mobile myths

7/29/2019 Mobile Myths

1/52

Seven Deadly

Mobile MythsJOSH CLARK

@GLOBALMOXIE


2/52

re all anthropologists.yone who makes product/service is an anthropologist.

provide solutions for users, have to understandeir behaviors, problems, cultures.


3/52

Ive thought about the range of mobile cultures:alized that we too often have a simple,en condescending view of mobile....

at every mobile user or every mobile platformsame as the next.

have some really stubborn myths about mobile users,ally screwing up the way we provide mobile services.


4/52

TS of mobile mindsets. These break down:ross platform,ross demographic,ross personal context.

tend to oversimplify mobile needs,il them down to really simple use cases,

doing that we risk building dumbed-down appsat patronize our users more than help.

d worse, making our own work harder over long term.


5/52

lets look at how we REALLY use mobile apps,consider a better way to approach building them.


6/52

Mobile users are

rushed and

distracted.

MYTH #1

th: Distracted, in a rush, no attention span.u hear: information snacking.sign for little stunted 20 second interactions.

CEPT: Mobile not just on go: couch, kitchen, bed, 3-hour layover., yknow, in the little boys or girls room.% admit to using phones in bathroom.ke Wroblewski: 60% are liars.

re not always in a rush on our phones.t the assumption that we are leads to all kinds of bad decisions.ads to kneejerk assumption that mobile means lite version.

res the thing: 85% expect mobile to be AT LEAST AS GOODdesktop. http://j.mp/nzt5SP

r job is not to willy-nilly strip out useful features.e painful experience of getting nudged to mobile website where theyve removed exactly the content we want. Have to do the miserable experince of going to full desktop site

do everything on our phones now.ytime you say, somebody wont want that on mobile,ats not mobile content... youre wrong.


7/52

Mobile users are

rushed and

distracted.

MYTH #1

th: Distracted, in a rush, no attention span.u hear: information snacking.sign for little stunted 20 second interactions.

CEPT: Mobile not just on go: couch, kitchen, bed, 3-hour layover., yknow, in the little boys or girls room.% admit to using phones in bathroom.ke Wroblewski: 60% are liars.

re not always in a rush on our phones.t the assumption that we are leads to all kinds of bad decisions.ads to kneejerk assumption that mobile means lite version.

res the thing: 85% expect mobile to be AT LEAST AS GOODdesktop. http://j.mp/nzt5SP

r job is not to willy-nilly strip out useful features.e painful experience of getting nudged to mobile website where theyve removed exactly the content we want. Have to do the miserable experince of going to full desktop site

do everything on our phones now.ytime you say, somebody wont want that on mobile,ats not mobile content... youre wrong.


8/52

bris.com: No rare books section in mobile website.ad of retail said: such a BIG PURCHASE requires more searching

an people would want to do on mobile. Assume they wouldnt want to commit to the purchasee go.e: http://j.mp/eS9226

ay: 2000 cars every week in US alone.veral Ferraris/month on their mobile apps.

ery time you assume someone wont wantdo something on mobile, youre wrong.nt arbitrarily remove content.

is is denying a purchase to mobile users.t possible to buy a rare book on this site.

t who cares, right? Mobiles still a niche?t the full site when they get back to desktop.big deal, right?


9/52

MOSTLY

USE MOBILE WEB

28%OF US MOBILE WEB USERS

p://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Smartphones/Section-2.aspx

% of mobile web users rarely or never use desktop.u do the math, thats around 11% of US adults overall,25 million people in the US alone.if you care about reaching this huge swath of users,ve to care about hitting them on mobile.

cause thats the ONLY way to reach them.at group DEFINITELY expects to do everything on mobile.


10/52

Mobile = Less

MYTH #2

obile is not less.we begin to do everything on our phones,

metimes ONLY on our phones,

obile content and features should be AT LEASTthe same level as any other platform.

obile is not lite. Mobile is not less.


