[Sigia-l] Why Good Content Must Suck: Designing for the Scent of Information - Jared Spool

[Maribeth Sullivan]

I've wondered how long it would take for us to take on "Persuasive
Architecture."

I attended Andrew Chak's presentation at UIE7East and thought it was very
worthwhile. He's an excellent speaker. He's pleasant, smart, and he does not
wear plaid pants.

Still, someone in the audience did mumble a nasty comment about it smacking
of manipulation (spelled with a sneer). Frankly, I thought the remark
smacked of ignorance.

Keep in mind that one of our big Venn rings is "Context" (i.e. business
requirements).  If the purpose of the website is to promote (or, heaven
forbid, SELL) products or services, our architecture should reflect that. As
Christina pointed out, "to think people are not led is ridiculous-- each
link, each label, each design choice leads or confounds." A good IA can
design for business requirements and still be an advocate for the user.

Persuasion or influence can be used for the benefit of one or both parties.
Despite the possible negative implications of persuasion, I'm sure most of
us have "bumped into" interesting finds on Amazon and been grateful for
their collaborative filtering. While it sometimes misses the mark, generally
it benefits us as well as Amazon if we decide to buy. This is an example of
persuasive architecture. ASU Professor of Psychology Robert Cialdini refers
to this as the principle of "social proof." And if we take advantage of
their "free shipping till the end of the month," Cialdini would say the
principle of "scarcity" has been applied effectively. And because we saved
money, we have benefited even more.

Keep in mind that it is far easier for someone to leave a website than a
mall or supermarket or any other physical space. It is the user who is in
control and can terminate the experience with a simple click. Actually,
persuasive websites are more closely related to direct marketing and are
designed to prompt people to take some sort of action.

"Persuasive architecture" per se is not the issue. The issue is the intent
of the website owner. If it is to deceive or attempt to usurp the free will
of the user, then we have an ethical problem on our hands. In that case,
only one party benefits. But many companies are (re)discovering that it is
not only possible, but desirable, to create mutually beneficial
relationships with their customers - especially now that customers are more
in control than ever before.

Meanwhile, uninformed, juvenile remarks like
>  Think of all the kinds of kewl new
> marketing buzzwords we can use to market ourselves and our discipline!
> Like 'information scent' and 'findability!'
do nothing to further the intellectual explorations of this group. Perhaps a
little reading of Aristotle might help. Or maybe just a little reading.


-Maribeth Sullivan




-----Original Message-----
From: sigia-l-admin at asis.org [mailto:sigia-l-admin at asis.org]On Behalf Of
christina wodtke
Sent: Sunday, January 12, 2003 6:45 PM
To: SIGIA-L
Subject: Re: [Sigia-l] Why Good Content Must Suck: Designing for the
Scent of Information - Jared Spool



>  Think of all the kinds of kewl new
> marketing buzzwords we can use to market ourselves and our discipline!
> Like 'information scent' and 'findability!'


Information scent is an old HCI term coined at Parc an popularized by Jared
Spool and it's an element of wayfinding, and a pretty important one too--
the opposite of information giving scent is information begin hidden-- a bad
way to go, and often sinister in its own right.

As for the dark nature of IA, I think you are referring to our evil twin,
persuasive architecture. Some links:
http://www.grokdotcom.com/persuasive-architecture.htm
http://www.clickz.net/sales/traffic/article.php/1500731
http://www.clickz.com/sales/traffic/article.php/1479791
http://www.digital-web.com/columns/ianythinggoes/ianythinggoes_2002-12.shtml


I'd love to hear what the community at large thinks of this new movement.

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