• Internet Memes
  Visual timeline of internet meme history, to before the creation of the first emoticon. If you ask me, though, the fun doesn't really begin until 1990 when the term Godwin's Law was first coined. Of course everything went haywire in 1993 once Eternal September began.
  (tags: internet history timeline infographics)

• A List Apart: Articles: The Myth of Usability Testing
  Since 1998 Rolf Molich's work has indicated that usability experts rarely form consensus views. His Comparative Usability Evaluations show that different teams will identify different issues, and their findings rarely overlap. Does this reflect flaw in methodology, or something more basic?
  (tags: ux research usability)

• The Scoop on Content Strategy: An Interview with Kristina Halvorson :: UXmatters

The PCC site is up and running again, so I decided to lodge my own complaint (click here to lodge yours). There are over 20,000 now which is apparently a record. Here’s what I entered in the “Explanation” field, feel free to re-use if you’re rushed for time.

Section 1: Accuracy
The journalist’s assertions ran counter to the findings of the coroner, with no proof presented. The column also claimed that 33-year-old men do not die of natural causes, an assertion that flies in the face of medical evidence.

Section 5: Intrusion into grief or shock
This is mainly for the family of Mr Gately to respond to, but I would be surprised if they did not feel that this column grossly violated this section of the code.

Section 12: Discrimination
The column strongly insinuates that homosexuality is correlated with destructive drug use, propensity for mental instability, suicidal tendencies and – ultimately – probability of a young, “strange” death. By doing so the columnist painted a highly pejorative portrait of Mr Gately’s lifestyle, using his sexuality as its sole proviso.