Web 2.0: Fabulously Useful and Confusing

Waldal will present research findings with short video clips from OTIVO’s research demonstrating users praising/pummeling and otherwise successfully (or not) using a variety of similar Web 2.0 sites where consumers share content and advice.

She’ll bring a panel of 5-7 consumers to show how they use and (probably) are confused by using Web 2.0 sites. The consumers will fit a specific variety of demographics and will discuss how they use and are/aren’t confused by these Web 2.0 sites in quick 5-7 minute interviews. The consumers will be fairly new to using the sites in order to demonstrate how easy (or not) it is to use for a new user (who is the sweet target for a site to convert to a regular paying customer).

The Web 2.0 sites for the research are not yet determined. They’ll be consumer-focused sites and might be 5-10 photo sharing and printing sites (particularly since we’ve noticed a large number of sideways photos from cellphones on photo sharing sites even though these sites have a rotate-photo feature).

OTIVO, is a web qa and usability research company in San Francisco. They’ve been doing a lot of research on Web 2.0 sites for their clients and use Web 2.0 sites themselves and are routinely frustrated/perplexed/annoyed that the average consumer seems to still be ignored after all these years. They’ve been doing web qa and usability research since 1997. The average consumer is now, in 2007, more savvy, but is still confused by a lot of what they use on the Web.