[Web4lib] Nielsen's Top 10 - 2005 version

[K.G. Schneider]

> Everybody, pile on!
> 
> While you may not agree with everything he says, and may be put off by
> his (occasionally) schoolmarmish tone, I think it is a bit unfair to
> pick on poor Jakob Nielsen.  

Without lambasting Nielsen, I think it's ok to point out where he falls
short. I'm not bothered by his schoolmarmish tone; and I like that yes, he
makes it ok, even important, to do usability no matter what. I am also not
surprised or concerned that someone who makes a living doing usability
promotes himself as an expert. We are sometimes pathologically shy in our
profession about asserting expertise. "Oh, pay me for doing my work? No
please really, I'm just GRATEFUL for the experience!" Etc. 

But to know where he is weak is valuable, too. 

His advice for bloggers is surprisingly apropos, though I get whiplash
reading it on a maximized browser screen:

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html

It's the best and worst of Nielsen. He does get promoted as the sine qua non
of usability, and "do as I say, not as I do" is particularly bad advice in
the usability field, so asking if--and where--he falls short is reasonable. 

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com