I just discovered the redesign of all IA* on Gather.com. I have reached a cross-road. I designed Gather.com from nothing with a few others including Tom, Tommy, Mike, and Chris that designed the front end and site architecture. We spent a lot of time in front of white boards before we sketched wireframes, and eventually designed interaction flows and comps which became working parts of the site. W invested quite a bit of time into this.
It took me 15 minutes to figure out how to write this post. I couldn't figure out how to publish an article. Sharing means something very distinct to me. Sharing and publishing are different. This isn't just semantics - this is how people's mental models work in the context of creating new content. First you create - then you publish - then you share.
I could talk about usability tests, best practices, heuristic evaluations. I could. To what end?
Gather needs to hire real IAs*. Real IxDs*, and real usability experts. This is simply not acceptable. Before we designed Gather.com, I designed Kayak.com. We had methods and design patterns which informed design. We used that to design alpha version 1 and beta. Gather has seemed to consistently go down hill from an IA/IxD* perspective since then. They need to hire people with backgrounds in HCI* to make this work.
As an organizational issue - when we did that first version, we all sat in one open room. Ideas and designs flowed easily between Tom, Tommy, Mike, Chris and myself. Sketches turned into wireframes turned into visual designs and Mike or Chris wrote the code to make them happen. It was agile. It was iterative. It was collaborative. Everyone was involved. the night of May 31, 2005 - even Tommy (creative), and I, were writing and checking code in.
To what extent can this release be blamed on the cubicle farm that is their new office?
This new design is a complete failure. I should say IMHO, but when it comes to interaction design and IA - there are best practices, standards, and heuristics.
Please prove me wrong.
*IA: Information Architect - The structure of information, labeling, hierarchy, sitemapping, and task flows for accomplishing user goals with a website or software application
*IxD: Interaction Design: is the branch of user experience design that defines the structure and behavior of interactive products and services.
*HCI: Human-Computer Interaction, the cognitive science/research branch of user experience design that focuses on user's mental models, cognitive load, affordances of iterations, and theory related to humans interacting with systems.
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Comments: 219
Exactly. The 4 most critical tasks to SN is not clearly available from any page. Why?
No.
If you - as the designer - need to ask me the 4 - you haven't done you research.
All I know is that I now feel totally alienated from Gather. I don't post any more and I seldom read postings. The technology is beyond me but its face has grown haggard and unattractive.
HOME is always on EVERY website. A standard. Absolutely. Any fool can see. Just go to ANY website.
Right on, Willster.
HERE
gatherbroadcast.gather.com
but when will calls i answer..
i am finding it difficult to post
but i remain true to my first love gather, i recommend the site and yes am critical but have yet to have found something better like carlie simon sings
no body does it better or perhaps that is just how i feel
the latest improvements have me confused frankly but i love gather and remain true
i also wonder whether my kids banging on the keys are the reason i can not find my way around gather as easily as before
dont give up
There is no Homepage.
Will, thank goodness you are on top of things.
So, is this going to be forwarded to the ones in charge? Should I?
they have consistently ignored all of our suggestions and complaints... the only way they are ever going to get it is when we all give up in disgust and leave.
Once upon a time.....Gather had a dream:
Old Highlights of Gather's Early Conception
From TMCnet September 21, 2005
Gather.com Launches Website for 30 Million Public Radio Listeners to Interact and Share Diverse Perspectives; Earnings-based Model to Supplant One-sided Blogging
BOSTON --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 19, 2005 -- Gather(TM), the unique online site where public radio listeners and other informed, engaged people share diverse perspectives, announced today its public beta launch at www.gather.com(TM). Gather is the first online outlet to encourage global perspectives to emerge across a wide variety of topics and be heard above today's media noise. In contrast to other media and single-sourced individual blogs, which are hard to find and difficult to compare across a single topic, Gather provides a high-visibility environment where writers, bloggers and other individual contributors can come together to provide a 360-degree global view into shared areas of interest - and get paid for it. ……
Today, public radio listeners enjoy diverse radio programming that spans local and national news and political commentary, business and economics, food and wine, spirituality, music and comedy. Listeners to a single program share a common passion, yet have varying perspectives on a single subject. The one-way radio medium fails, however, to capture this collective knowledge and does not allow people to interact together in a broader forum.
