Geeking with Greg: Marissa Mayer at Web 2.0

http://glinden.blogspot.com/2006/11/marissa-mayer-at-web-20.html

After a bit of looking, Marissa explained that they found an uncontrolled variable. The page with 10 results took .4 seconds to generate. The page with 30 results took .9 seconds.

Half a second delay caused a 20% drop in traffic. Half a second delay killed user satisfaction.

This conclusion may be surprising — people notice a half second delay? — but we had a similar experience at Amazon.com. In A/B tests, we tried delaying the page in increments of 100 milliseconds and found that even very small delays would result in substantial and costly drops in revenue.

People do not like to wait. Do not make them.

Ok, so here’s my issue with Amazon.com. I still do 90% of my online shopping with them, but the one usability tick that drives me insane is that they will not let you choose the number of search results displayed on a page.

Yes, people like fast. But people also like choice. Especially when they’re weighing the consequences of a half-second delay against the unimaginable joy of not having to click the “next” button fifty f’ing times to get to the desired result of buying that goddamned stapler they should have just picked up at Office Depot.

Just saying.

(download)

The Softies - These Sad Times

Your hand is mine so suddenly
What do you find so new in me?
It’s just today that makes you think you care
Tomorrow will bring you a new affair
You don’t need me like you say you do
It’s just these sad times… we’re going through

Your heart can see what it missed before
I’m still just me, nothing less or more
It’s just today that is bewitching you
I think tomorrow you will see that too
You don’t need me like you say you do
It’s just these sad times… we’re going through

Your hand is mine so suddenly
When did you find this good in me?
It’s just this day that you don’t want to end
Tomorrow you’ll fall out of love again
You don’t need me like you say you do
It’s just these sad times… we’re going through

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Sky lanterns float into the night during the Chinese Sky Lantern Festival in Pingsi, Taiwan on February 7, 2009. According to the elders of Pingsi, the tradition of releasing lanterns began during the Ching Dynasty when bands of outlaws frequently raided villages around Pingsi, forcing local residents to seek refuge in the mountains. The lanterns were signals used by the village watchmen to inform the refugees that their houses were safe again.

The Big Picture