stay in touch and/or maintain our business. Technology needs to adapt to suit this change, or be functional in different environments.
• Systems Organization – The more time we take to think and prepare ourselves for activity the more effective and unstressed we can afford to be. The important distinction is that we should be efficient with things and effective with people. Never confuse the two.
• Scanning – We are always brushing over headlines and images asking ourselves. “Does this solve my problem or make what I am doing easier?” We are all basically self-serving and tuned into a radio station called, WIIFM. What’s In It For Me.

In Summary:

We’re all riding the wave of information just by being online at all. Most people are overwhelmed by the sheer tsunami of data that can easily confuse and even offend at times.

Some people however, take it upon themselves to filter it in a special way that makes us go, “Aha! This is for me.”

Great Example: http://www.squidoo.com

Created by the great Seth Godin, Squidoo focuses peoples attention with the idea of Lenses covering one particular topic to a page, thereby focusing your attention and increasing user control.

So when you are out there communicating with the world, whether on your mobile or writing your next blog article, remember to filter out the useless and extraneous so that we can get the real stuff and decide if we want to proceed from there.

Whether we stick around and become friends or just wander away, never to be seen again, we’ll appreciate the effort you made to make it easy to decide.

Happy Web Travels!