What writers & others say
“Apparently we love our own cell phones but we hate everyone else’s.”
— Joe Bob Briggs, syndicated American film critic, writer and comic performer
“Three objects were considered essential across all participants, cultures and genders: keys, money and mobile phones.”
— Jan Chipchase, chief usability researcher, Nokia
“Avoid the ‘frustrated finger’ when designing for tablets. Engage the finger as well as the brain and eyes.”
— Mario Garcia, CEO of Garcia Media and founder of the Graphics & Design program at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies
“Stop looking at your business as a physical, web, and mobile. It’s about consumers, and the only thing that matters to consumers is the one screen that is in front of them.”
— Mitch Joel, president, Mirum Agency
“Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what’s left.”
― Steve Krug, in Don’t Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
“A Eurobarometer survey of almost 1,000 children in 29 countries found most had telephones after age 9.”
— The New York Times
“Content comprehension suffers when you’re looking through a peephole, because there’s little visible context. The less you can see, the more you have to remember, and human short-term memory is notoriously weak.”
— Jakob Nielsen, “king of usability”
“Short is too long for mobile.”
— Jakob Nielsen, “king of usability”
“The phrase ‘mobile usability’ is pretty much an oxymoron.”
— Jakob Nielsen, “king of usability”
“We still see users struggle to hit tiny areas that are much smaller than their fingers. The fat-finger syndrome will be with us for years to come.”
— Jakob Nielsen, “king of usability”
“The term for the fear of, and obsession with, losing and/or being without a smartphone is Nomophobia (No-mobile-phobia) which was coined by UK researchers. This growing dependency and addiction to smart phones is very similar to substance addiction or other compulsive behaviors.”
— Shawn Parr, founder of Bulldog Drummond
“In today’s modern world, people are either asleep or connected.”
— Janice H. Reinold, Rosetta Marketing
“Glowing rectangle: n. A mocking or satiric reference to a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or computer screen.”
— Word Spy
“Smartphone face: n. A drooping jawline and saggy jowls caused by neck muscles that have been shortened from constantly looking down at a smartphone or similar device.”
— Word Spy
“Reading a blog post on an iPhone is like reading War and Peace through a keyhole.”
— Ann Wylie, president, Wylie Communications Inc.
“Smartphone face is not to be confused with BlackBerry prayer, BlackBerry thumb, FOMO, iPod oblivion, laptop zombie disorder, mouse wrist, Nintendo epilepsy, Nintendo thumb, Nomophobia, phone neck, screen sightedness, text message injury, or Wii elbow.”
— Ann Wylie, president, Wylie Communications Inc.
“Reading on a smartphone is as different from reading on the web as reading on the web is from reading print.”
— Ann Wylie, president, Wylie Communications
How can you reach readers where their eyes are?
Web visitors spend 57% above the fold, or on the first screen of a webpage, according to the Nielsen Norman Group. They spend 74% on the first two screens.
Learn how to find out how to reach visitors where their eyes are at Reach Readers Online — our web-writing workshop.
There, you’ll learn how to stop dropping the best-read element on your webpage … how to avoid getting your head cut off on smartphones … how to get found with Ann’s simple tricks and tools for SEO … and how to overcome the obstacles to reading on the screen to get the word out on mobile devices.
