Living in San Francisco it’s all too easy to get wrapped up in the social media bubble. There’s always a new service to use, an iPhone app to try out, a social network to join – it’s a constant game of catch-up, and I have to be honest that some days I positively hate it.
That said, I’m constantly learning about myself and my friends (and total strangers) by being so immersed in all this web 2.0 stuff. Who knew that I’d love broadcasting short messages to the world about what happens to be on my mind (good and bad)? Or that I’d feel compelled to log each entry into a cafe, office, or surf spot with one of my location-based apps? If you’d asked me 2 years ago, the answer would be have been a definitive “not me!”
But things are different now, and as I adjust to a life where I’m always connected, I’m starting to rub up against some social “seams” I had totally ignored. For example, it turns out that not everyone I know on Facebook wants to know when I’ve “checked in” to a bar or cafe – especially when I change locations a half dozen times a day. Equally surprising is that my friends who use Google Buzz complain about the same, which is weird because it means that they monitor Buzz religiously since I barely ever notice new Buzz notifications!
So while I’m theoretically meant to use these tools with abandon and feel free to send out the minutae of my life to anyone who cares to pay attention (which isn’t always that many people), it turns out that what I actually have to do is carefully tip toe through the social media minefield, censoring myself as I go.
I wonder if social media tools will eventually take into account the social seams they’re potentially bowling right over, and try to maintain a little social order and sensitivity. For now, I’ll be sure to tread lightly…
Lately I’ve been struck by seams. Seams everywhere: sometimes in the right places, sometimes definitely in the wrong places, but almost always noticeable. It’s been a while since I went through an experience where I didn’t notice the seams.
Seth points out that seams are important, and I think he’s right. But like most things, you only really notice them when they don’t work, or are broken.
“Where’s the damn mute button on the remote?”
“Which of these icons does what I want?”
“How to I turns on the wipers for this car?”
Each of these isn’t a deal breaker in and of itself (unless not being able to turn the wipers on/down ends in a crash), but in the long run, like Chinese water torture, they add up. Drip, drip, drip, drip…
The Bolt || Peters crew point out that one of web site UX’s 10 biggest faux pas is to unnecessarily block access to content, creating a huge seam. I remember hitting a similar seam while trying to read a Globe and Mail article way back when, and was appalled at both A. the seam and B. the audacity of G&M’s assumption that in today’s world of free! free! free! I would consider paying anything to read the article – let alone a whopping 5 dollars!
[...] He also works in a slightly different sphere of User Experience and User Interface over the …The EchoUser Experience SeamsIt’s been a while since I went through an experience where I didn’t notice the seams. … peters, [...]
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