Comments on: From Flames to Fame: Views vs. Credibility

By: dave mcclure

dave mcclure — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:35:52 +0000

@av flox: thanks for the props, even if we don’t agree. the discussion was stimulating.

@ciaoenrico: just to be clear i was *not* advocating the use of BUTT-ons with asses on them. the image was to make a point, not to use as an example. i hope that was relatively obvious. “teach a lesson about what makes for an effective visual cue”… um, well that was the intent of the whole piece. if i missed the target, my fault for poor aim but not for lack of intent. re: CTA button recognition, i thought i *did* beat that horse to death.

anyway, thanks to you both for the feedback… hope it was worth the time

OMG, dave mcclures last blog post: Tweeting Real-time @TWTRcon w/ Kara Swisher, Jeremiah Owyang, Paul Saffo

By: AV Flox

AV Flox — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:54:18 +0000

I’ve expressed my views both here and in your blog, so this reiteration will remain short: I still think the image does more to undermine than support the points being made. You disagree. That’s fine. No one has brought up the question of whether this technique works better with your audience.

In any event, thank you for taking the time to respond to my comments here. They may accuse you of being crude, thoughtless and vulgar, of having no design sense or even the most rudimentary understanding of aesthetics, but they can’t say Dave McClure doesn’t take on his detractors.

By: ciaoenrico

ciaoenrico — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:49:45 +0000

I agree – the point here really isn’t whether or not visual cues are important. I think that’s a pretty short point to make.

What he missed was an opportunity to teach a lesson about what makes for an effective visual cue, not whether or not to have one. While I don’t think the picture’s offensive, I would definitely steer clear of it because nine times out of ten that kind of thing links to a trojan or malware. He could have written about the benefit of brand recognition in a CTA button, something the average business owner doing his or her own website marketing might not get. Which is too bad.

Good find though!

By: dave mcclure

dave mcclure — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:39:12 +0000

i wasn't trying to shock to "get traffic" but rather to make a point. there's a difference. i don't really give a damn about traffic. i do care whether i express myself in a way that gets a point across. and the image wasn't intended as a dissertation on optimal button UI color or conversion. i probably can't hold a candle to messrs percival or bartelby, but neither was i attempting to draw the Mona Lisa on a matchbook cover. it was simply a graphic construct with a shocking image to emphasize an essential point. the image WAS intended to draw attention to the fact that our brains are hard-wired in response to certain visual elements (faces, icons, butts, whatever), and that UI designers might consider that as we exist with increasingly socially-aware sites & services, that visual design -- and in fact the use of faces specifically -- might be useful in achieving design goals. all other points aside, i'm sure my post was crude, thoughtless, and vulgar. i don't disagree, and people who think i'm an idiot or an ass are probably on target to some extent. i really don't care. however, if there were a few startups & entrepreneurs who found something useful in the conversation, then i'm fine with the result. the image was simply the focal piece & shocking element that was used to make the point. nothing more, nothing less. OMG, dave mcclures last blog post: Tweeting Real-time @TWTRcon w/ Kara Swisher, Jeremiah Owyang, Paul Saffo

By: Atherton Bartelby

Atherton Bartelby — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 10:15:55 +0000

For me, it really all comes down to, not only good UI design, but the self-representation you are disseminating on the web, and therefore ultimately, the quality of visitors you are attracting. I know that I would personally prefer to have five quality return visitors who appreciate my site's design and thought content than 85,000 visitors who only arrived (and likely only stayed for 30 seconds) via the use of gimmicky graphics. So to conclude, I think your final question is the most important point of all! Really interesting piece! (And you claim you aren't a designer. *wink*) OMG, Atherton Bartelbys last blog post: What’s In A Brand?