crispycrunchytidbits - Tumblr blog

[crispycrunchytidbits]

Empathy Mapping & Digital Behavior Design - How Much Can Designers Really Influence Us?

So we live in a world where all of our data is captured, shared and sold on one end and UX designers on the other end are focused on improving their capabilities to control our behavior and response. While the use of Digital Behavior Design is pretty fresh in UX and UI, the topic of behavioral Psychology is extensively researched.

Designers are now beginning to combine AI with behavioral psychology theories to develop a new technique called Behavioral Design. Clearly there are some ethical lines and considerations as we tackle this new frontier.

This blog post from Bocasay on Behavior Design: The Next Frontier of UX Development does a great job of digging into this topic.

What are your thoughts?

#Web116

[crispycrunchytidbits]

If There’s So Much Data Available, Why Isn’t The Online Experience Better?

According to Jacquelyn Bulao on techjury, “We created 2.5 quintillion data bytes daily in 2020. There are 18 zeros in quintillion.  Just FYI.” We now have gigabytes, terabytes, petabytes (just over 1,000 terabytes), exabytes (about 1,000 petabytes) and zettabytes (a little over 1,000 petabytes). 

In his article, How Much Data is There in the World? Bernard Marr states the ‘Global Datasphere’in 2018 contained approximately 18 zettabytes of created, captured and replicated data. Market intelligence company IDC predicts that by 2025, our global datasphere may be as large as 175 zettabytes. Let’s put that in perspective.

According to IDC’s paper ‘Data Age 2025’, it would take 1.8 billion YEARS to download 175 zettabytes with today’s average wifi connection.   

So, is there a thing a too much data?  How much is too much? 

For individuals trying to make decisions, there definitely is. A quick google search for ‘decision fatigue’ will lead you down a lovely rabbit hole of articles about what it is, how to manage it, and “The Paradox of Choice,” written by Barry Schwartz in 2004. You can watch his TED talk on the topic here. Need more proof? Try googling ‘Best Prime Day Deals,’ and then try and sort your way through the zillions of articles and affiliate links to actually find things that are relevant to you and then WHICH of those things you should actually spend money on. It’s likely you may just close the window in frustration because it’s not worth the brain damage.

Individuals clearly have limited band-width for decision making, but what about companies? 

Data has always been the holy grail. The more a company knows, the better able it is to reach its customers, design for its customers, convince its customers to buy products. But, do most companies (The giant tech firms aside) really have the ability to collect, manage and analyze so much data effectively? Do they have the budgets to analyze and then take advantage of all that data or is it leading to good old fashioned Analysis Paralysis?  

In an article for Forbes, Elik Eizenberg, co-founder of BigPanda says “Why, Yes, There Is Such A Thing As Too Much Data (And Why You Should Care)

Nikitha Lokareddy, agrees. Companies need to focus on quality over quantity to help their analysts avoid drowning in useless statics fishing for true actionable data.

What do you think?  

[crispycrunchytidbits]

Public Domain Imagery – Why There’s No Excuse for Crappy Photography in Your Work

People steal images online all the time. It’s easy, but if you’re trying to build a brand, website, marketing campaign or create art, it’s highly uncool. But, finding amazing images to use doesn’t have to be expensive. There are literally hundreds of millions of public domain and Creative Commons licensed images available online for free.

What is a public domain image? According to the Stanford Library, “The term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it.” 

Copyright.gov defines public domain as a work that is: ". . .no longer under copyright protection or [one that] failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection. Works in the public domain may be used freely without the permission of the former copyright owner." You are also not required to provide attribution when using public domain images.

Creative Commons-licensed content is an alternative to public domain material that includes a vast number of resources. This article from the Harvard Law School Library outlines the difference between public domain and Creative Commons content. 

A quick Google search for public domain images brings a world of imagery to within a few clicks of your desktop. Even if you don’t have an immediate need for a particular photo, scrolling your way through the archives and libraries of public domain images is like going to a museum or at least as interesting as Pinterest or Facebook.

The Library of Congress is a great place to start your search. Here you can find historical National Park travel posters, portraits of celebrities like Billie Holiday and race car driver Bob Burman. Museums from the Smithsonian to the Cleveland Museum of Art to the Chicago Art Institute now offer public domain image libraries.

Looking for something more contemporary? Checkout Wikimedia Commons which includes some 27 million images and other types of digital content or Unsplash, a site developed and managed by creatives that features contemporary, easily searchable images.

An excellent list of public domain sites and descriptors to help you figure out which sites best fit your needs can be found at teaching.ellenmueller.com and on 99designs.

Here’s to fresh, engaging and creative use of public domain material for us all.