Mathemagenic

Last couple of days almost everyone points to Persuasive Design: New Captology Book. It's not common for Jakob Nielsen to focus his Alertbox column describing work of others so positiely :)

So, the gem:

It is a rare book that defines a new discipline or fundamentally changes how we think about technology and our jobs. Dr. B.J. Fogg's new book, Persuasive Technology: Using Computers to Change What We Think and Do, does all of this. I highly recommend that you read it for two reasons:

• The book's indispensable design advice will grow your business.
• You must teach your children to recognize this new class of manipulation.

Between other links this site points to Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility (these guidelines are referred in the Alertbox column; references to supporting research are included).

1. Make it easy to verify the accuracy of the information on your site.
2. Show that there's a real organization behind your site.
3. Highlight the expertise in your organization and in the content and services you provide.
4. Show that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your site.
5. Make it easy to contact you.
6. Design your site so it looks professional (or is appropriate for your purpose).
7. Make your site easy to use -- and useful. Update your site's content often (at least show it's been reviewed recently).
8. Update your site's content often (at least show it's been reviewed recently).
9. Use restraint with any promotional content (e.g. ads, offers).
10. Avoid errors of all types, no matter how small they seem.