"The 30 million people listening to public radio every day have a depth of knowledge and perspective to share. They often have more in common with the people hearing the programs they love than they do with their neighbors or family," said Gather Chairman Bill Kling, who is also Chairman and CEO of the American Public Media Group, the nation's second largest public radio organization. "Gather allows this audience to dynamically interact and form friendships with people who add value to their passions through shared experiences and perspectives. That may lead to conversations or to adventures with similarly interesting people."
"Gather is creating a unique place online for me to interact with smart, engaged people. It's a place where I can be rewarded for contributing my perspective through thought, art, or commentary," said Verie Sandborg of Deerfield, Illinois, a Gather member and frequent contributor.
.....then there was an enormous flood ......and it was washed into oblivion in its "mainstream" rush to become a surface reflection of the world.....where the depths and the original inventive nooks and crannies take very concerted effort to ever find.....many of them just drowned. But you can see their remains in colorful little bubbles all over your front page.
And.........where do "my paintings" now go.....the "team" seems to think that they should be happy to be "my photos"? They are not happy at all. "Images" was vague enough, but when the world of original art on a popular site gets relegated to "my photos" you know that they're losing interest in original work and simply looking for light-and-lively reproductive clones....this continues to cheapen Gather's profile. It may be more "mainstream" but I always thought that Gather wanted to profile and represent quality and originality.....well, they used to......how sad....how very, very sad.
just because I can doesn't mean it is worth my time and energy. there is little enjoyment in using Gather these days...the ONLY reason I persist is because I have so many friends and connections that I care about on Gather...and you know what? All of us are spending less time & energy on this garbage ...and even those relationships are suffering.
Gather would do well to visit Jakob Neilsen's Newsletter on Web Usability ...but they won't
I recently posted an article about getting together in real life with several former Gatherers who are amazing writers, but have left the site. They came from all parts of the country to meet. What I think that article proves is that there's life after Gather. We've been able to socialize on a private network and put our writing up in other places. I keep reassuring my friends here that I know how to set one of these networks up, so when Gather crashes and burns to the ground (and it will), we can all stay together.
I never send anyone here when they want to read me. I send them to my blog. It's neater, cleaner and easier to navigate. It's much less embarrassing.
I will admit that I've had no problems uploading and posting content since the Ice upgrade. The problem is getting around on the site, and the appearance. Finding content is like threading a labyrinth. You really have to wonder what was REALLY behind all these recent upgrades.
Will, I will send a link from Gather Broadcast to your article here. EVERYBODY needs to see this.
grows it will be unbearable. And to "force" us to look at them by putting related articles and the author's other work in between them is cheap, insulting to the authors, and just plain bad taste. I will make a concerted effort now to never read or cliick any advertisements on Gather, ever.......and I will keep my focus on the left side of the street. This is going to work against the advertisers as well....not for them. Bigger and annoyingly flashier , versus attractive , well-designed and sensitively placed does not earn my business or interest. And no one comes to Gather to read ads as a priority....the site should pay you now to just click a page for the effort it takes to decipher it.
If mapping is the key to usability, they have designed this map so poorly, that soon everyone will be lost and disconnected.
I genuinely am somewhat shocked, it is that bad ...it's even hard to imagine that anyone approved it. Whose in charge of this design show now???? And no one from Gather has responded to my comments yet.
I'm almost sorry I no longer teach that course - this would make a great example of what not to do.
I do not understand all of the terminology used, but I do understand the concept of usability. Ice is not useable, nor was Hawthorne before it. I do want to visit the home page, but cannot get there unless I log out and then come back in, but do not log back in. What sense does that make?
It was cover the ad, skip the article or have a seizure. I'm sure the advertiser would be thrilled to know I chose to cover their ad instead.
Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~
Gather has served a wonderful purpose for me. I have met people that I consider friends, and will stay connected with regardless of what happens to this site. I really hope that because you were involved from the beginning, Tom will listen to what you have to say. Your points are very valid.
That alone explains where Gather's priorities are.
Now I have to go look. I do know I have been mousing around in a circle to get to where I wanted to go. Used to be easier.
You take what everyone wants, distill to a usable form and carry on.
Obviously, this place does not care about members.
I will join the other SB sites today and mark your article to those sites.
It would be akin to a parent helplessly watching their child go down the wrong path in life.
The Gather I loved has been mising since Hawthorne. I have become almost alienated from some of my friends because I just can't find them. Sigh*
I always liked to visit the Gather Home or Front Page when I first came on. Now that is gone or at least made hard to get to. I rarely log out.
And what's up with the stars? We still have them but it's yet another click to give them. I find I'm missing giving them out most of the time. Click, click, click, click......... that's what it's all about, isn't it?
I hope the Mothership" beams me up when they blast off. I want to go back to a place of quality. Do you hear me Ina, Patricia and Flit?
Each upgrade has taken the ability to find the great publications of others harder. The site is no longer user friendly for the average person who enjoys reading and seeing interesting publications without using a search feature. Speaking for myself, I don't want to read a user manual or ten articles about how to find your way around. I want to be able to look at a page and have most if not all available links to other portals available.
I don't want flashing ads taking up literally half the page I am viewing. I don't want to upload or write a publication a half dozen times before it finally goes through. I don't want to search for my connection Maryjane through the list of 600 to see if she has published anything this month, because they aren't in alpha order.
I have been a member for two years and along with a lot of the other members have asked for the same simple changes to be made to make the site easier to navigate and more user friendly. I was even a Gather Guide thinking my input would make it easier to get some changes made. Her it is two years later and instead of finding the site even better than when I first joined, I find it harder to navigate and enjoy. If I was looking over Gather today thinking about signing up, it wouldn't happen. I feel you can comment on those "Tell Us What You Think" articles until your fingers are numb from typing and it will do absolutely not good.
Yes, I can still publish which is now share, and I can still comment, but Gather was more than that for me. I came to find and that has become a chore. I have enough chores, I'm looking for enjoyment.
Now, if Gather had only done that for ALL THEIR OWN ARTICLES - staff articles, HOME PAGE FEATURES and so on, ADVERTISERS and members would have been here in droves.
adds-ad
Little boy with mother, looking at a statue of an unknown animal.
Mom, what is that?
It is a Camel designed by a committee, son.
seriously ...I just logged out in my other browser and went to it .... remember when they first showed us the design and they said oh, it will look much better when it's animated ...blah blah blah...
It is animated for about 30 seconds. 4 movements. And then it stops. Sits there. No pictures. No information. Just dead. Ain't nothing happening - and no information about ANYTHING.
they have SO blown it. seriously.
Why am ~I~ supposed to care about these people?
I know why I originally joined Gather -- I am a writer, after all -- but the site has become so difficult to navigate that it's becoming more trouble than it's worth. I don't know what I'll be doing if they don't improve the interface at least to accommodate the members somewhat.
AHA! Now I get it ... if I join and comment, I'm going to immediately be in a conversation and someone is going to talk back to me, right? right?
I'm guessing gather is trying to make it easier for new people to explore and decide to join. Not sure they've done that not sure it can't be done without reducing navigability for members.
A simple case in point: The little green icons that told me there was mail or a group or connection request. I could go there from anywhere and then go to the next one. Now, I HAVE to go to MY GATHER to find out if I have mail, go to the mail, return to My Gather if I want to answer a connection request etc.
I will say I have been in meetings that ended in logical conclusions about which others later said, "Why in the hell did you decide that?" Having been there, I understood.
I am having trouble imagining the gather ICE design meeting.
I do believe, however, that the strength of the people connections here and the quality of much of the content will keep enough of us around to make it worthwhile.
