Data Smog
June 19th, 2008Some things are in-your-face obvious: Finding great information quickly on the web is difficult; a tun of choices makes of lengthy research, and most of us would prefer just a few great ones; Myspace is visual mess. Complexity and clutter server to alienate customers.
Some brands see complexity as a bad thing, and profit by offering a simple alternative. Research proves that this could work:
one study shows that customers would pay an 8% premium for a simpler consumer experience, and 50% would switch brands for it. ref
This is where I find confidence in the direction we are taking ScreenBird. Sure it has worthy competitors such as SlideRocket, PowerPoint and Keynote, but we are offering something that none of these are; utter simplicity. This is my gamble, that allowing the customer to drop in text and media with clarity, in an uncluttered environment, will win the customer.
Distribution, not product development is my largest hurdle coming up.
Also, see Lee’s article on Banner Blindness. A good read for web interface developers or directors.