Tibetan Towns Closed to the Outside World – A Posting for Xiahe and Tongren
XIAHE - UPDATE NOTE - the latest update I got from travellers in Gansu province about access to Xiahe can be found here. It would also appear that the Chinese authorities have now blocked access to my blog.
Original posting - Tibetan Towns Closed to the Outside World - A Posting for Xiahe and Tongren:
What used to be a peaceful existence in the Tibetan regions of China's Gansu and Qinghai provinces seems to have been shattered after pre-Olympics protests in Lhasa, which then rippled discontent and clashes into ethnic Tibetan areas in greater China. Now a new and worrying development sees the area closed to foreigners again.
When I visited Gansu province last year, it was a picture of calm. The main street facades of the Tibetan town of Xiahe were covered in scaffolding for a much needed facelift, and the town's main drag led you through a Chinese area, past the bus station and Communist Party HQ, and on to a Tibetan stretch and the massive Labrang Monastery - one of the biggest Tibetan monasteries outside of the Tibet Autonomous Region, and one of six great monasteries of the Yellow Hat school of Tibetan Buddhism.
A few days previously we had been to another Tibetan town, Tongren, a few bumpy hours away by bus and across the border to Qinghai province. Tongren is a bustling market town with spectacular scenery, a lively community (we watched the locals gather in the central square for their weekly folk dancing event), and the modern buzz of motorbikes mobile phones and a busy Internet cafe.
But now the area is closed to tourists and the outside world - a worrying development.
I normally treat with caution reports delivered by interested parties, no matter how noble their causes -and this applies both to the Chinese authorities and the Tibetan government-in-exile, but two reports from the ground added a level of credibility to the information. Richard Lloyd Parry reported for The Times from Tongren around the time of the Olympics, and captured some of the undercurrents of discontent and stories of beatings and clashes between Tibetan monks and the Chinese army.
Last week we heard from a friend who had tried to travel to Xiahe that he was not allowed in, being warned off because entry was forbidden for tourists.
The reason for my posting is not political. Conflicts tend to be a lot more complicated than they seem from the outside, and despite my reading on the subject I would not presume to know enough about the lives and aspirations of Tibetans in the old "greater Tibet" regions, which are now part of Gansu and Qinghai provinces. I do know though that when conflicts erupt, it is people and their daily lives that are disrupted, often brutally.
I wanted to post this entry for the people of Tongren and Xiahe. We were greeted with a warm and friendly welcome in both towns, and I hope that things settle down for their residents, and that the area is re-opened to allow the outside world in again: both as a catalyst ('the world is watching') and as an important source of income for the local population, that relies heavily on tourists for its livelihood.
Note: If you are in the area and have any information (confirming that it is closed or that it has re-opened) - please let me know either by commenting on this posting or by contacting me.
How Dog Poop DNA Will Change Your Life Forever
Technology jumping the faeces species barrier...
The Israeli suburb of Petah Tikvah is using DNA analysis of dog droppings to reward and punish pet owners. Under a six-month trial programme launched this week, the city of Petah Tikvah, a suburb of Tel Aviv, is asking dog owners to take their animal to a municipal veterinarian, who then swabs its mouth and collects DNA. The city will use the DNA database it is building to match faeces to a registered dog and identify its owner.(source)
This is a fascinating story, not just for those who have walked Petah Tikvah's dog-pooped pavements (and I have), but also if you consider that DNA identification has grown cheaper and more accessible, and is on the verge of leaping from the confines of sci-fi and forensic science into mainstream applications.
And, as with medicine, subtle changes in our perception of technology can readily start with animals.
The process of DNA matching is still fairly labour intensive, but give it a few years and the technology will become faster, cheaper and more accessible. Farmers will register their ownership of herds through DNA profiling of individual animals, pets will all be profiled and entered into a national database. Rare species specimens will only be sold subject to DNA typing, and pet passports would no longer be needed for travel with your pooch.
Then, quite naturally, after corpses and animals would come humans: no doubt after countless moral debates, protests and disagreements - but by that time, the technology would be so accessible, there would be no question of it going away.
Initially DNA would be used mostly for ID purposes - our knowledge of genetics and its medical use are still in their infancy - but by the time medicine and genetic engineering has caught up, the technology to sample you as you walk down the street or touch a screen would have been here for a while.
And if you are a doom monger, the following is for you:
Welcome to Gattaca
Finding the Persona Non Grata (Web Design and Usability)
Persona Non Grata - In the context of website usability - a term I use to describe users I do not want on a website.
