The bulk of the interface changes were made to the iTunes store, and Apple's design team really hit a home run here. Most of these changes were a long time coming, as Apple hadn't made serious updates to their store interface for quite some time. Here are 5 positive design and usability features that Apple added to the iTunes 9 store:

1. Slider Function - Apple added a rotating slider feature as the main promo element to the store homepage. This is a great way (and a better way than the previous version) to feature new content.

2. Icon Lists - The previous version of the iTunes store felt a bit disjointed primarily because of the amount of content crammed into the homepage. Apple cleaned up the layout significantly (moving from a 3 column layout to a 2 column layout) and as a result highlights their content more effectively. The graphic menus and icon lists are more prominent now as well.

3. Rollovers - From a usability perspective, Apple nailed it with the rollover and pop-up preview functionality (see #s 3&4). Now you can sample songs, movies, etc my simply rolling over the content - much more user-friendly and you don't have to dig deep into the site to discover if you like the song or not.

4. Pop-Up Previews - Like the list rollover functionality, the pop-up preview feature lets users sample content without having to leave the homepage. Not only is this a great design aesthetic, but it's very user-friendly as well. These two features alone radically change the user experience for the better and I think add a whole new dimension to the iTunes Store

5. Updated Design - Finally, Apple spent a lot of time and effort updating the design of the iTunes store. It's well known that Apple has been at the cutting edge of design strategy, and I don't think you could find a graphic or web designer who hasn't been influenced by Apple's design style. But like anything in this day and age, the cutting edge quickly becomes outdated and the iTunes store design is no exception. Once again, subtle changes make the biggest differences. Apple got rid of the bland blues and highlighted grays for a brighter, richer design aesthetic which helps the content pop more effectively, and creates a cleaner, simpler, and better user experience.

The Bad:

Though I really dig all of the changes made to the iTunes store, I'm frankly surprised that Apple didn't make similar changes to the actual iTunes interface. Granted Apple added some new features to iTunes 9, but the overall design remains relatively the same. It's not a bad design, but with all of the progression made in the store, I would have liked to see, and would have appreciated the same aesthetic to be applied to the desktop interface. Here are 2 elements that I think could and should be improved:

1. A Better List - I'm still partial to the list view in iTunes because it loads faster, is easier to navigate, and I'm used to it. But man, it's been the same style for the past several versions. Isn't it time for a design upgrade? How about just copying the styles of the lists in the new iTunes store? That would be a great improvement.

2. Individual Artist Lists - This was a feature change in the last major iTunes update, and while I admit it's not a bad design, it could be much better. And I know that's a cliche and a cop-out at times, but again, why not apply the same styles that were applied to the store? Compared to the new iTunes store design, even this "new" feature seems outdated.

Overall Review:

The verdict? Obviously I think Apple did a fantastic job with the iTunes store re-design. But I'm a little disappointed in the lack of design revisions to the actual iTunes interface. I know I'm spoiled, because Apple's design overall blows most other mainstream application designs out of the water - but to me Apple reached another level (yet again) in the store re-design, and I expected something similar for the interface.

Maybe that's what we have to look forward to in iTunes 9.1.

What are your thoughts? How do you feel about the latest iTunes 9 update?

The new Facebook 3.0 is a lesson in usability and we can learn from it. And you don't just have to be a designer, developer, or in the "creative" industry either - there are lessons that can be applied across all aspects of business. Let's look at 3 ways that the Facebook mobile application has improved, and 3 additional points that we can take away and apply to our own businesses.

Facebook 3.0 is Simpler

As I mentioned the biggest change that Facebook made is moving from a home screen based on aggregation to a home screen that is much simpler and easier to navigate. Remember the previous version where your home screen was simply an aggregate of all recent activity across your Facebook sphere. Now you have 9 options to choose from and even have the ability to customize shortcuts to friends' profiles or pages that you frequently visit.

Facebook has done an excellent job of getting in the minds of their users (not without many focus group initiatives I'm sure) to define the most used aspects of Facebook - and has then deployed these into a very easy to use, and simple interface. Because of the simpler layout, I am able to navigate Facebook much easier and as a result I enjoy the experience that much more - and when a user experience is improved, that's a very good thing.

Facebook 3.0 is Better Designed

The designers at Facebook didn't make revolutionary changes to the design of the app (though the home page redesign is quite a feat), but what they did do they did with style, class, and once again, simplicity. The design is a bit more sleek and clean - and as a result the application comes across as "fresher". It still retains the original "Facebook" feel, but the subtle, refined changes are very welcome and I think positively add to the overall user experience.

I'm sure it was a challenge for the designers to keep the design revisions simple and subtle - if you're a designer you know how difficult it is to simplify. As designers we tend to want to add all sorts of bells and whistles (or icons and pixels) to make the design "better". What ends up happening most of the time is the design becomes more cluttered and less usable. Facebook has done a great job of making subtle changes that enhance the experience, not bogging down the experience.