11/52

So this happened

last week.

Jakob Nielsen

shared his advice for mobilekob Nielsens advice:p://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-vs-full-sites.html

says: Build a separate mobile site. With less content. Cut features that are not core to the mose.r the few users who need more content, ofer links to the full sited, yknow... let em muddle through.

what does this look like in practice?p://www.useit.com/alertbox/mobile-ux-guidelines.htmlelsen says: The feature set should be much smaller for a mobile site than for a desktop site,/ mpanys full site typically includes PR information and investor relations sections...t this info should be eliminated from the mobile site.

obile users NEVER care about PR information or investor relations???verything about Nielsens guidelines are wrong and damaging.ont argue his research which suggests that you shouldnt overwhelm mobile users,t I do argue his conclusions which is that you should just cut the content entirely.


12/52

Dont confuse contextwith intent.

make too many assumptions from screen size.u cant confuse device context w/intent.

nt limit functionality based on screen size alone.ng small screen wanting to do less.e saying that because paperbacks have smaller pages,u have to remove entire chapters.

obile websites/apps should have full content/toolsy be displayed diferently, hierarchy may change.

me devices better suited to some tasks than others.EMPHASIZE dif content on difdevices.

t dont arbitrarily give me LESS.at goes not only for individual sites but for families of sites.


13/52

Complexity isa dirty word

MYTH #3

mplexity is awesome, gives life and apps texture. as designers have to embracemplexity to allow our users tomplete dicult tasks and make sense of complex info.

ople dont want dumbed down apps,ey want uncomplicated apps.e trick is to make complexity uncomplicated.eres a diference.

bucking the myth of the distracted user meansuring out how to create complex yet comprehensible interfaces.


14/52

complicating complexity is hard to do.tarts with figuring out what the user doesnt want/need to be exposed to.

if youre designing an app to fly an airplane, you might start here...


15/52

when your customers really want this.ats their goal? Help them get there as fast as they can.


16/52

mbrella: The Simplest Weather Forecastill I need an umbrella today?

m the perfect audience for this app.

t look: for some, maybe most, pic of umbrella wont cut it.ather hugely complex.pfather Ken want to be exposed to all its complexity.

r him, papering over that complexity is a fail.would find this condescending.

naging complexity doesnt always or even usuallyean stripping out features until the project is toothless.obile doesnt mean less, it doesnt mean lite.


17/52

cebook iPhone app v1 started with too few features and users hated it.thout a minimum level of features and complexity, it just wasnt facebook.

how do you do pack more complexity into the small screen?


18/52

is is the Accuweather.com iPad app,t Im not sure that it manages complexity in the right way.st of all, scary.

t more important, jammed with information.ore than you need at any given time.nt make me scan all this data for what Im looking for.tead, let me ask for it as I need it.

nage complexity not by presenting it all at once,t by managing it through give and take.


19/52

cuweather.com.tually does a better job with complex informationsmall screen of iPhone app instead of iPad app.

nse info for the current momentce start, but how to provide all of the days detailed info?


20/52

wipe at current conditions to move into future. [next]

tailed conditions for 7am, and temps for later.sk app about 10am by touching 10am!

nly when I ask for that info does it give it to me.uestion, answer. Ask, receive.

quires more taps than just dumping all the data on you directly.t each screen more digestible.

a mobile interface, clarity trumps density.

d that gives the lie to the fourth myth.


21/52

Extra taps and clicksare evil

MYTH #4

e web has given us a squeamishness about extra clicks.

mobile: tap quality far important than tap quantity.

long as each tap delivers satisfaction (example),tra taps are ok. ARE GOOD.

nvites conversation,ve and take that you can get at and explore.


22/52

Progressivedisclosure

ogressive disclosure. A little bit at a time, as people need it or ask for it.

ogressive disclosure helps you uncomplicate complexity.


23/52

omento:eat micro-journal, record moments of the day.

wittering to yourself.

n attach things to your momenton for each.ut doesnt leave much room for your moment!

ain event is content but crowded out.

mall buttons, hard on eyes and fingers.mmon problem for many Twitter apps


24/52

nd of how earlier versions of the Twitter app solved this.cused entirely on single task, dedicated to post.condary tools behind a secret panel.

ouble with secret panels is that they have to be discoverable.tch hidden in plain sight.recent releases, added animation hint.

timize each screen for the primary task.condary tools and controlshind hidden doors and secret panels.

arity trumps density.p quality trumps tap quantity.

JAKOB NIELSEN IS RIGHT IN PART...at there should be one big idea per screen,at mobile experiences should be sharp and focused and bit sized.t that doesnt mean you cant serve lots of bites.


25/52

nd of how earlier versions of the Twitter app solved this.cused entirely on single task, dedicated to post.condary tools behind a secret panel.

ouble with secret panels is that they have to be discoverable.tch hidden in plain sight.recent releases, added animation hint.

timize each screen for the primary task.condary tools and controlshind hidden doors and secret panels.

arity trumps density.p quality trumps tap quantity.

JAKOB NIELSEN IS RIGHT IN PART...at there should be one big idea per screen,at mobile experiences should be sharp and focused and bit sized.t that doesnt mean you cant serve lots of bites.


26/52

Mobile Less

ain, the idea is not to arbitrarily strip out features and content.s a matter of organizing and prioritizing them.

fact, rather than thinking that mobile means less...


27/52

Mobile = More

e real question is: how can I do more?ese devices can DO MORE than a desktop.ey have a camera, microphone, GPS, gyroscope, touch.at are the opportunities for subtle insights, new features?

ves your app or website superpowers.

op thinking about mobile CONTENT.op thinking about what people WONT want on mobile.ull be wrong.

tead of mobile content:obile devices, mobile capabilities.at can you DO with that content?

art with a basic website,e feature sning to layer on mobile-only tools.uch interactions, location information, the camera.ogressive enhancement for superpowered devices.

ogressive enhancement of a single webpage for all devices.at brings us to the fifth myth.


28/52

Gotta havea mobile website

MYTH #5

ok, you DO need your website to look great on all devices.sktop, phones, tablets.d voice... how does your website SOUND?d soon: TVs... devices we havent even imagined yet.

r all: presentation should be diferent,t not necessarily the content.

yes, you do need great mobile EXPERIENCES.t not a separate website.


29/52

There is nomobile web.

rve same fundamental content/features to all devices,t enhanced to suit specific devices.

ans we cant think of diferent websites for diferent devices.e mobile web is not some independent thing.

ar ago, Stephen Hay wrote a wonderful articleed there is no mobile web,d I recommend it to all of you.

nt think in terms of a mobile website.tead: How is this single website EXPERIENCED on mobile devices?b experiences, not individual web sites.

ck to Jakob Nielsens idea of having separate stripped down site.k to desktop if you need it.


30/52

mobile.mysite.com

d no matter what, if I visit your website here...

but I get bumped over here...

ure probably doing it wrong.

e same URL for the same content,at least thematically similar content,ross all devices.th appropriate shifts in presentation and capablities.


31/52

One web

is is the one-web idea.

ot about the users context in other words,Will they want this on mobile?)

t the device context:hat can device DOow can the device enhance the experience?

ild by thinking about progressive enhancement.ild using techniques of adaptive or responsive web design.

rve a single html page to all devices,e media queries to design for common formats.

feature sning to layer on new functionality:PS, touch, voice, eventually camera accessibility, you name it.


