Usability: not as we know it!

YouTube has been the Internet success story of 2006. However, when subjected to conventional usability evaluation it appears to fail miserably. With this and other social Web services, the purpose of the user is fun, uncertainty, engagement and selfexpression. Web2.0 has turned the passive ‘user’ into an active producer of content and shaper of the ultimate user experience. This more playful, more participative, often joyful use of technology appears to conflict with conventional usability, but we argue that a deeper ‘usability’ emerges that respects the user’s purposes whether acting as homo ludens. Categories and Subject Descriptors H.5.5 [Information Interfaces and Presentation]: HCI General Terms Design, Human Factors Keywords YouTube, user experience, Web2.0, Evaluation, Design

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: BCSHCI
• Authors: Paula Alexandra Silva, Alan J. Dix
• Keywords: BCSHCI 2007, Conventional Usability, Conventional Usability Evaluation, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience