Location and Time

[Dan Gorgone] With the popularity and success of mobile devices, 0:00 more and more people want information and features 0:03 that specifically tie into their location. 0:06 Mobile sites and apps can take advantage of location information 0:09 to provide content before the user even asks for it. 0:13 If you've been looking for ways to improve the usability of your site, 0:16 tying into location-based content is one great way to do it. 0:19 For example, browsing a retail site on a laptop at home 0:24 might offer lots of information, including a locations link 0:28 and a form where you can enter your zip code or address 0:32 and then you get a list of stores that you can find nearby. 0:36 However, if a user visits the same site from a mobile device, 0:39 one can assume they're already looking for the location 0:43 while they're out shopping, perhaps driving around. 0:46 Mobile devices can take usability a step further— 0:50 simply using the device's location information and bringing up the content for you. 0:53 Reducing the number of steps to this content is a great way to improve usability and user satisfaction. 0:59 Some apps can offer even more information, 1:06 combining locations and time data to tell you where their locations are 1:09 and if they're open at that given time. 1:14 [Amit Bijlani] I would define personally usability as 1:16 the ability to make the most out of an app 1:21 and the contextual surroundings. 1:25 For example, you have an app—a store locator— 1:28 and you're asking the user to enter a zip code. 1:33 Now, that's not good usability because you can already get that information out of the device, 1:37 so why not get the location information from the device 1:42 and just get the user's permission to access that location data. 1:45 Now, you can automatically show the user 1:50 the locations closer to the user. 1:53 Not only that—you might also want to show them the locations that are open 1:56 because you know the date and time, or the day and time, 2:01 and you know their location, so you can show them, 2:05 here are the 5 locations that are closest to you that are open right now. 2:06 So, that's what usability means to me— 2:11 you have this mobile environment where you're getting contextual information where and when the user is 2:13 and you're providing them information or the most usable way to consume that information on the go. 2:20 [Gorgone] Therefore, consider how you can save your user steps 2:27 and give them the content they're looking for 2:31 by anticipating their needs from a device perspective. 2:33 User goals are not the same from the laptop to the mobile device, 2:37 so when you're designing for mobile or building your app, 2:41 figure out what your users want before they ask for it and you efforts will pay off. 2:44