Why No One Is Happy Today (and what that means for web developers)
I read mdz's post on "Breadth and depth" today and found it contained many, many interesting links. Take this video of Barry Schwartz's 2005 Ted talk.
I had heard of Schwartz's research before but this is the first time I sat through a talk from him. His arguments are compelling, and I find myself fully convinced. We have too much choice and it's killing us. For those who don't know him or don't have time to sit through the video, his main point is that despite all the choice and opportunity we have in affluent, western societies, we find ourselves more unhappy than ever.
There is a lesson here for makers of web sites and web apps, too. More choice is clearly not a good thing. We know that sites that focus on a smaller set of tools are often more popular than fuller-featured counter parts. Now we know why.
Posted by deryck on April 7, 2010