I think you might have missed a couple of very important years. There's room for everyone here and EVERYONE doesn't want to write and publish. EVERYONE wants to post and share, the same conversation, only with specific cliques, every day. This works well for EVERYONE because EVERYONE could care less about writing, reading, learning, or discussing.
we are being fed crap ...and we're putting up with it because .... *sigh*
This site is obviously not the least bit interested in what their members think ... doesn't care about useabilty, or accessibility for those with disabilities, or content, or ...
Kathryn, although this is well hidden at least Writing Essentials gets equal play. A small solace.
Gather is a Social Experiment ~ I've convinced myself of this fact. And, in so doing, I've stopped complaining.
I found your Article through the HELP of my FRIENDS ~ lol
Blessings ~
René
I agree with Flit and Grems' take on this. I am NOT computer savy and it keeps getting harder and harder for me here, I am down to just getting on and checking my friends that I BOOKMARKED so I could find them!! and getting OFF. It is sad- this time last year I was totally addicted to gather and you had to peel me off the computer. Not so anymore.
What they seem to be missing is the usability studies that are the critical link between "Mary wants to organize what everyone else is doing" and the designer saying "I can do that in 3 extra clicks and two pull down menus."
Plus Will's key point about what four things do you want to the user to be able to do from any page. I'm assuming "mail" and "publish" are 2 of those and I was clicking a lot more than I should because they were only on one page.
Now I have a Gather Folder on my browser toolbar and have bookmarked all the places I should be able to one-click to.
I work in distance learning. The course management system has "upgraded" three times in 4 years but they always keep in mind they have to make it usable to the new student or faculty member who may not have strong computer skills. For the most part they use the KISS rule - Keep It Simple, Stupid and make it user friendly.
Gather doesn't need to hire designers- they just need to listen to the users and the advertisers and find a happy medium. Yes, we need the advertisers, but they're not going to have anyone to advertise to if the members who have built the site leave and tell prospective members to stay away.
the fact that they've done away with the Home page - and that the Gather logo goes NOWHERE - makes that more than clear.
Same here. I put up one hell of a fight. I predicted this when it started, pointed out the trends and where they were leading, begged others to care, explained exponential growth and kept on fighting when they told me to shut up because there was room for EVERYONE here. I admit now that I lost the battle. This is a social site.
I don't frequent other social sites enough to compare this one to them, so I comment only on what is important to me. I hated the front page because it highlighted some of what I thought was the worst content on the site, gave preference to groups that reflect unsuccessful numbers, and was busy, so I'm not sorry to see it go. I like the cleaner look of the "shared post" pages and am grateful Gather didn't grant members any new methods for silencing others.
I really give you credit for being the "voice in the wilderness" when it comes to user testing and acceptance. IT people (and I started as a programmer so I understand the mentality) are focused on the new thing, the new techniques, the new platforms, the cutting edge, often not even considering what it means to their clients. It's not only testing, it's training, it's communication, it's post-production support.
I think the Gather Team would do well to take what you say into consideration, no matter what their 5-yr vision is or their goals even for the smallest implementation. And, getting feed-back from the customer on a continuous basis, then analyzing it and making necessary changes is the hallmark of any long-term, successful business. I think the Gather Team will learn a tough lesson here if they do not start doing just those things.
There are features I like, there are features I don't. I missed the first design, didn't have time to know the second one intimately, and I'll deal with this one.
Know them handy, dandy points that earn everyone gift cards to various reatailers? Go ahead -- click on your points and try to redeem them. You'll be redirected to a site that Mozilla will tell you WILL NEVER WORK or LOAD because there's a flaw in the address.
Do you know how long it's been since clicking on your points took you to the redemption screen?!
Pre-Hawthorne.
And the hits just keep on comin'...
The second point is more complex. Finding a specific “post” (formerly known as article) can be difficult if you don’t know it’s out there. Gather is quite large and is growing. Tags have almost never worked the way people really would like them to work, groups are either spammed to the point of being not useful or moderated which causes everything to be delayed until they are approved. It doesn’t help when the interface now wants to bombard you with all sorts of useless trivia (big whoop several of my friends just pinged several people who may or may not be my friends).
