All We Had Was a Stick and a Button – now too much complication

Chris Miller — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:09:45 +0000

In talks today someone pointed out that the social media services we use are getting far too complicated. There are too many options, customizations, themes, features and controls that sometimes make the actual tool an avoidance. Simplicity drives usage. Twitter is a great example since it just works everywhere and people understand 140 characters.

The comparison item of choice is a device back in the day, to use the term, we enjoyed playing simple, yet difficult, video games with nothing more than a stick and a button (see Atari 2600 for you kids)

Games today have more than eight buttons, triggers and multiple sticks. Compare that to social networks being developed. The current most successful ones offer a definite focus with an interface usable by anyone from the first time. Advanced features might be hidden, disabled by default or in other screens entirely.

So what should the networks today be doing? Simplifying the user experience with a team of UI testers and designers. When I do screencasts and talk about new sites and how I think they function, it is often surprising to the developers. Most testing is done by early adopters and those higher in the social media ranks. A very slim margin of everyday users are selected, or even dedicate the time, to give constructive feedback.

New social media products and companies should investigate reaching out to the general population more often. Explore how your non-techie friends would explain it to others. If they cannot, then you are making it too complicated.

TheSocialNetworker » early_adopter

All We Had Was a Stick and a Button – now too much complication