“Over the past few years, one of the most important shifts in the digital world has been the move from the wide-open Web to semiclosed platforms that use the Internet for transport but not the browser for display. It’s driven primarily by the rise of the iPhone model of mobile computing, and it’s a world Google can’t crawl, one where HTML doesn’t rule. And it’s the world that consumers are increasingly choosing, not because they’re rejecting the idea of the Web but because these dedicated platforms often just work better or fit better into their lives (the screen comes to them, they don’t have to go to the screen).”
I really liked the 37signals piece on Defensive Design and anticipating where your customers/clients might slip-up and designing so that when they do slip-up it doesn’t have serious repercussions.
The 90-9-1 Principle is about how users tends to participate in online social communities. The overarching theory is that 90% of the people lurk, 9% will add to something already created, and 1% actually do the creation. Interesting reading. [via]
Web Controversy of the Week: Moms vs. Motrin. I don’t know about you, but I love this kind of stuff. It fascinates me on so many levels. First of all, I am surprised that people are paying such close attention to Motrin’s Web site. Second, I think this is a lesson in how fast a community can organize, especially when you piss off the moms. Third, it gives anyone who works in or with the media a real-life example of how to deal with a very public backlash against you.
Okay, I saw this all over the Internet this week, but it took me until like the sixth mention to actually watch the video. It’s a viral marketing video for Guitar Hero featuring a a kid playing “Prisoner of Society” by The Living End on his bike. You have to watch to understand it. It’s pretty cool (even if it is a big ol’ advertisement).
So what were you reading on the Internet this week?
