DISQUS

Man, I need to proofread ahead of time before sending out comments while doped out on anti-biotics. In any case, we are excited for Ali2 and thanks for the well wishes Nils.

This is almost exactly sums up how we feel about things. We always thought that social networks should be social and we definitely make sure our social content network is both social and has great content.

As for the barmaid, we'll make sure she pours you a little extra next time. And the landlord is renovating your room, you get better digs soons.

In all honesty I remember the day you told me you were going to use WordPress to power 9rules. I choked on whatever I was eating and thought you were insane.

It worked.

Then Notes was going to be powered by bbPress and then I knew you just like everything involving WordPress and again you were crazy. I choked on whatever I was eating.

It worked.

Now we have an infrastructure that is quite easy to work with and as you can see we built upon it and it could've been a lot harder, but the foundation that you helped laid down made it much easier for idiots like me to work with.

Rubin still kicks puppies.

Maris, I'm really glad you wrote this entry for two reasons:

1) It makes me extremely happy to see you are pleased with the direction we took with the new 9rules.

2) I don't know if I would have come across such a kickass design for a blog.

I'll definitely keep an eye on this blog to see where it's going.

Oh shit man, your template is broken because this must be a brand new entry. I mean at SXSW you were talking about getting back into the groove so I know this couldn't be your only post-SXSW entry. Not someone with your integrity.

Step it up fool. Pretty designs only go so far with the chicks.

Nah, that's alright. You are so busy with blog consulting and stuff it would be foolish of me to think you have hours to waste. Thanks for the conversation again though. Brings back memories.

Duncan, sorry for carrying this off-topic.

Oh and as for the adult network, there is one around, but it doesn't get the "attention" this area of the community usually gives it. Go figure.

Hmm, for once I thought I was just being nice and was asking a question I was genuinely curious about.

My bad.

*pats chest

I couldn’t give a rats arse if you don’t like (who ever you are) what I write here at duncanriley.com. As I’ve written in the past, I couldn’t care less about the traffic. Honestly. I even turned on full feeds, against the advice I have give to others for years, because I don’t really care. This is my personal blog. If it has 10 readers or 1 million, I don’t care.

Since this site does seem to be in b5media shouldn't you care what is said on here or at least shouldn't the people you represent care? Also since advertisers are paying for these spaces shouldn't you care about the traffic like they care about how their money is being spent?

I understand needing a personal site as Martin has quoted my thoughts on it, but having a personal site within the network and "not caring" doesn't seem to fit into the whole quality idea that all networks are trying to portray.

Actually I didn't piss off Jeff. I made a bet with him this morning that he couldn't be the first commentor on all these "I hate Scrivs" post. Unfortunately, he is winning. :-)

I don't know you tell me :-)

Comparing stock price and any other one factor has always been a foolish practice. There are so many different variables that go into stock price that to just use "design" as one makes the report interesting, but useless in my opinion. Even more so since it was conducted by Design Council, because it is hard not see it as a biased report.



Any interesting study would be to find companies that were struggling for some period of time then switched their design methodologies and were able to rebound.



I am not aware of VW's past, but I would be curious to know how much their company performance has improved since the release of the new Beetle a couple years ago.

Come on now people. We all know that Dan is working on "the book" that is going to published RSN (Real Soon Now). Just give him some time while Didier soaks up the spotlight.



Didier: You do know your 15 minutes of fame will be up once Dan gets back and see the madness that you have created :-P

Damn, never would have written today's post if I saw this. Oh well. Better to attack em from all angles.

So there is no book? :( Man that was a pretty good trick you pulled on me guys. What am I supposed to read now? Guess I will have to write my own book then...

So then is today's lesson semantics are important and should be followed?

And minimalism again shows why it has no equal.

Heck, that's what Norman's new book, Emotional Design, is all about.

This is starting to get kind of deep here (man Dan, this text in this box is really small :)), but I will interject because I think I see some points that everyone is missing that might help join everything together.



First and foremost, it is quite possible for something to be beautiful and not usable. There are so many examples out there today that I do not think anymore are really needed. Just think of some cool steros and kitchen appliances that were made just to look good without any sign of usability within them.



Secondly, aesthetics (or beauty) is attached to usability in the sense that I believe you will find many individuals initially believe that something is easily used if it looks good before they even try it. Apple is a good example. You can just look at their computers and get a sense that you would know how to work them. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Ebay. Their first interfaces were very intimidating and they always gave you the sense that you had a lot of work to do just to learn.



Aesthetics help to ease the comfort zone with a user and if the user is calm and possibly happy by the design then it will be easier for them to learn, assuming there is some sort of usability behind it. So I do believe it is possible to put form way over function as some people do and also to marry the two together. It is up to the designer.

The wonderful thing about design and aesthetics is that it has been scientifically proven that products with better looking designs are perceived to be easier to use.



A great read on this is Don Norman's new book, Emotional Design. The irony of it all though is everything he talks about clashes with his business partner Nielsen.

Mike: Thank you very much.

Glad to see you are getting the business you obviously truly deserve. Thanks for the bookmarks...always good to come across new inspiration.



The inability to link to h1's using the FIR is the only thing keeping me back from using it sadly.

I am still amazed no one has done this before.