This is a classic.

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Great post. Sounds like what I do during user interviews:

I told them that my secret to getting people to talk boils down to three words: "tell me more".  Sometimes I'll provide additional directions, like "tell me more about what happens after the email arrives", but the basic concept is still the same.  It's a short prompt to get someone to add in more details or to give clarification. Then I can use this additional information to ask additional questions, get feedback from others, or be able to ensure that what I think that I've heard is complete and correct.

Great researchers use short phrases or silence during a conversation to get more information out of end users. If find this to be my favorite part of the conversation. The key is listening, not talking.

Read on…

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This is a Chrome extension I worked on with a developer, Dean Sofer.

You can download it now.

Find My Bookmarks is a Chrome Extension that locates all your bookmarks for the current domain. If bookmarks are found, the icon appears and you can just click on it to get a list. It’s super-beta, but try it out and give feedback on what you think it should be.

Features:

• Share bookmarks on Facebook and Twitter
• Delete bookmarks

Download it now.

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Only took 15 years to figure this one out. From Microsoft:

Everyone benefits from an up-to-date browser.

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The Web overall is better – and safer – when more people run the most up-to-date browser. Our goal is to make sure that Windows customers have the most up-to-date and safest browsing experience possible, with the best protections against malicious software such as malware.

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Peter Clarke, Chief Technology Officer  for the  Isle of Man government, recently talked about the importance of approach in moving the Web forward, while respecting customer choice:

"Getting people to use the latest browser version has many benefits, chief among them is that newer browsers have better security features and keep users safer. The Internet Explorer team's balanced approach to helping people move to the latest version is a good idea. Not only does it help individual users, it also takes into consideration the needs of enterprises."

As we move to more SaaS based services and on demand software, version numbers should matter less and less. It benefits everyone (from customer support to end users to product managers) when software releases are more gradual.

There’s nothing more frustrating than waiting a year for a set of features that should be released over time. More updates that are smaller also mean happier customers.

Why did it take so long to figure this out?

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This blog post makes me smile  – a lot:

Startups are being bought for their design talent.  While I was traveling I heard news that  Facebook acquired Gowalla  and I had to smile. This is an obvious design talent acquisition…Gowalla has one of the most talented groups of designers around and while their service was successful, it was seen to have lost to Foursquare and was looking to reinvent itself. Now, it doesn't have to.

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Couple this with Facebook's acquisition of  Push Pop Press,Sofa, and  Daytum, and you see a clear trend here — they're pulling in as much design talent as they can.

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I've talked to friends at both Twitter and Zynga and the message is the same…they are 100% focused on design and investing heavily in it (and have been for a couple years now). I've even been asked if I know world-class design teams or agencies who want something new. Not because these companies want to work with them but because they want to buy them, because  they can't get design talent fast enough by recruiting individuals. Seriously.

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I remember not too many years ago that designers lamented of not having a "seat at the table". Well, folks, your time has come. Not only do you have a seat at the table…you've got a starring role. There is no better time to be a designer than right now.

Read on…

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