In the course of a web design (or redesign) project, you will often encounter a process by which the design or usability company create personas (or personae).
A persona is a fictitious archetypal user, built to represent the users of a website: their needs, drivers and characteristics - to help you understand who you are building for. Put simply it is a member of your target audience, which you create to help the team understand who they are designing for.
In a project I've been working on recently, I came across a need that I haven't had before: to define not just personas, but also a persona non grata. I call it that because in my mind it represents the people you do not want on your site, but of whom you are getting plenty.
Owners of most websites don't mind if they get lots of irrelevant users. Their traffic is up, management is happy, and the focus is often on conversion rates and increasing the site's relevance to the people that matter. It follows that the models and personas they use relate to the people they want, rather than those they don't.
But if, for example, your site is very niche, and you get a lot of misguided traffic that puts a burden on your customer support team, or on your bandwidth, you sometimes need to define who these misguided users are, and how you can channel them elsewhere. One part of the solution would be to design the site well for its desired users, but that may not be enough. You may find that the only way to fend off the unwanted traffic is to use a similar process to the persona process - but one that defines the personae non gratae and figures out ways to stop them from misunderstanding your site, or deflecting and redirecting them elsewhere.
More methodology to follow. I wanted to get the definition and explanation out of the way first.
Save the planet: No More Directories and No More Yellow Pages!
A Yellow Pages directory landed on my doorstep yesterday. For the past few years I've been sending it and similar directories straight to the recycle bin, but I wonder why they keep coming, like zombies in a horror flick.
There's the yellow one and the blue one, and I think there's also a grey-and-red one. I never pay too much attention, apart from wondering why there isn't a popular environmental front to get them banned.
Any information in those global-warming titles can be found through a few clicks of the mouse. Who in their right mind still thinks this is justified?
The only argument to keep them is that the older generation, and some change-resistant individuals still want the paper version - well, let them opt in.
For the rest of us, let's save the planet and the whole recycle cycle from this unnecessary waste.
Update:
I got the following response from Ken Clark, the Publisher of YP Talk - "The voice of the Yellow Pages Industry":
Not sure what possessed you to express a desire for an environment drive to eliminate printed Yellow Pages, since you clearly are not aware of numerous key facts about those books:
1) No trees are knocked down for the paper used in those books. About 40% of the content comes from recycled white material, and the rest is the surplus wood chips and residual you get when you miss a round tree for rectangular lumber.
2) Those books were referenced nearly 14 BILLION times last year, so they clearly get used.
3) Millions of small businesses find them to be a tremendous way to market their businesses. They closely monitor the ROI they get from those books, and spent some $32 billion on ads in those books.
And you never use a book? Wow. Why not? They have great maps, coupons, and they use no power as they sit there waiting to assist you in your next purchase. Maybe you should check them out.
I can understand that a revenue-line in decline, in the face of growing Internet use, is trying to protect itself from the inevitable. Notice no mention above to the Internet. This is very similar to the trend in the newspaper industry, but newspapers are holding an open discussion about it, rather than a propaganda campaign to try and protect their interests (if advertisers think the Internet is the way it's going, they will only pay to be included in the Internet version, not the countless tons of paper that are produced every year).
In the UK about 22 million directories are dumped at our doorsteps every year (source). The industry is obviously keen to prove that this is a green exercise. I'll leave it to the reader to decide...
PS. And about those great maps and coupons - How about putting all of these online? Wow. why not?
Web Design Companies with Rubbish Websites? Doh!
The web design space is getting crowded, and it's getting difficult to tell the good guys from the ones who try to sell you a falafel of sales jargon. Or does it?
It never ceases to amaze me when a company, purporting to design websites, lets its own site look like it was cobbled together by the work experience guy on a bad hair day.
It's true that sometimes there isn't time - the company is so good, and its reputation is such, that it simply isn't worried about marketing. I have come across a couple of these cases. Websites of this breed tend to have a minimalistic aura about them, like something created by a 'designers' designer', made in a fleeting sushi matt motion. And when you speak to them you know right away that this is the case. They don’t have to work with you. They’ll see if they can slot you in. Or sometimes they’re just too busy to help.
As for the rest of you - please pay attention: If a corporate (or myself on their behalf as is often the case), is looking for the best web design company for a project, the first thing we will check is your website. If it looks rubbish, we won't spend another minute worrying about it, and move swiftly on to the next candidate. Simple as that. You wouldn't buy clothes from a tailor who displays badly-made suits in their shop window, now would you? Or a hairdresser with pictures of the Perez Hilton cut adorning their salon front? Didn't think so.
