sirtobytobe:

For the past two weeks I’ve been collecting data through casual user tests, A/B testing, Feedback Army, and general analytics.  The most significant thing I realized from the feedback is that I’m not doing much communicating on the site.  I’m not explaining to the user how I envision they use Buddy Blip.  I’m only telling them what it can do and leaving them to figure out how on their own.

I came to the realization that I’ve been focusing on usable features instead of communicative features.  Communicative features are functionality that helps the user understand what a product does by communication and functioning at the same time.  This goes above just a simple blurb that tells what the user should do.  A communicative feature should also assist the user in performing an action on your site while guiding them how to do it. A perfect example of this is Tumblr.com.

I LOVE Tumblr.

The first time you create an account and log in to Tumblr, you are presented with an introduction to how to use their service.  These aren’t just splash screens though.  They guide you to creating a post and customizing your Tumblr account while collecting data.  After three steps you’re all set and already experienced on how to use Tumblr.

Here are a few examples from Tumblr:

Tumblr instructs users how to customize their account

Now they show you how to find cool people

These are great practices and have prompted me to spend the past week building a similar set of functionality.  This past week I’ve been focusing on creating a system that allows me to create communicative features on the site. If you want to take a look at how it works, just sign up for an account! Don’t worry, if you already have an account it will still guide you through the process.

Noticeable updates:

• Fixed image upload bug that “lost” user images after uploading
• Added “welcome” guide to help users get started
• Added an announcement system to the dashboard that allows me to send updates to users when they log in.

More to come soon.

n’joy!

Tobin (: