Molecularist

What I like about MoMo Mike is that he serves as a bridge for me between Web and mobile technologies – not only does he know both very well, but he thinks of them from the same perspective of mobility that I have. When he speaks of the things he does in the link below, he teaches me something in a way I can understand.

Link: This is Mobility – Blog Archive – Mobile Web.

What we need to be doing is figuring out how we can get mobile devices to interact with the same services that the desktop systems interact with.

For sure, I’d sign him up as one of the clever folk to ‘get the both of them to evolve in the same direction so that at some point there is no difference’.

The great product designers at 37signals are coming out with a book. Check out the table of contents. Some really good stuff there.

Link: Coming soon: Getting Real, the book – Signal vs. Noise (by 37signals).

We’re putting the finishing touches on our next book. We’re not sure what we’re going to call it yet, but here’s a peak at the latest version of the table of contents. The book will also include thoughts from folks like Mark Hurst of Creative Good, Seth Godin, and Jim Coudal, among others.

Here are the chapter titles:

• Introduction
• The Starting Line
• Stay Lean
• Priorities
• Feature Selection
• Process
• The Organization
• Staffing
• Design
• Code
• Words
• Pricing & Signup
• Promotion
• Support
• Post-Launch

Here are some really good sub-chapter headings:

• It Shouldn’t Be a Chore: Your passion – or lack of – for your product will shine through
• Embrace Constraints: Let limitations guide you to creative solutions
• Develop Mantras: Explicitly define the philosophy of your app
• Stripped Down: The importance of simplicity and clarity
• Sum It Up, Fast: If you can’t explain it on one page, don’t do it
• Human Solutions: Make flexible software that encourages people to create their own solutions
• Rinse and Repeat: Expect multiple iterations
• Meetings Suck: Don’t have meetings that last longer than 30 minutes
• Wordsmiths: Hire good writers
• Interface First: Design the UI before you start programming
• Copywriting is Interface Design: Words are a crucial component of your UI
• Less Software: Keep your code as simple as possible
• Open Up the Doors: Use APIs to encourage third-party applications
• Be a Storyteller: Write stories, not details
• Spec Off: Don’t write a functional specifications document
• Easy On, Easy Off: Make signup (and exit) a painless, no-brainer process
• Promote Through Education: Share your knowledge with the world
• Publicize Your Screwups: Get bad news out there and out of the way

This and more from Janne. Janne has been even more insightful than usual, lately.

Link: ButtUgly: Main_blogentry_070905_2.

So… How to design mobile applications for Web 2.0? Design for participation. Make sure everyone can contribute. Trust your users. Let them contribute, because they do have something to say. You might not like it, but it is important to them. And try to understand what mobility, the background quality, the connectedness, and the fact that you don’t have to consciously use a service for it to be useful, might mean. Make services that make the mobile phone users first-class citizens, and not just guys with crummy browsers and bad connectivity.