32/52

One web?

ally, Josh, for everything?ll, dont be dogmatic.always, it depends.

kes tons of sense for a content site,e the awesome bostonglobe.com.

t may need to have separate html for more feature-driven sites,least for certain broad classes of devices. Be flexible.

d there are some cases, but theyre rare,en mobile content is really diferent from desktop content.

en you might build entirely separate app for mobile,ned to mobiles special features of location, portability.

w universal laws in design. Use good judgment.sponsive design or separate mobile website? It depends.p://j.mp/hNA9UH


33/52

Edit, edit, edit

thematically similar content and featuresross all devices.t shouldnt just throw the kitchen sink in there,d put each and every thing in your mobile app.

st, its hard.rd to elegantly fit lots of features into small screen.siness of uncomplicating complexity isnt easy.

t more important, all those content and featuresay not be so important in the first place.

wait? This sounds contradictory, right?obile should do everything, but it shouldnt do everything?

res what I mean:ur mobile site should probably have less stufan your desktop site has now.t because its mobile,t because your desktop site is full of crap.

CUS AND WINNOW CONTENT ON ALL PLATFORMS,discerning.


34/52

This is only the beginning

obile, not mobile, one web or separate web sites.tforms: iPhone, iPad, web, desktop apps, Android, SMS.t also: print, television, voice, all the traditional media.L THESE PLATFORMS AND CULTURES.

rilling but overwhelming time for all of us right now.p back from that whirlwind for a moment,

op thinking so much about individual platforms,op focusing so much on APPS or WEBSITES.

deliver rich, complex experiences to all these contexts,u have to start with your CONTENT.


35/52

ok across the entire range of devices and interfaces,d seek out the commonalities.ats range of service you want to ofer.

ating above all these cultures, tying them together,you, your company, your goals, your service.d thats embodied digitally by your API.


36/52

Content runs the show

IS is the real winner.t web apps or native apps or 1 platform.

g boy in the room is thinking about your interfacesspectrum of apps that plug into single wellspringservice. Of content.

ld common back end that can serve all these interfaces,s you turn and pivot to each culture,each technology, to each device.

t mobile first, not desktop first. Content and API first.


37/52

Mobile isabout apps

MYTH #6

this is the sixth myth, and its a big one.ps, apps, apps, apps, apps.

any moment, we tend to focus on a single container:app, a mobile website

ats whats got us running in panic now, right?tta have an app! Gotta get on tablets.tta have that mobile website!


38/52

An app is not a

strategy.

Its just an app.

fact your product is NOT an app or a website.


39/52

a product at allYour product is not

e, your product isnt really a product at all.ur product is something called content.s a service.e rest are all just containers.

op focusing so much on APPS.t sustainable. Wont keep up.nt start from scratch and design every pixel EVERY point content touches reader.

l back from obsession w/presentation.ve to start w/CONTENT.ve to accept that your content will take many forms.


40/52

turn now to the famous content strategist and UX designer Bruce Lee.


41/52

You put water into a cup,

it becomes the cup.

You put water into a bottle,

it becomes the bottle.

You put it in a teapot,

it becomes the teapot.

ntent like water. Contents going to take many forms,w into many diferent containers,

any of which we havent even imagined yet.

ld from content out. Not container in.

ld common back end to serve ANY interface.op thinking app, start thinking flexible content, service.

MS has to be agnostic about these platform machinations.ed clean content repositories to deliver

ore neutrally formatted content to be displayed on ANY device.

d man we have a lot of them.


42/52

eres a growing mainstream expectation that you can simply get all your content from any de expect content to flow seamlessly, follow us throughout the day.

is ad for NFL.com, crisp illustration of that shift.p://j.mp/nkrn7f

access the same content across multiple devices.ones, PCs, tablets, X-boxes, tv boxes

ndle and Netflixat expectation is going to spread to even the most modest apps.ant my stufeverywhere.


43/52

nd this expectation is only going to grow as it gets cooked into popular platfoke Apples iCloud, for example.


44/52

Were all cloud developers

en modest apps need to start talking to the cloud.re all cloud developers.ain: API first.t about every app should be a web client.

w: Apps and the Web are converging in the cloud. Native vs web becoming an implementatiotail. http://j.mp/GJ6aII


45/52

http://futurefriend.ly

nt know the future, so cant be future-proof.t we CAN be future-friendly.

ture Friendly: resource for big-picture considerationsmanaging, escaping this app-centric thinking.

ggest lesson there, strange for a designer to say:nt try to control form of your content in each and every context.u wont be able to keep up. You cant scale.d lesson of web. Separation of content/prez.me applies for other platforms. Apps, print, voice,

ld APIs that can send content to any platform/device

signers say: But ugh, Josh. Seriously?I, Structured content, CMS? BORING.is is for the database nerds to figure out, right?

m glad you asked.th seven.
http://futrefriend.ly/http://futrefriend.ly/http://futrefriend.ly/


46/52

CMS & API are fordatabase nerds.

MYTH #7

is stuf is not for database nerds.

signers, managers, content producers,all have to care about this, too.t just care, but get involved.

will make all of us better at our jobs if we start caringout content design, workflow, storage, transport.

cause what Im talking about is:OW TO MAINTAIN SOME CREATIVE CONTROL

h mobile.


47/52

Metadata is the new

art direction.ETHAN RESNICK

@STUDIP10

at he means: structure your content well,ull get a foothold of creative control in thisaotic world of connected devices.

ull have the hooks and flexibility you need to:put content where you want it,style it how you want it,in ways that are appropriate to the device.

ends, THATs creative control.eatively craft your content to fit the current context,matter what device someone is using.

at means we have to start driving our designwn the stack, into the content itself.

ok, visual design is as important as ever. It is.

nt do hand-crafted custom art direction for every platform.nt design every iPad screen by hand, portrait/landscape.esnt scale, and there arent enough of us.

have to focus on designing/enhancing content w/metadata.


48/52

ardian.wspaper layout = editorial judgment.cement/size of articles provides semantic meaning.mary, secondary, tertiary tiers.

ERE IS CONTENT IN DESIGN CHOICES. how do we cook design choices into content,that editorial judgment can transition platforms?

perience reminds of print, but very iPad.x-like presentation of Flipboard. Works.

OT JUST A LIST OF ARTICLES.yout/size reflects choices of editors from print.

w? THEY AUTOMATE IT. http://j.mp/sWrnCIript reads original indesign files where print issue designed.ads size & placement of each article,codes that into metadata of the content API.

ve the robots metadata for editorial priority,sed on judgment of Guardians editors.d app uses that info to make device-appropriatecisions for how to place articles in app.


49/52

Repurposedesign

content

res the thing to remember:s not the DESIGN that you want to repurpose.ext]s the content. Its the editorial sensibility.ailable anywhere your audience might want it.

e goal is not to translate literal visual design,s to transfer content and meaning.ats what Guardian does,ry smart multiplatform strategy.

oks editorial information into metadata of the content,t without shoehorning prints design conventions into iPad.DONT DESIGN PIXELS, WE DESIGN CONTENT.

e real win... for business value,creative control, for empowering readers,

to create content strategies and design strategiesat are not tied to any single presentation.

cause its not your app strategy,your desktop strategy,


50/52

Its just plain strategy


51/52

MOBILE RUSHED

MOBILE LESS

COMPLEX COMPLICATED

TAP QUALITY > TAP QUANTITY NO SUCH THING AS MOBILE WEB

FOCUS FOR ALL PLATFORMS

DONT THINK APP; THINK SERVICE

METADATA IS THE NEW ART DIRECTION


52/52

I love you guys.

JOSH CLARK

@GLOBALMOXIE

ove you guys, I do. So let me wrap up by saying this, gently:

r jobs are getting harder.re designing for a jillion platforms. are inundated by screens, a rain of little glowing rectangles.

ats not going to change, so we cant sweat it.is is simply the environment we work in now.accept it, understand it,ow that we have to give up some control.

t rid of stubborn mythsout how we consume content in era of connected devices.d then, man, with that knowledge in hand:

mobile myths

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