Luxury type.

I’ve wanted to rave about the Apple keyboard before, but I was afraid of being branded an Apple fanboy. Not that I’m not already branded that way, of course, but I like to keep some kind of semblance of impartiality.

But now that people like Jason Kottke, Tim Bray, and Rafe Colburn are all chiming in on how much they love this device, I think it’s only fair that I add my voice to the choir.

The Apple keyboard is actually the best product — apart from my Macbook Pro, of course — I’ve bought from Apple. Ever. Even better than the Macbook I bought my brother, better than my iPod Touch, better than my (gasp!) cinema display.

This is especially significant when considering that the other major Apple peripheral, the Mighty Mouse, is an excellent example of how good ideas go bad. The Mighty Mouse packs a lot of features and interesting design decisions into its small package, but what it fails to do is fit seamlessly into the way people use their computer mouse.

With the Apple Keyboard, however, the experience is remarkable. Not only is the keyboard perfectly sensitive, but the tactile response is exactly what you’d expect from a high-quality peripheral. Best of all, the buttons are all in the right place. As Tim Bray explains:

The larger [keyboard] includes the useful cluster with arrow keys, page up/down, home/end, “fn”, and the real “delete” key. The “control” key is large, at the lower left, and by some physical-mechanical equivalent of Fitt’s Law, is real easy to get to.

In addition to the detail around key placement and tactile response, Apple has also made the keyboard really easy to clean. (In fact, its construction makes it even harder to get crumbs and debris stuck between and underneath keys.) While this might seem insignificant to many keyboard manufacturers, it is certainly significant to consumers.

Now let’s see if Steve Jobs can get the keyboard guys to help out the Mighty Mouse designers. I’m in the market for a new mouse, after all.

Cleaning house

For the few of you that may be wondering why I’ve been relatively quiet everywhere on the web over the past few weeks, the answer is simple: I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with my offline life. That, and I need some change in my online environment to stimulate my thought and interaction again.

Changes are afoot.

In order to break my blogging slump, I’m re-evaluating the platforms that I’m using to communicate. I’m also working with Long Nguyen to re-jig some of these platforms and make them work for me instead of me adapting to use them.

The changes are not going to be immediate, so you won’t see anything drastically new around here (or anywhere else in my life) for the next few weeks. Just keep in mind that I’m still plugging away here in the background. A mid-summer house-cleaning, let’s say.

I’ll be around, but probably won’t be entertaining until the house is in order. Thanks for your patience.

Ad networks: the new cool kid clique?

I’ve played with advertising on Eloquation and Squandrous in the past. While all my advertising experiments have been a relative success when it comes to making money, I really didn’t feel as though the Google Ads (or even the few ads bought directly) did much to enhance the experience on my site.

My rationale to get rid of advertising was based on the fact that the money I gained from advertising wasn’t worth the time and energy I put in and impact they had on my sites.

The real reason I don’t have advertising on my site? I’m not cool enough.

Ad networks are becoming new status symbols on the web. All the cool kids are part of some network, and those sites wear their ads like badges of honor instead of an attempt to make some money.

Tight Network

I came to the realization that ad networks are the new cool kid cliques after reading a post on Jonathan Snook’s blog where he introduced SidebarAds. SidebarAds, like The Deck, is a closed, invite-only network of sites that provide advertisers a targeted and engaged audience.

The advantages to the publisher are obvious, and the monetary advantages to the publisher are clear as well. The hidden advantage, however, is the prestige that comes from being part of an elite club. Slapping an ad on your site that is “Via The Deck” or “by SidebarAds” means that your site holds a certain value, a cachet, that is not only prized by advertisers, but also fits in to the ethos of the network — a type of badge of honor, let’s say.

As much as I love the money I’ve made from them, Google Ads serve as the exact opposite indicator. While the elite ad networks serve as markers of distinction rather than cash-grabs, Google Ads seem to say, “I need to make a few quick bucks from this site. Please click on these ads as much as possible.”

Larger Reach

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying everyone needs to be part of a network and stop using Google Ads. Everyone should use the tool best suited for their needs.

I’m definitely not complaining about the existence of ad networks like The Deck or SidebarAds. I think they’re genius, actually.

What I would like to see is more of these niche advertising networks that are as well executed and tastefully implemented as The Deck and SidebarAds (and are invite-only), but reach different niches than the tech-savvy crowd. Bigger blog networks (where people can apply to become members) like BlogHer and Federated Media are great for making money and still holding some cultural cachet, but I feel that there’s more room in the market (but only a little, nobody wants market over-saturation) for the smaller, elite networks that are prestige badges as well as revenue streams.

After all, everyone likes being a part of the cool kid clique. Making some cash on the side is just a bonus.

Jez Burrows was robbed. Also, Penguin cover art rocks.

I’m not only saying that Jez Burrows was robbed because Bronwyn (my hero) said it first. (Or because everyone else on the web seems to think so.)

I’m saying that Jez Burrows was robbed because this is one of the sexiest book covers I’ve seen all year:

That being said, this post is not about Jez Burrows or the fact that he was robbed. (After all, Jenna Jones’ submission was also great, as were most of the submissions that made the shortlist.) Instead, I want to congratulate Penguin for continuously pushing the envelope when it comes to cover design.

