UberConference: First Look

Uberconference promises simpler (and visual) conference calls and it's free.

Once you sign up, you have the ability to import contacts from Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo and, if all else fails, CSV.

Also, you then get a conference number and PIN. It's permanent. All your conferences will use this.

Time for my daily 1-on-1...

with Batman.

Once you're done, your previous conference calls are stored in your history.

Design Detail: Sanebox Pricing compares plans to real life expenses

Oh, and I just signed up http://www.sanebox.com/

Design Detail: Forgetbox Food Contribution Icons

Calls to Inaction by Example: Leanpub and Greenpeace

Sometimes, everyone should write a really good call to inaction: copy that persuades you not to do something that is brought to your attention just before you're about to act.

Greenpeace wants me to remain on their email list. Their unsubscribe link says "Stop receiving messages on how you can save the planet". What it makes me think: Unsubscribe? What's next? kicking puppies??! I'll stay on the list.

*mission accomplished*

Leanpub wants me to publish my book. Their book delete button says "Delete my book forever, causing the world to suffer an irreparable artistic loss". What it makes me think: my book is important. It can change the world. Stick in there. You'll make it. By the way, leanpub, you're funny.

*mission accomplished*.

Do you have a good call to inaction?

OpenCNAM Caller ID API: Born from Pain. Easy to Use.

The best products always come from solving pain and OpenCNAM is no exception. In the founder's post announcing the OpenCNAM project, the pain is very clearly stated.

"Since I started hacking telephony code (almost 4 years ago), one thing that has always bothered me is how hard it is to find (and use) telephony data. As anyone in the telephony industry will tell you: the industry is huge, old, and fragmented."

 The solution is stated clearly as well:

OpenCNAM is an API company designed from the ground-up to be as simple as possible. The main idea is to make getting caller ID information easy--really easy.

How easy?

If you're a programmer looking to use caller ID information in your software, and you can't get something working within 5 minutes of visiting our website, we've failed our mission.

There you have it: A clear pain point. A clear solution. A clear vision on how it should be. Did it work? Yes!

Now you'll know when the President calls you back... https://api.opencnam.com/v1/phone/2024561414?format=text !

IE and HTML5: The beginning of a beautiful meltdown.

Internet Explorer's HTML5 support (or perceived lack thereof) is causing some serious backlash. First, the folks at 4ormat decided to not support *any* version of Internet Explorer.

According to the TechCrunch article, the team were rewarded with productivity gains and clearer code and, when it comes to recruiting:

It warms our hearts to see the look of incredulous joy on the face of a job candidate when we assure them “You heard right, we really don’t support IE.”

Then the folks at 37 Signals announced that their latest version of Basecamp used HTML5 to the hilt and the only way to realize their vision for it was to drop support for IE8 and lower. Stuck in IE hell? Their suggestion: use Chrome Frame.

Could IE be that bad? Well, apparently so. From a sea of million rants, here's an example. A chronicle of frustration (AKA blog post) whose title says it all: A Web Developer's Confrontation with Internet Explorer. 

Design Detail: Betalist sign-in message

from Beta List.

Technorati, if you're reading this... MJX3Z7FAX4ZD

Pitching Enterprises vs. Pitching Small Businesses and Freelancers

If you're designing an SaaS product that's useful to large Fortune 500 enterprises, web design freelancers and everyone in between, I have news for you: you're not. You're designing a product that will be wholeheartedly rejected by everyone.

Users vs. Buyers

In enterprises, your users are not your buyers. In small businesses, the people who use your product are the ones who are paying for it (also see Why Enterprise Software Sucks). In enterprises, you're designing to solve the problem of the buyer and not the user. In SMBs, you're user-driven and they are the ones who decide whether to pay you or go with someone else.

Different Care-abouts, Different Products

Enterprises care about:

• Control
• They want to be in control of all aspects of the solution (kind of like a benevolent dictatorship), maintaining permissions and the like.
• Confidentiality
• The data used and generated by your solution must be secured (preferably hosted internally)
• Continuity
• They need to know that you're not a fly-by-night operator who will just sell and then disappear. They need to know that you'll be there to support and upgrade your product for a long, long time.
• Customization
• Whatever you have is not good enough, customizations have to be made to bolt your solution onto their existing stack.
• CYA (cover-your-a**)
• There's a reason why "Nobody every got fired buying IBM" is an awesome pitch.
• Cornucopia of Features (I'm trying to maintain a C-alliteration here so bear with me)
• They need all sorts of features that will assure them that your product will serve their current, future real and imaginary needs.
• Sometimes, Cost
• How expensive are you that they start to care?

Small Business care about

• Cost
• Cost of the product can make all the difference between usage and rejection
• Getting things done
• Your product better be good at something that makes or saves money. It just has to earn or save more than it costs. They will not have patience for bells and whistles.
• Ease of use
• The ideal ramp-up time for your product is zero. No introductory training, no customizations. Just log in and get to work.

Users care about

• Getting things done
• Ease of use

Pick a Side

There is almost no way that you can create a product that's easy to use, packed with features, future-proof, customizable and lets you get things done from day 1. Pick a side and work from there.

The Best Google Adsense Embed I've Seen

Ironic Sans puts Google Ads right near some vintage ads from days of yore.