We want to see what you can do, we want to see who you've worked with, and what you've done for them (a simple logo is no good, we want to know what you've actually designed), we want to see good usability and accessibility, we want to understand what you're about and what makes you special - and why we should work with you. We want a sense of your ethos and maybe that little bit of x-factor.
Your website is your shop window. Now show us your wares. Please!
Firefox Users – Read this Now to Protect Your Passwords!
Following my piece about Google Chrome making password information visible to users (Oh Sh*t - Google Chrome Doesn’t Really do THAT?!) - I got several messages from people who were more worried about my observation that Firefox does the same.
The problem was that anyone using your PC could view a list of all usernames and passwords that you asked Firefox to remember - not asterisks: the actual passwords are visible to anyone. And because users tend to use the same passwords, it was exposing you to potentially disastrous consequences (e.g. your bank account being compromised), not to mention to the risk of various trojans and viruses getting hold of this information.
As David M. quite helpfully observed in his note to me: "With Firefox you can set a master password (right where you view the passwords in the Options page). This will require Firefox to ask you for a password the first time you use any of the saved password. It will also require this password in order to show all saved passwords. While not perfect, this can be a good solution. My problem with it is that until I read your email I was not aware of it, and so my computer has been exposed to the problem."
Like me, David didn't realise that the default in Firefox is that passwords are exposed unless you set a master password - and he's a much more qualified geek than I am.
Some people might say that if the feature is there, it solves the problem, but in my mind, if the software doesn't show you that the feature exists, in a way that is instinctively findable, then it is a design flaw, and as such is also a security flaw.
To summarise the findings in this Sunday pre-lunch post:
1. Firefox makes all your passwords visible to anyone who uses your PC, by default.
2. You can disable this option by setting a master password in the Options page.
3. Most people don't know this, so even hardened Firefox users are at risk.
4. Google Chrome doesn't actually have a master password option, so there's a fundamental flaw in Chrome that compromises your passwords (more here).
5. Thanks to those who have written in!
Now go set a master password on your Firefox: Tools --> Options --> Security Tab --> Use Master Password.
Oh Sh*t – Google Chrome Doesn’t Really do THAT?!
Your passwords and indiscretions for world+wife to see.
OK - I admit it's a problem that's also inherent in Firefox, but Google’s new browser, supposedly built from the ground up, should really NOT do this. It's absolutely effing bonkers!
What am I on about? Google Chrome allowing users to view ALL their saved passwords for different websites, without any credentials. Not stars nor asterisks – the whole blooming thing in plain ascii, letters, number and pet names alike!
If you are viewing this in Chrome, click on the little options wrench on the top right, then select Options, and click on the Minor Tweaks tab.
Here you will see a button called "Show all passwords" - which does exactly that. I repeat – it shows ALL your passwords to anyone who uses your PC.
Your husband's secret site communications, your daughter's online diary, your co-worker's MySpace account - all there – all just a few clicks away. And if you happen on an Internet cafe using Chrome - you may well find Mr Ignorant’s most secret passwords for his email account: the same ones he uses for his bank and eBay accounts and for buying books on Amazon, and the rest of the poor unfortunate’s life (now over).
Oh - and for those who missed the obvious: if it's stored in a way that's visible to your naked eye, it's only a matter of time before some exploit/trojan/bad-thang will access it too. Passwords should not be visible. End of.
Call me melodramatic - but that's plain stupid!
Footnote: Firefox users - for info on how to protect your passwords click here.
Recommended Usability Companies in the UK
As part of a project I am working on at the moment, I was looking for a usability company to provide me with support, working alongside a design partner. I needed usability design support for navigation components, usability testing for wireframe stages and usability testing for prototypes.
I posted the question on several forums, and I thought it would be worth summarising the responses I got, for future reference. I provide usability consultancy myself, but to meet project timelines it sometimes makes sense to get someone in to do this piece, and of course to tackle the overheads of usability testing and mouse and eye-tracking.
I’m ordering the list with usability companies recommended by people I know at the top, followed by the rest.
