WebGuild Annual Conference 2006: The New Web

Coming up on October 19, 2006, the WebGuild will be hosting its first ever Annual Conference. The theme of the conference is "The New Web" from the user perspective. The first keynote address will be rendered by Ram Shriram who is a founding executive of NetScape, Amazon, and Google. He will describe his recipe for success and the necessary ingredients he looks for when investing in user-centered companies. Marissa Mayer, Google's Vice President of Search Products & User Experience, will deliver the second keynote and will address Google's approach to new products as well as their methodology for evaluating the user experience across products lines.

The afternoon will break out into tracks focused on specific Web 2.0 related topics such as Ajax, Usability, SEM, SEO, Mobile Web, and New Ad Platforms. Addressing these topics will be speakers such as Om Malik, Senior Editor, Business 2.0, Bill Scott, Ajax Evangelist & Design Manager, Yahoo!, Scott Isaacs, Architect, Windows Live, Kelly Goto, Principal, gotomedia, Jared Spool, Usability Expert & Founding Principal, User Interface Engineering, Pamela Mead, Director of User Experience, Yahoo! Mobile, Massimo Burgio, Search Specialist, Global Search Interactive, Bambi Francisco, Internet Editor, MarketWatch, Gokul Rajaram, Director, Google AdSense, James Speer, VP Marketing and Products, IAC Advertising Solutions, Pradeep Javangula, CTO, Tumri, Andreas Mueller, Chief Strategist, Bloofusion, Bill Tancer, General Manager, Global Research, HitWise, amd many others.

It promises to be a power packed one-day event. Don't miss it! To learn more, visit http://www.webguild.org/meetings/wg2006/.

RIA Accessibility

A well-known issue with RIAs or Rich Internet Applications is that of accessibility. Given that most RIAs are created using AJAX or JSON and hence, JavaScript, it impacts the degree to which such applications can be universally accessed across the board by as many people as possible. Issues with JavaScripting and people using assistive technologies is not new; however, the increased usage of and reliance on JavaScripting in RIAs for improved interactivity and functionality has re-ignited this discussion.

Accessibility guidelines allow for the use of JavaScript; however, users dependant on screen readers, for instance, that don't support JavaScript, are unable to benefit from dynamic content changes afforded by RIAs. The more accessible alternative would be a non-JavaScript enabled version of an RIA which is really a contradiction in terms given that the richness is being afforded by JavaScripting. At a minimum, though, messaging surrounding the type of application and technology requirements of the RIA should be provided such that users are informed and can take necessary action such as enabling JavaScript on their browser. Such messaging can manifest itself by way of a statement on the initial page of the RIA and/or the use of the <noscript> tag in the html code for those non-JavaScript enabled browsers. This way such users can opt to turn JavaScript on.

Rich Internet Applications Usability

Rich Internet Applications or RIAs are, as defined by Wikipedia, "web applications that have the features and functionality of traditional desktop applications that typically transfer the processing necessary for the user interface to the web client". RIAs are characterized by rich user interface interactions such as drag and drop utilities, inline text editing, and page segment updating as well as the use of JavaScripting for client-side or browser-based processing; thereby, limiting the number of server calls required and ultimately speeding up the processing time.

RIAs are all the rage and with good reason. They are programmatically and experientially a cut above the traditional page-based model of the web. Many Web 2.0 companies and sites utilize the dynamism afforded by RIAs such as Yahoo's featured stories section which is a user-updatable news item previewer and Google Maps which allows users to pan maps. A common usability issue with anything new is that its precisely that—new and different. Users must first learn how the new feature or tool set works and how to use it. I am personally not a big fan of tours and demos—although they are nonetheless necessary, as I, myself, don't initially use them and in my experience, users tend to want to first take the 'learn by doing' approach to figure it out for themselves. Its a great test of the intuitiveness of an interface. So, ensuring that the visual cues and signals are clear and distinct is critical to the UX success of your RIA especially given the richness and sometimes complexity of the interactivity being afforded.

Here is a great resource to learn more about RIAs and their usability: http://www.uie.com/browse/ria/.