I’ve learned to ignore contests on the web. Banner ads that promise prizes if I click the right pixel are the least offensive, but the contests that have me creating content (and then force me to give up my copyright to it) for another person’s gain infuriate me. So when I saw author and experience architect Robert Hoekman Jr’s post offering a deal, I quickly skipped to the next entry in my reader.

Then I received an overdue notice for my library’s copy of Designing the Obvious. My borrowed books often go overdue because they get lost, but others sit on my desk after I read them so I can recommend them to friends and colleagues (which can sometimes result in them getting lost). The realization that I may end up buying a replacement copy of the book now has me blogging about it.

Not that I’m surprised about this. I’ve appreciated Hoekman’s insight since I heard him speak at WordCamp. Later, his usability review of Scriblio offered some valuable insights and lessons that have me hoping to tap his talent for another project. So, yeah, maybe I do want in on this contest/drawing after all. A chance at a free hour of his time is definitely worth a few hundred words.

Just when we started wondering how much longer flickr would be beta, they announced gamma.

The new design had me scratching my head for a bit, but I’m coming to like the changes. The menu/toolbar in the header has direct links to a lot more stuff, while the stuff in the footer has many fewer links. I can’t really tell if there are any links missing there, or if they’re just organized better, as I really only used one or two of them anyway.

Searching is improved, and now there’s a fancy menu that pops up when you mouse over a buddy icon. Go take a look at it all.

Overall, it’s a nice improvement to my favorite online application.

beta, flickr, gamma, improved, redesigned, web application design, web applications, web design