[Sigia-l] Research and Search Results

[Derek R]

>| the 'category' of 'digital video cameras' 
>| is not a suggestion by the sales team,
>| it is a natural grouping of products
>| based on certain attributes

This is the entire problem with categories -- they are NOT a suggestion
by the sales team -- they are *elaboration* and *complication* to what
otherwise would have been a seamless sales opportunity (point-of-sale).

To introduce 'categories' is to run away from the *product sale* in
favor of window-shopping/browsing environments!

Why not *sell* the user what they asked for?

The user has arrived on your Web site, money-in-hand, and the IA
walks-them-away from the cash register to correct their vocabulary!!

Why must you operate in this Disneyland-style?
	 
	 
	 
>| browsing using categories is successful
>| twice as often as using search

Successful at what? Successful at USING categories! Agreeing on the
category-name! Why go through all that mumbo-jumbo? 

I'll sell you whatever you want and you can *call it* anything you like.



>| Your conclusion that "if you want to make money,
>| you'll do it with search and not categories"
>| flies-in-the-face of these [UIE] results

Jared's study was of *task* completion -- not sales or revenue
generation. You are not even aware of the UIE results, are you?

Obviously *pre-defined* categories are going to 'complete tasks' if the
users 'submit themselves' to using them. To do so they must *commit
time* and over-bearing *effort* to browse *and maintain* sustained
interest. 

Unfortunately, the user was already *ready-to-purchase* when they
arrived onsite !!! Why do you think they are there?

Category-introduction just *complicates* things beyond original concern
(i.e. the product purchase). Do you understand yet?

Why browse categories -- which is abstraction/dreamy-window-shopping --
when you can sell product (the real) ?? 

The whole point of selling is to supply what is *asked* for.

Even http://ebay.com/ is beginning to realize the objective of business
(online or offline) is to *make sales* ($$$). That means 'fast and
simple' (i.e. a 'search' focus) is made available to users:

eBay Test Home Page -->
http://derekrogerson.com/images/ebay.jpg
http://pages.ebay.com/community/news/hptest2info.html
 
Why ignore 'what the user wants to buy' and try to convince them of
something else? 

Screw categories! Make the sale, damnit!



>| as usual, your inflammatory rhetoric -- pro-
>| eugenic? fascist?? who do you think you'll
>| convince with that kind of nonsense?

The UIE article *explicitly* labels humans as 'Garbage' -->
http://world.std.com/~uieweb/searchar.htm

As usual, I am pointing to 'background assumptions' which are just
sitting there, without attention. These are clear *observations,* not
personal accusations. 

'Garbage-in/garbage-out' is a garbage user-philosophy, and I have
indicated as much.