product design
I work for teh Internets
During the last couple of days, particularly at next08, I’ve had a few very funny discussions about the nature of our jobs, and how you can’t explain any of our internet-related jobs to our parents or non-web friends. (Yes, there are some of those out there!)
As M.T. pointed out, one way to go is […]
Muji comes to Berlin
This is completely off-topic for this blog, I guess, but: Today, Muji opened a store in Berlin. And since I’ve been a total sucker for Muji for years, this makes me very happy indeed. In case you’re not familiar with this Japanese department store, they’re basically the makers of all kinds of things non-branded and […]
How I tried (and failed at) legally buying music in Germany
Please note: What’s about to follow is a rant. It’s also advice to music labels. Short-short version, dear content traders: Make your stuff more easily available.
This is a story of a sucky customer experience. As customers and experts alike will tell you, users like to rock, not to suck.
Buying music online is supposedly easy. Or […]
Creative Commons for German Public TV Could Save Costs, Archives
German public TV and the Some Rights Reserved content licenses by Creative Commons don’t seem to be a natural mix.
Then again, maybe they do.
As NDR, one of Germany’s regional public TV stations, proved by putting some shows under Creative Commons, open licenses and public TV may be a pretty good match indeed. (This goes […]
Presentation: print is dead, at least to the young
The print vs online discussion is as old as the internet, and I can’t even recall how often I’ve heard that print is dead. However, it’s not quite as common to also deliver the necessary data to back up this statement. One person who really has the science pat down and can back up his […]
On Bebo.com, and why it’s important to make invitations opt-in
Web companies of the world, if there is one lesson to learn, it’s this: Be careful when sending out invitation emails.
I just spammed, by complete accident, my whole Gmail address book through Bebo. This is something that may never happen, ever. So how could it?
Given the recent acquisition of the Social Networking Site Bebo.com […]
Well Done: Lonely Planet To Sell Guidebooks By The Chapter
Lonely Planet has always been very good at thinking from their customers’ point of view. You can see that clearly by the structure of their guidebooks, which are always built around your needs as a traveler.
Still, the most recent announcement surprised me, in the most positive way: Lonely Planet now sells their guidebooks by […]
The LEGO Lesson: Embrace Your Fans
In Forrester’s Josh Bernoff / Charlene Li blog, Josh relates this story by Jake McKee (formerly Lego) of how Lego changed by engaging with AFOLs (Adult Fans Of Lego, sometimes referred to as ALE: Adult Lego Enthusiasts). There’s a lot to learn in this story - particularly for companies with a top-down corporate culture. Here’s […]
Facebook, Google & Plaxo Join the DataPortability WorkGroup
This rocks: Duncan Riley just has a scoop on Techcrunch announcing that Facebook, Google and Plaxo are joining the DataPortability Workgroup
Duncan had been hinting at something big on Twitter, and what can I say, he was right: “I don’t joke when I say that the post I’ve written changes the entire game.”
DataPortability, and particularly being […]
Wikia Search: First Reviews Are Coming In
Today’s the day Jimmy Wales’ open search project Wikia Search goes alpha, bringing in a new flavor of a human-machine-hybrid. (Some thoughts on human vs machine based search.)
By now, the first reviews of the Wikia Search alpha are coming in, with so so results. Techcrunch’s Michael Arrington rips it apart for not involving […]
Human vs Machine: What’s Better In Search?
The next few months should be interesting to watch: Monday, Wikia Search goes online. So there we have another powerful player in the next wave of search engine wars.
For the last few years, Google with its (mostly) machine-based search algorithms has been the dominant player in the search market, producing more or less the […]
I heart Miro: How to Build Passive Support for Your Good Cause
I Heart Miro is a simple Firefox extension to support the open-source internet TV project Miro (formerly known as Democracy Player). When you buy books at Amazon, you do it through the Miro Firefox extension, and Miro gets paid for every sale through the Amazon affiliate program.
I Heart Miro is a simple, yet great example […]
Less bad product designs with redesignme.org
Redesignme (Flash, HTML) is a good implementation of a simple, but powerful idea: Users submit really bad product designs, then propose what could be done better and how.
That’s it.
But that’s pretty cool, too. After all, it’s the users who know about the bad usability and all the problems. It’s a pain to use? Chances […]
Facebook Beacon is Serious Breach of Trust
Facebook recently introduced Facebook Beacon, a new technique for businesses and website operators to “enable your customers to share the actions they take on your website with their Facebook friends.”
Beacon can be installed by simply adding a few lines of code:
Simply determine which user actions you would like publish to Facebook (…) Facebook Beacon […]
Mashup Online Magazine That Writes Itself
That’s an art project I’d love to see one of these days: An online magazine that writes itself, based on a calendar, a pre-written set of tags connected to the calendar, and a bunch of RSS feeds.
Imagine, just for simplicity’s sake, a lifestyle magazine for women. (Of course, every other type of magazine would […]
My name is Peter Bihr. I live in Berlin, Germany. As a freelancer, I consult on web strategies, communities, blogging and social media. In this weblog, I jot down random thoughts, ideas and news. Hopefully, you'll find some are interesting for you, too. 