September 1, 2000
Strange Connections: Information Architecture and Business Strategy.
Peter Morville. In fact, we've found that defining an information architecture strategy is a wonderful way to expose gaps in business strategy. The process forces people to ask difficult questions and make hard decisions they've previously managed to avoid.
Financial Times: Sweden receives 10 applicants for 3G 'beauty contest'.
Swedish authorities on Friday announced they had received 10 applicants for the country's four UMTS mobile phone licences which will be awarded at nominal cost, in sharp contrast to the billions of dollars charged in other European countries.
NY Times: New Software Being Offered By Microsoft to Catch AOL.
Indeed, Microsoft executives who have long extolled Microsoft's leadership in software features are trying to turn MSN Explorer's paucity of features into an advantage. Version 5.0 of America Online's software has 138 options that make it confusing, a Microsoft executive said.
media.org: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
So the big problem is, where do we draw the line? Can we, when faced by the dynamics and inherent multiplicity of the Internet, actually draw that line? And should we even attempt to draw that line, when there may be larger matters at stake?
Computerworld: Amazon.com revises privacy policy on use of customer data.
One key modification made by Amazon is a promise that it won't trade personal data to other companies without first getting permission from individual customers. The company previously reserved the right to buy, sell and trade such information at will...
eWEEK: No master keys for me, thank you.
When I'm going out of town for weeks at a time, I leave a key with a trusted neighbor who brings in the mail and who looks for signs of anything untoward. I don't tell the postal service that I'm leaving, and I don't leave a key with the local police.
Industry Standard: EU to Object to AOL-Time Warner Merger.
The European Commission has drafted a 45-page statement of objections that outlines the regulators' concerns about the mega-merger. The document could be the opening salvo in negotiations to prevent the new entity from discriminating against rivals.b
News.Com: Net consulting companies hit as investors bail out.
The Viant warning capped a miserable week for Internet consulting companies, as many investors bailed. Analysts have become pessimistic about many players in the Internet consulting sector, an increasingly competitive niche that appears ripe for massive consolidation.
Good Experience: Review of DrMartens.com.
Customers come to DrMartens for the shoes, not the bits. And putting flashy bits in the spotlight, instead of the shoes, misses the strategic customer experience: finding good info about the shoes. Doc Martens is about shoes, not cartoons -- and the website should only serve that goal.
Argus ACIA: An Interview with Mark Hurst.
By taking a holistic view of the experience, our work is extremely effective; way more effective than if we just focused on one aspect of the experience, like the "usability" or, if you'll allow me, just the "information architecture."
media.org: Transparent Patents.
The key to solving this problem is to use the obvious: the concept of the hyperlink (a non-patented invention). The patent database must be properly linked into the overall database of knowledge that is now instantiated on the World Wide Web.
Industry Standard: IOC Bans Athletes From Net Storytelling.
Rule 59 states that an Olympic athlete is not permitted to record his thoughts of his Olympic experience and have it posted on the Internet. Doing so would be tantamount to an athlete acting as a journalist, the IOC has determined. And that is grounds for being thrown out of the Games.
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