Not All 2.0 Design Opinions Are Equal
by Paula Thornton
Back in mid-May, Jevon posted commentary around Jakob Nielsen’s perspective on 2.0, featured on the BBC site.
Unfortunately Jevon’s source made a critical mistake. Nielsen actually doesn’t see things from a technology perspective. He ‘claims’ to see things from the ‘user’s perspective, but I argue that the minute you call the individual for whom you claim to defend a “user” you’ve already demoted them to a role that is subjective to something else…not as the center stage actor that determines which props get used, when, for what purpose, and to what extent (who are we to question people who like to use business cards to pick their teeth? — usability professionals would never consider assessing business cards in their effectiveness as a dentrifice tool).
So, be sure to check out other perspectives on Jakob’s 2.0 claims, as voiced by practitioners in a different conversation. While many try to soften Jakob’s perspective, some also clearly see 2.0 only from a technology perspective, and not from a design thinking perspective (the possibilities rather than the prescriptions).
