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Amazon Buys Shelfari and its Innovative UI
Shelfari , a small book sharing startup, was acquired today by Amazon (an existing investor in the company). Shelfari is known for its innovative user interface, something which we've discussed a few times on ReadWriteWeb. Shelfari's competitors include GoodReads and LibraryThing . The relationship with the latter has been frosty, with LibraryThing writing on its site today that Shelfari is a "clone" and that it is "somewhat less intellectual, less featureful", among other barbs. Despite LibraryThing's criticisms, Shelfari has impressed us with its innovative UI.
The movie Glengarry Glen Ross taught us Always Be Closing. In the world of web design, the mantra is Always Be Testing . Yet, it’s not always clear how to go about testing your site or how to know what exactly you’re testing for. Fortunately, we’re here to provide the who, what and why of usability testing . Usability is a quality attribute that assesses how easy user interfaces are to use. The word "usability" also refers to methods for improving ease-of-use during the design process.
The What, Why and How of Usability Testing
Using our web-based interface, provide us with the content -- headlines, images, or text, for example -- and design alternatives that you’d like to test. Test these changes with your visitors Website Optimizer will then show these content and design alternatives to your site visitors, all the while monitoring which combinations lead to the highest conversion rates.
Website Optimizer
The Difference Between Usability and User Experience
As long as there’s been an Internet, the discussion between user experience and usability has been explored. Although they are conceptually linked, taken separately, they highlight different elements of the human-computer interaction. Yet in these days of advanced user interfaces , from mobile devices to e-readers to tablets, has the line between user experience and usability blurred? And if so, what does it mean for web standards and design?