UK Usability Companies Recommended by People I Know
1. Flow Interactive
In their own words: Flow specialises in user-centred design, customer experience strategy, user research and usability testing. We help organisations gain a competitive advantage by delivering products and services that are useful, delightful and easy to use… Results that support design and strategy: Collecting information is only half the process. We deliver actionable design and strategy recommendations based on our findings. We can go on to deliver design concepts or product strategy roadmaps… We work with organisations of all sizes, including the BBC, Microsoft, Moo Print and Skype.
2. Bunny Foot
In their own words: We help you to optimise the way you communicate with your customers... to make sure they do more of what you want. We are psychologists & human-computer interface experts - we cover Web, software, mobiles, iTV, print, games - we now do an increasing amount of advertising work too… Founded in 1999, in the early days of usability, we were the first consultancy to offer professional accessibility services and the first to offer eyetracking as standard. We still concentrate on our core competence of user centred design and usability, but now also offer specialist eyetracking services to ad agencies and for market research.We have offices in Oxford, Edinburgh and London [contacts and directions] - we feel it is important to have nationwide reach and not be biased towards London… We work with leading names from both the public and private sectors - recently Microsoft, BOC, Mini, BA, Yell, McAfee, PowerGen, DWP, COI, NHS, TSO, VisitLondon...
3. Experience Solutions
In their own words: Our customer experience research and consultancy services help you improve your products and services. Your customers want to reach their goals quickly and easily, that's where we come in. With our help, you'll make their experience seamless and enjoyable so they'll come back for more and bring their friends, resulting in a bigger market share… Our directors, Ali Carmichael and Damian Rees have 18 years experience in delivering fantastic customer experiences for major UK clients, including Marks and Spencer, Argos, BBC, RNLI, and Motorola. They formed the company over a few Drams in the seaside town of Bournemouth, on the south coast of the UK.
Usability Companies Recommended by Others
4. Etre
In their own words: We design, manage and deliver profitable user experiences. We're different from other companies you've worked with. Here's why: We're specialists not generalists Unlike consultancies, agencies and other "one-stop shops", we focus on a few things and do them extremely well. In those areas, we've gained deep experience and developed proven solutions that we can use to maximise the return on your web project… Our consultants have worked on projects for Eurostar, Transport for London, Microsoft, HSBC, American Express, Vodafone, Muller Dairies, Deutsche Bank, The Law Society of England and Wales
5. User Vision
In their own words: User Vision provides services throughout the UK and Europe and was established in 2000. We are a consultancy dedicated to improving the user experience of your website, software or product. We offer a wide range of services including consulting, testing, reviewing, evaluation and training to help clients produce better products that customers find easier to use. We take a straightforward, practical approach to user needs analysis, problem solving and usability testing, leading to effective design solutions. Whether we become involved at the design stage, or after a system has been in use for some time, we never lose sight of the user’s needs. Have worked with the likes of BBC, Out-law, HSBC, Dell, Ikea and Emirates Airlines.
6. User Focus
In their own words: Userfocus is a consultancy and training company that helps organisations reduce costs and increase profits by helping create great customer experiences. Our clients are typically blue-chip organisations like Orange, RBS and Hewlett-Packard who want help improving the usability of their web site, intranet or handheld gadget. Unlike competitor companies, our consultants are experimental psychologists, which means we provide rigorous insights into audience behaviour.
7. Webcredible
In their own words: Based in London, UK, Webcredible offers a range of usability & accessibility services for websites, intranets, mobile devices & applications. We research, design & build interfaces to support user requirements & business goals. Our user research services will help you precisely identify the needs of your users and show you how to improve your website, intranet or application. Our user-centered design process will structure and plan out an information architecture for you, optimised around users achieving your goals. Have worked with the likes of: Admiral Insurance, T-mobile, WHO, Yamaha, Lambeth Council.
It is worth noting that my requirement for this project was a local usability consultancy in the UK, so off-shoring was off the menu this time – although I do recognise that in some instances off-shoring can work quite well for this sort of thing. I also ruled out on this occasion agencies for whom usability was not the mainstay of their work (for example, some very good market research agencies also run usability testing – but I was looking for those purely in the business of website usability).
Finally – for those companies not recommended by people I know, I checked out their own corporate websites first. If their site doesn’t display excellent usability principles in action, then I won’t mention them here. You’d be amazed at how people try to sell you usability expertise but their own site is a mess: things that look like links aren’t clickable, or the information is so badly organised, you wonder what they’re doing in this space.
Oh, and for some of the ones who didn't make the list: just because you are a usability company... It doesn't mean your site has to be a boring pile of monotone ASCII. Know what I’m saying?