Aggregated news from multiple sources
By Kristoffer Bohmann, Bohmann Usability
My Userland is a so-called weblog, blog, webfeed, or syndication network publishing news from hundreds of online sources in one page. The site extreme in several ways:
- No editorial process, so nearly all submitted content is published. Therefore, quality of content varies from layman comments to more credible news services, including Wired News.
- Anybody can contribute by uploading XML files or use their browser.
- Update frequency: Content is updated hourly and impossible to keep up with for users.
- Users (who have registered) can select among current contributors, while they are unable to avoid irrelevant future contributors and their stories. Contributors are not rated or prioritized by any criteria. For instance, content could be prioritized by asking users How useful did you find this story? The resulting ratings can be used to emphasize high-quality contributors. Contributes should not be equal but based on their relevance in different contexts.
I don't consider the service usable or even useful -- it produces more information overload, not less -- and the design inhibits online reading. So, why bother? Because future applications easily can strengthen the technology by adding editorial resources, moderating update frequencies, and determine who can publish and read.
The technology has large potential in commercial settings. For instance, a product review site may offer it's services to online stores. The product review site reaches more readers, while the stores competing stores add new information to their product pages making it easier for customers to buy.
One final comment: My Userland does a poor job when presenting information. At least 50 percent of the available page width is wasted on white space without improving readability. A redesign may improve readability by using the full screen width online and on print.
Kristoffer Bohmann
