Interesting article on YouTube’s blog yesterday regarding their User Research discoveries. They gave users a set of magnets which represented different features and elements of YouTube (as well as other video sites) and asked them to arrange their ideal version of the YouTube video page:

From YouTube’s blog:

One of the most important findings has to do with the difference between the large group of users who are on YouTube simply to watch videos and a smaller, but very important, group of more engaged users — often uploaders. The latter group will, unsurprisingly, care about details like how to make communication with their audience easier and more effective, how to grow their audience, and even how to make money on YouTube. The former, on the other hand, want as simple of an interface as possible: “Just let me watch the video, please!”

Now the question is how to design for these use cases. The ideal solution, to me, starts with the simplest design possible, with the ability to dig deeper to more advanced features if you desire. Of course power users want every feature on one page… they use them all! And it’s important when you’re designing to make sure that all those features are:

a) Easily accessible – Make power users dig for advanced features, but make the layers shallow. In other words, advanced features should be a click or two (maximum) away from the video page.

and

b) Usable – A shallow, accessible navigation doesn’t mean that the features should be. Reward your advanced users for their effort with well thought out, usable features. It’s a big mistake to assume that your power users have any desire to deal with convoluted, unnecessarily complex features. Make it as simple as it can be, while also offering a rich user experience. It’s a tightrope walk, for sure, but something that can definitely be accomplished.

To me, all of this means going with the simpler, video-centric design, while implementing new tools and a more intuitive interface which surfaces those tools, so that your power users feel more empowered while your normal users don’t feel overwhelmed or distracted from their goals. Now that I’m talking about it, I somewhat tempted to mockup a scenario. I’ll post it here if I do

Once in awhile, I get emails addressed to the wrong person (cwatkins is commonly mistaken for Charles Watkins or Cynthia Watkins or some-other-C-name Watkins). Finally, someone incorrectly sent me an email I know something about:

Glad to see they took my advice… though their web sites could also use some work.

And for those who don’t know, 38one.com is the home of the fantastic designer Denis Radenkovic.

Buy them and take credit.

At least, that appears to be Yahoo!’s new strategy.  Four years after they bought Flickr, Yahoo have finally decided it’s time to begin the long, delicate process of rebranding:

There’s already been a large outcry on the Flickr Forums, and for good reason. Because if this is a sign of how Yahoo are going to handle this property, then we can all look forward to their next branding change:

I see absolutely no flaws with this plan. Do you?