A new study coming out of Northwestern University, discovered that college students have a decided lack of Web savvy, especially when it comes to search engines and the ability to determine the credibility of search results. Apparently, students favored search engine rankings above all other factors. The only thing that matters is that something is the top search result, not that it’s legit.

Here’s what it’s all about:

Health 2.0’s original tag line of ‘user-generated healthcare’ contains the germ of a compelling idea—patients are using new tools to guide their own care. And now those tools are starting to integrate with the health care system. Doctors, patients, and health care organizations are all starting to use a new generation of online and mobile technologies which are fundamentally changing the way health care works.

The Health 2.0 Conference is the leading showcase of cutting-edge technologies in health care, including Online Communities, Search and lightweight Tools for consumers to manage their health and connect to providers online.

Check out the Health 2.0 2010 Developer Challenge Website!

P.S. I’ve just joined the Challenge as an expert. View my Member Page.

Each year, the Rocky Mountain Direct Marketing Association hosts DM DAY, the region’s most comprehensive, best-attended direct-marketing event. The 2010 event was no exception, presenting a full day of authoritative speakers, timely seminars and substantive workshops that addressed the wide range of skills and expertise direct marketers need to stay competitive. Visit the Conference Website.

Mandel created a webpage for session attendees, providing links and materials, including the presentation, the “Golden Rules” chapter of his book, and charts and checklists for reviewing your websites. Visit the Golden Rules of Usable Web Design webpage.

 Here’s a well-written counterpoint blog post:

Lesson from Madlibs Signup Fad: Do Your Own Tests

 What do you think?

Luke  Wroblewski writes about some new websites that lay out registration forms in a narrative format rather than a standard grid format. Here’s an example:

 A/B user testing showed that the narrative style form increased conversion rates by 25-40%. This new style goes against conventional UI guidelines of trying to lay out forms to enhance scanning vs. reading. This new style follows the reading style, which may prove better for common registration forms that ask information such as, “Who are you, what’s your e-mail address, where do you live, etc.?”

It is too early to see who wins this contest, but it is refreshhing to see new, innovative ideas in UI design!

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

<< View Luke W’s blog >>

Mandel’s keynote, “The (New) Golden Rules of Web Design,” is an new presentation based on a chapter from the well-known book, The Elements of User Interface Design (John Wiley & Sons, 1997). The presentation describes the history of UI/Web interface design and usability guidelines, and then shows how these “Golden Rules” of interface design still apply to today’s web design world.

Mandel’s book was translated into Russian in 2005. It was the first book translated into Russian with the word “Interface” in its title. Many of the attendees at the conference learned their craft by reading this book.

The User eXperience Russia 2009 conference was a huge success. There were over 300 attendees at the conference (http://userexperience.ru/en/).

View the SlideShare presentation.

<< View the Presentation >>

From Good Experience:

“Lots of the popular posts on Twitter, digg, etc. promise “7 ways to…” or “15 reasons you should…” or similar bite-sized snack-nuggets of infotainment. And that’s all fine. The world of bite-sized Internet content is quick and easy to consume, occasionally informative or very funny, and almost always free. No complaints there.

But what happens when we shift so far to the snacky items that there aren’t enough readers seeking the longer piece, written by a subject matter expert? (And by “expert” I mean someone who’s spent longer in the field than the Web has been around.)”

The reference is to Gourmet to All That (New York Times Op-Ed, October 7, 2009) by Christopher Kimball. One quote:

…in a click-or-die advertising marketplace, one ruled by a million instant pundits, where an anonymous Twitter comment might be seen to pack more resonance and useful content than an article that reflects a lifetime of experience, experts are not created from the top down but from the bottom up. They can no longer be coronated; their voices have to be deemed essential to the lives of their customers. …

To survive, those of us who believe that inexperience rarely leads to wisdom need to swim against the tide, better define our brands, prove our worth, ask to be paid for what we do, and refuse to climb aboard this ship of fools, the one where everyone has an equal voice. Google “broccoli casserole” and make the first recipe you find. I guarantee it will be disappointing. The world needs fewer opinions and more thoughtful expertise — the kind that comes from real experience, the hard-won blood-on-the-floor kind. I like my reporters, my pilots, my pundits, my doctors, my teachers and my cooking instructors to have graduated from the school of hard knocks.

Phoenix Design Week is a celebration of the local design community. It will include a variety of exhibitions, open houses, workshops, presentations, activities, films and other community-growth oriented events.

Come join the fun – http://phxdw.com/index.php