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Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

hilarymason.com

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Re: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

#21

Post by talmand »

smacktoward wrote: post #7
ceslami wrote: post #5

This piece confused me for several reasons. First, if anything, this seems like an accessibility problem that would be hard to solve. Shakiness affects many of us as we get older, but it is hard to design a website around this constraint. Second, there is an implication that this ad placement is somehow "surely wrong," and a step further, is likely only successful due to pseudo-fraudulent interactions. I want to rebu…

Shakiness affects many of us as we get older, but it is hard to design a website around this constraint. Is it? Large link targets surrounded by empty negative space seem like an easy way to solve this problem. The issue is only an issue because Yahoo puts the links in tinytext and crowds the ad link right up next to the "Inbox" link, so a twitch can send the cursor scooting past the link you want to click on to the…

In the example provided the ad link has a decent amount of white space between it and the inbox link. There's even an intended barrier between the two in the form of a horizontal rule, granted one pixel. What more do you want?

Are we to ascertain the shakiness level of the user to determine the proper amount of white space? A CSS media query maybe?

@media min-shakiness: 0.5 and max-shakiness: 1

But then, I'm just being rude here, sorry.

The other case seemingly ignored here is that the clicked link in no way resembles the intended link. Assuming the user can read the link it seems he did not read what he's clicking on. Granted, life puts limitations on us as we get older but I don't understand how one can predict behaviors of people who do not fully read what they are clicking on.

There's a great deal to be said about examples of bad design causing people to do things they did not intend, I don't believe this is one of them.

Re: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

#23

Post by mistercow »

Can someone explain to me what the appeal is of tap-to-click on trackpads? It's obviously terrible for usability for anyone with less-than-perfect motor control, but even for someone with ordinary dexterity like myself, it can be infuriating. I don't want to have to tread lightly around my trackpad just to keep from accidentally clicking on stuff.

And it's not just me; I watch other people use laptops, and their usage is generally littered with unintended taps; they just don't seem to care that they keep randomly misplacing their keyboard focus or switching to other applications.

I mean, I get that it's slightly easier to tap on the trackpad than it is to click with your thumb. But how can that possibly make up for all the time lost to accidental input?

Re: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

#24

Post by zacharycohn »

webwright wrote: post #8

Things get tense when ad-supported companies have to make money. When I ask my mom or dad to click the first Google search result, they click on an ad. When I ask them if they realized that it was an ad, the response is "no". A good portion of the ad business is confused clicks/taps (it's worse on mobile).

If that ad brings them to what they were looking for... does it matter?

Re: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

#25

Post by mistercow »

mycodebreaks wrote: post #22

All clicks by accidents are unfair to the advertisers. They pay for clicks which were never intended.

Inasmuch as clicks are a valid metric for advertising performance, it is only because they prove that an ad is prominent on a page. So in that sense, there's really nothing wrong with accidental clicks.

Re: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

#27

Post by melvinmt »

debacle wrote: post #9
webwright wrote: post #8

Things get tense when ad-supported companies have to make money. When I ask my mom or dad to click the first Google search result, they click on an ad. When I ask them if they realized that it was an ad, the response is "no". A good portion of the ad business is confused clicks/taps (it's worse on mobile).

As someone who has worked on all three sides of the equation (selling ad space, brokering ad space, and buying ad space), I can tell you wholeheartedly that ad purchasing companies do not want these clicks. They're paying for something of no value. I don't know how companies can be convinced to do ad placements like these, or if they simply rely on getting enough conversions from accidental clicks from unknowing user…

Unlike the ad in the article, Adword ads are usually highly relevant because they often capture the same intent as the first organic result (if done right).

Re: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

#29

Post by jmount »

mistercow wrote: post #23

Can someone explain to me what the appeal is of tap-to-click on trackpads? It's obviously terrible for usability for anyone with less-than-perfect motor control, but even for someone with ordinary dexterity like myself, it can be infuriating. I don't want to have to tread lightly around my trackpad just to keep from accidentally clicking on stuff. And it's not just me; I watch other people use laptops, and their usag…

I think tap-to-click is an abomination (on Windows, OSX and Linux). The worst was Windows when I re-imaged a laptop without the OEM drivers the generic Windows driver could no longer turn the feature off (argh!). But I think the attraction for designers is trying to support a pickup and drag gesture on the trackpad without using a toggle button.

Re: Hey Yahoo, You’re Optimizing the Wrong Thing

#30

Post by erikpukinskis »

mistercow wrote: post #23

Can someone explain to me what the appeal is of tap-to-click on trackpads? It's obviously terrible for usability for anyone with less-than-perfect motor control, but even for someone with ordinary dexterity like myself, it can be infuriating. I don't want to have to tread lightly around my trackpad just to keep from accidentally clicking on stuff. And it's not just me; I watch other people use laptops, and their usag…

I use it on my MBP for one reason: less strain on my clicking finger, which in the past has led to RSI. Using my old Thinkpads with the TrackPoint and clicking was much more stressful on my hands than my current setup.

I don't have any trouble with errant clicks, but I may have altered my typing style. Right now my hands are both entirely off the keyboard (elbows resting on armrests on chair). I also understand there are some improvements in Mac OS X over other operating systems with respect to errant clicking.

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