Amanda Etches-Johnson, McMaster University User Experience Librarian
- already 70% of Canadians have a mobile device, over 100% in many other countries, especially Europe
She started out by comparing mobile vs Internet versions of various library websites
- most create a much simpler, stream-downed version of website -- strip down content, as well as strip out bells and whistles
- one exception was EbscoHost -- had much the same content, just rearranged [slides 21, 22]
Her advice:
- build thoughtfully -- think about bandwidth, analyse site traffic to see what browsers are coming in to your site
- UX -- always think about the User eXperience
- automate/syndicate -- use Content Management Systems CMS to pull content out to mobile and "regular" versions (as opposed to building multiple versions of your website)
- consider Mobify ["Mobify is a web service that provides a quick way to optimize a site for mobile access"... "Mobify works best with well-formed HTML and predictable URL patterns. Websites based on WordPress, Drupal, ExpressionEngine and most modern CMS solutions are a great match for Mobify"]
- test - watch users (her favourite usability test) also uses heuristic evaluation, card sorting
- mobile apps -- she predicts these will die off in 2010, because you will need a different app for each mobile device out there NOTE: this is a very different approach from SirsiDynix's -- kae
Mobile Instruction
- format matters
- size matters -- videos are better than small type
- syndicate
- SMS -- short message system aka texting - 5 trillion txt msgs in 2010 -- stick this in catalogue for Q&A
- consider QR codes -- two dimensional barcodes which can be quickly read by phones -- convert URLs into QR codes,
