Usability week ending July 31st

Friday, 29th July, 6:53 PM
House committee approves bill requiring ISPs to spy on their users: http://j.mp/nafBhD #eff #privacy #internet #legal

Thursday, 28th July, 3:09 PM
With an LP, I possessed something tangible. When I download from iTunes, I can listen, but I possess nothing I can touch: http://j.mp/pLrhZf

Thursday, 28th July, 12:31 PM
Rethinking ad supported vs. web subscription differentiation as the difference between Coach and Business Class: http://j.mp/oNZng6 #ux

Tuesday, 26th July, 3:31 PM
How Apple Computer became Apple Inc., illustrated in 3 graphs: http://j.mp/p8Cmzo #apple

Tuesday, 26th July, 3:14 PM
New data indicates that #HTML5 is not just going to be big, it’s going to be huge: http://j.mp/ppGc6K

Monday, 25th July, 7:04 PM
There's a good chance that with enough data analyzed smartly enough, many events are predictable with useful accuracy: http://j.mp/pa1yNX

Monday, 25th July, 5:54 PM
Five popular web strategies to get you noticed that don't work, and one that does – be remarkable: http://j.mp/puPv13 #strategy #business

via twitter.com/terretta

The magical founding team mix for web startups

OnStartups.com offers a short explanation of the importance of usability to a startup's prospects, framed as an argument that founders should be developers first, and usability experts second.

#1. Developer.  If a web startup has only one founder, it should be a brilliant developer.  And by a developer, I mean a developer — someone who can produce, release and maintain working code.  Not a CTO or “architect”.  Not someone who thinks they can recruit developers or someone who knows someone who runs a development shop in Croatia.  An actual developer. 

#2. Designer / UI / UX person.  If the startup has two founders, the other founder should be a brilliant designer-type.  By this, I mean someone that can take a problem that humans have and come up with a software solution that humans want to use — repeatedly and delightedly.  I think great design talent has always been useful in a software company — now, it’s become crucial. 

#3. Inbound Marketer.  If the startup has three founders, the third one should be an inbound marketer.  An inbound marketer is someone who is good at pulling people in (vs. pushing a message out).  I decidedly don’t mean someone that’s good at spending a marketing budget on advertising to try and find people that are interested.  I mean someone that will create remarkable content that will attract traffic, users and customers. 

#4. Sales Person.  If there’s a fourth founder on the team (which I’m not a big fan of by the way), it might be useful to have a sales person.  And, remember, startups don’t need a VP of Sales — they need actual sales.

via onstartups.com

Curiously, other than mentioning its effect on sales, the article overlooks the benefits of usability to cash flow. Viral word-of-mouth, increased sign-up rate, reduced churn, and lower support costs, all stretch your startup dollar farther. This is why startup needs a business co-founder. Your usability won't get used if you don't have the cash flow to let users keep using...