That's what I was seeing. There must be SOME motivation. It's likely a financial one.
But the fact remains that some of these changes are just plain absurd and can only be the result of poor planning.
Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~
Since you have the know how to set up a site such as this, I wish you would. Being so complicated makes Gather extremely unpleasant. THe loss of connection to friends is painful. Experiencing Gather now seems to be much like continuing to go to a wake over and over again, with no funeral following. Add to that the strain on my eyes and the discomfort, and it is just easier to get off or not get on. So sad. I loved this place. I still love my friends. Now I am wondering will this comment go through.
"Thank Charles one of the original designers of the place agrees, and says so loudly. "
I couldn't agree more with Roy. You Sir, are the awesome!
I remember well our passionate debates early on on devonshire (i'm the "chris" mentioned in the posting) about non-logged-in homepage vs. logged-in homepage. And I will say this: I think this release has vastly improved the logged-in homepage. It's a little-known fact that gather was one of the first social networks to rock the "friend feed" concept - before facebook in fact. It got buried for a few releases but now it is back in on center stage and i think that's the right place for it. For connected, active users, it shows them a lot of what they want to know in a single glance (it's how i found this article). It's highly usable.
On the other hand. The new non-logged-in homepage. How to begin. There are a lot of competing interests that converge on homepage design. The need to explain the site to new users is an important one. I think that's the one that won out over all others here.
But I always argued for a blog-like experience on the homepage. A compact with casual users still tasting gather that said, you can come back here several times a day and easily see the new, good stuff that's been posted - with just one page view. That's where the single-list, reverse-cron visual/info metaphor of blogging is so nice. I think it would have worked well for the homepage, but I don't think it was ever tried. Various techniques could have been used to pick what the articles were - full-on editorial control (the "mullet" approach that youtube and myspace use - "business up front, party in the back"), popularity, digg-like voting, rating, self-chosen (a "publish this to homepage" checkbox on article publish) with editorial flagging - but the essential point is, you have a way to engage onramping users and a way for existing or returning users to see at a glance what's hot that day (and in the case of reverse-cron to "catch up").
Ice/Vanilla Ice is essentially the Facebookization of Gather, at least in terms of homepage/"my homepage" design. Similar to Ice, Facebook's homepage is bare of dynamic content and its logged in homepage is dominated by the friend feed (even more so with Facebook's recent redesign).
Burying and misnaming gather's rich Publishing functionality is an obvious misstep and easy to fix. Facebook's subnav shows how easy it can be ("Add Photos/Add Video/Write Note" - plain language, natch).
So Facebook is a huge influence on this release. Yet I think that many of the problems highlighted in this thread are happening because Gather is a different kind of social network than Facebook. Gather has always been first and foremost about publishing your own writing to a broad audience, whereas Facebook is first and foremost about connecting with friends you already know offline. And with this new redesign, it's no longer clear that Gather offers a compelling way to reach a broad audience with one's writing. Homepage placement was a crucial prize to strive for, an essential reward that drove a lot of the "game" dynamics on Gather. It concentrated all Gather's users' attention in one place, creating huge value for a writer. By taking it away, Gather's really become a less compelling place to "Share" your stuff.
I didn't check the Home Page daily but at least it was THERE. The circles give me a headache so just as well I don't have to go there now. What a stupid presentation for a potential new member (or whatever we are called now, maybe victims.)
I know HOW to find the recent articles, sorry, POSTS and PHOTOS but it is just not user friendly. I'm not a computer geek but can manage. This site has gone down so badly since I joined. I'm only staying because of the friends I have here. I can hardly find things of quality to read anymore. If I do, it's usually because I saw a friend's comment on my feed. I didn't like the feeds (don't need info on who connected or pinged) but it now offers a bread crumb or two to attempt to find something worthwhile.
Thanks, Bob, for sending me here. Your son sounds like a pretty smart guy! Have him build us a new site!