Do you still Yahoo? Part 2

Apr 13 2008 Published by Ben Chong under Business, Marketing, Product

I had a conversation with a classmate yesterday and we got down to talking about Yahoo.

Apparently, there is now an effort to make the search bar more obvious on the Yahoo home page (URL: www.yahoo.com).

This really surprised me.

My question is: How many people are using a search engine’s home page to do a search on the Internet?

Most popular web browsers today have something called chrome search. This is the little text box next to the address text box. See picture below of the chrome search box on FireFox. This is on the top right corner of the web browser application window.

Chrome Search

Most people would be, by now, accustomed to using the chrome search box to do Internet searches. All you need to do is to click in the search box, type in your search text and hit enter. You can do this while you are at any website. There is no more need to navigate to www.google.com or www.yahoo.com to do a web search.

So what are these Yahoo folks thinking?

Or do they think that people still go to www.yahoo.com explicitly to do a search?

I go to www.yahoo.com multiple times a day. But I do that because I like the news and informational articles. See below.

Yahoo articles

Do I go to the search box on the page and do a search after reading the articles? No. I use the chrome search feature.

Perhaps the Yahoo folks know something I don’t. Perhaps they have done some usability surveys.

The Intel anthropologist that came to our class a few weeks ago brought up a very good point: people don’t use technology in a vacuum. In this case, you don’t surf the Internet in a vacuum. You use a web browser that runs on an operating system on a physical computer. How you surf the Internet is affected by the web browser, the operating system and the computer. Who knows? Perhaps the kind of mouse you use can affect how you surf.

I am also doing a usability survey for some of the same issues. The survey is here. There is no cost to participate :-)   In fact, you get a chance to win an Apple 8GB iPod Nano of the color of your choice.

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Anthropology and the Notebook Computer User Part 2

Apr 07 2008 Published by Ben Chong under Business, Marketing, Product

In a previous article, I talked about how notebook computer users don’t really care how long their notebook batteries last. This was because users will plug in the AC adaptor whenever possible, thereby making these notebook computers nothing more than portable desktops.

Here is another observation: many notebook computer users prefer to use an external mouse instead of the touchpad or pointing stick that comes built into their computer.

Why is that?

I asked one such person whom I have observed rolling an external laser mouse on a sofa. Her response was that it was easier to use an external mouse.

So the question is this:

Is there an inherent usability problem with the touchpad/pointing stick?

The question is interesting because its answer may indicate a business opportunity.

Here is a non-rigorous validation:

Every notebook computer comes with a mouse device. Yet, travel(small size) mice are popular items at computer stores.

I would assume that these travel mice would only be used with notebook computers.

I don’t know what new innovation can make notebook pointing devices (touchpads/pointing sticks) more usable. Apple’s multitouch is probably not a solution. I have it on my MacBook Pro and have trouble using it. One reason is that I don’t remember the gestures: think Palm Graffiti language.

So if you are reading this, start thinking. There is an entrepreneurship opportunity here somewhere…

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