In my previous ruminations on book cover design, I gushed about Penguin’s Great Ideas series and the remarkable work they have done in fostering excellent cover art. The Great Ideas series and the Penguin Design Award are just two manifestations of the importance the publisher places on the design of their work.

What Penguin seems to understand more than many other publishers is that stories are not just told in the text of their books; cover art, typography, and even the shape and size of the published work are integral to enhancing the overall story.

Storytelling through design

A good storyteller doesn’t just tell you a tale. Instead, he or she creates an environment where you can be immersed, enraptured, and enthralled by the contents of the story. For a good storyteller, it’s not enough that you hear the story: you have to believe it, feel it, and live it.

As a publisher, Penguin Books is a phenomenal storyteller. They know that the power of the story is not in its content, but in its experience, and subsequently make all the right design choices to make that experience come alive.

You know all those predictions that say that the “book” as a format for consuming text is going to disappear? What they forget is that the book is not just a format for consuming text; instead, it is a physical artifact that serves as a reminder of a personal experience, a story lived. The book isn’t going to die anytime soon.

And I thank Penguin and their design team for helping to ensure the medium’s longevity.

On a total side note, the website for the Penguin Design Awards is gorgeous. Yet another example of great Penguin design.

Powerpoint is not (always) the enemy

These days, hating on PowerPoint is just like making fun of Paris Hilton: they’re both popular tools that everyone uses but nobody really likes.

Okay, so maybe that was uncalled for. (But true.)

Being a Keynote user for years, I’ve been known to throw a snide remark to PowerPoint users from time to time. After all, if Edward Tufte (read: genius) doesn’t like the tool, then why would anyone really want to use it?

Little did I know that it wasn’t the tool (PowerPoint) that was creating the horrible presentations, but it was the tools (clueless executives) using the tool (Powerpoint) that created the presentation atrocities.

Sleeping with the enemy

In my new day job, I sit in a cubicle and stare at a machine that uses Windows 2000 and a (very buggy) install of PowerPoint 2000. So when I recently found out that I had to make a presentation at a meeting, I was tempted to drag my Macbook Pro to work and use that instead.

I ended up using PowerPoint to make my presentation. And while it wasn’t as easy to do as it is with Keynote, I managed to create a presentation that had a narrative embedded into its images and information.

The presentation went well. I had immediate buy-in and the discussion focused on the essential message of my content rather than the specifics — mainly because I hadn’t put many specifics in the presentation but instead circulated them later in a handout.

I had used PowerPoint, and I had won. Sure, it was a bit of a battle, but using PowerPoint for another purpose than creating bulleted lists is not only possible, but the right thing to do.

If PowerPoint is not the enemy, why are so many presentations still so horrible? (Hint: the answer has everything to do with the people creating these presentations.)

Friends. Enemies. Same thing.

If you’re in a work environment that requires you to use bulleted lists in your presentations, and requires you to post all your content in your slide deck, maybe you need to ask yourself if that’s the right work environment for efficient communication.

In the end, it’s all about making that emotional impact, whether using Keynote, PowerPoint, or a whiteboard. As Seth Godin says it:

You put up a slide. It triggers an emotional reaction in the audience. They sit up and want to know what you’re going to say that fits in with that image. Then, if you do it right, every time they think of what you said, they’ll see the image (and vice versa).

It doesn’t matter what you use. Just use it right. (Get some tips on how to do that over on the amazing blog Presentation Zen.)

Of course, if you use Keynote (or 280 Slides?), chances are you’ll get it right more often than not.

Got some examples of great Powerpoint presentations? Please share them! (Because it’s much too easy to find examples of bad PowerPoint presentations.)

New TTC website: giving me what I want

Yesterday, the TTC unveiled the beta of their new website, exciting web junkies and transit aficionados all around Toronto.

The new design and functionality comes after a long series of consultations with the city’s web community, and promises to make information about transit services not only more accessible to residents, but also to position the TTC as a forward-thinking and rider-friendly transportation service.

According to the TTC, there are a ton of features planned for the near future including a trip planner, service updates by SMS, and online Metropass purchase options.

The site is still currently in beta, so there are obviously a few bugs (and lack of content) to be worked out, so don’t expect any harsh criticisms just yet. Instead, I wanted to congratulate the TTC for considering a key interface element that is extremely obvious but often ignored.

Give the people what they want

When I go to the Canada Post website, I want to know one thing: how much does it cost to mail my letter? (That information is easily available in one click.) When I go to the Toronto Public Library website, I want to know one thing: when is my local branch open and when does it close? (Getting that information requires multiple clicks in a very non-intuitive interface.)

Similarly, when people go to the TTC website, they have certain questions in mind, the most notable of them being:

• How do I get to my destination?
• How much will it cost me?
• Am I going to run into any trouble?

By putting fare information, service disruptions, and the trip planner on the front page of the new site, the TTC is giving people what they want immediately.

In a world where traffic numbers and web stats reign supreme, it’s comforting to know that the TTC cares more about serving their ridership than pleasing their marketing teams.

Kudos to Adam Giambrone and his team for making this happen. Looking forward to the official launch soon.