Labor Pains
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Back in February, I wrote a blog post for Valentine's Day about some of the things I loved about the Internet. At the end of that post I said there were many things that are still harder to do online than they should be, and I suggested that might make a good Labor Day post.
Well, here we are. Where the heck did the spring and summer go?
With Labor Day just around the corner, here's a list of a few things I'm still working too hard for. In no particular order...
- By default, make all thumbnail preview images clickable to the larger view. Even if you include a text link to click to the full image, for gosh sake, make the photo clickable as well. That should just be Web law. Moving that mouse around more than I need to makes me tired.
- I may be the only person on the planet who feels this way, but the Flickr.com interface should be simpler. The site has some very nice features, but I feel like I'm always clicking on one thing expecting something else will happen. I could provide specific examples to illustrate my point, but it would take too much effort to do that.
- Don't use false or misleading claims to get me to buy anything. Period. Last week I downloaded a demo version of some software I needed, and after testing it out I decided to buy it. The order form clearly stated "Access Code Emailed Instantly", which was cool because I needed the full working version, well... instantly. But did I get an access code emailed instantly? No. Upon completing the transaction, I received a confirmation email stating the access code would be emailed within a couple hours. I did get the access code in about 30 minutes, but by that time I had already written and sent an email pointing out the error of their ways. And writing that email made me work entirely too hard.
- I'm happy to see some of the improved functionality in LinkedIn.com groups, but the whole pre-approval process and sending out invitations could be streamlined. Do I really need to open a separate email program to send invites? Time is money, people. I need 12 hours of sleep and a bowl of Wheaties just thinking about it.
- Stop creating spiffy Flash animations with navigation elements that move away when I want to click on them. You all know what I'm talking about. When I'm in the mood for hide and seek I'll have my people call my kids' people. Enough said.
- Don't even think about catching my attention with an online ad and then pulling a generic home page dump-off on me, especially if the ad doesn't relate directly to something on that home page. This is like stopping by Victoria's Secret at the mall because I saw sexy nighties (hubba-hubba) in a commercial and the sales associate directs me to the mall entrance. Sorry, I'm interested, but not THAT interested.
- Don't make me sign up for one of YOUR email accounts for the privilege of using YOUR service. I understand why Yahoo, Google, etc. does this, but I still find it annoying. I'll sign up for additional email accounts when I want them, thank you. Simplify. Simplify.
- Stop using underlines to emphasize words or as a typographic style choice. Sorry, but they still look like text links. I know, this sounds like a rant from 1998, but old habits die hard.
- Kudos to Nintendo for the backwards compatibility of the Wii, the resourcefulness of the "Wii Shop" channel, and their very social implementation of the "Everybody Votes" and "Check Mii Out" channels. I'm not much of a gamer -- so correct me if I missed something -- but is there any reason I can't connect to the same site(s) from a regular old computer? Do I always have to go through the Wii? Shouldn't I be able to log in to my Nintendo.com account through the Web and do the same things?
- Don't get me all hyped up about your Internet startup, jumping on the bus along with hundreds of thousands of other hopefuls, only to find out your operation is under-capitalized and doesn't have the technical infrastructure to support even a modest level of success. I'm working wicked too hard if while using your service, I have to sit waiting for your servers to respond and, even then, getting an "over capacity" error message.
Well, that's it -- in honor of Labor Day, a handful of things I shouldn't have to work so hard at (and neither should you) on the Internet. I could go on, but that would require more effort than I'm willing to expend. If you have any other pet peeves, feel free to pile on. I'd enjoy hearing from you, and I'll even make an effort to respond.
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