Facebook 3.0 is More Functional

The biggest page might have been the homepage, and the simplifying of the application, but I think Facebook's greatest achievement with this new update is the impact on the applications functionality. Because they've made the app simpler they have in turn made it more functional. This is a huge point, and one that so many in the web industry fail to understand, let alone apply. Because Facebook is simpler to use I know recognize different features, and end up wanting to use these features while I'm in Facebook.

You can see in the image the changes made to the Facebook "feeds" - that is the way you can sort through different data streams from your friends and pages. The selection wheel is a major addition to the app, and is much easier and more fun to use than the previous tabs that existed at the top of the page. This functionality - being able to sort through various data streams - is now much easier to use and therefore more functional.

So Can We Learn from Facebook 3.0?

1. Simpler is Better

That pretty much sums it up. So often we try to add the latest and greatest features to our website, application, marketing campaign, or whatever it is we're launching. What really ends up happening is we convolute the user experience and degrade our brand. What Facebook 3.0 teaches us is that more often than not simpler is better. That doesn't mean we go with the easiest option, because quite honestly the simplest, most usable way is often the hardest to design and develop. But our goal should always be to create the simplest experience for our users because that usually means the most usable experience.

2. Design Matters

Don't discount the value of design. The majority of the changes in Facebook 3.0 are design and usability changes, not functionality and development changes. Sure the functionality is affected, but there aren't any major new "features" to speak of. There is, however, a new design and structure to how the existing features of Facebook are used. That's design. It takes designers to come up with those ideas and implement how those ideas will look and function.

You can have the best functionality in the world but if it's not designed properly and effectively, no one will care and no one will use it. Sure, design isn't everything, you have to have functionality, there's no question - but design does matter. Facebook 3.0 proves that.

3. Make It Usable, Please

Finally, the ultimate goal for any initiative you plan to launch is usability. You have to create a positive user experience. It's often humorous to me that when I talk to clients about user experience and brand experience they look at me as if I were speaking Russian. User experience is often a misunderstood or rarely considered aspect of a business - and this is a shame. As I mentioned the majority of Facebook users wouldn't be able to articulate why they like this new version of the app - but you and I know that it's because Facebook has created a better experience.

So what are you developing? Maybe you're designing a new website for a client. Maybe you've got an idea for a new iPhone app. Or maybe you're trying to figure out how to convert more sales for your business. Granted there is a lot of additional things to consider that we haven't covered here, but I would almost guarantee you that if you spent some time considering how to make your application, website, or business more usable, you would do well.

Today's consumers consume in an experience economy - to be successful, we must create and maintain the best user experience we can.

Social media isn't just social media platforms.

I also noted that every social media platform is not for everyone. Though I am a believer that every business should embrace social media initiatives, I don't believe that every business should embrace the same ones. It really comes down to what you define as being part of the social media world - but the bottom line is that every business and every brand should desire and make an effort to interact and engage their customers on a regular basis.

That's what this article is about - let's break down the theory and see if we can't sink our teeth into something more tangible and applicable to your specific business or brand.

Types of Brands:

For the sake of argument and for this article, we're going to break things down into two categories. Let's consider that your brand will either be classified as a service, or as a product. I recognize that this is a very general classification, but I think it's safe to say that all brands could be classified as either a service or a product from a high-level perspective - let's define those two categories a bit further.

Service: Any offering which isn't or doesn't produce a tangible product - relying heavily on knowledge, expertise, methods and/or systems & processes.

Product: Any offering which is or produces a tangible product - something that consumers can physically touch either in a retail, wholesale, or manufacturing environment.

The reason we've broken it down this way is because there are and should be different approaches when considering social media initiatives depending on which category your brand falls into. By classifying your brand as such, it will help to define which direction you should pursue when considering which social media initiatives to utilize. In this article we're going to look at service brands, and we'll cover product brands in our next article.

Service Brands

For service providers there are three things you need to consider and implement in order to have a successful social media strategy to help build your brand:

1. Present Yourself as the Expert

Though there are many factors consumers consider when choosing a service provider (cost, location, relevance, etc), one of the most important factors - and probably the one that makes consumers most comfortable with their decision - is the knowledge level of the service provider. No one wants to hire someone if they don't know what they're doing. So if you're a service provider or service brand the most important thing you can do is present yourself as the expert in your field.

Social Media Applications: Make sure your website is geared towards your customer - include relevant info that he/she will be looking for and present it in a way that supports you or your brand as an expert on the subject. Start a blog where you can provide consistent, meaningful content in your area of expertise - this is a great way to offer free information to potential customers and can be a huge value add for you. Additionally, consider incorporating "push" content into your strategy - this could include regular e-newsletters and RSS feeds - this is a way to provide regular content to your customers without any effort on their part.

2. Invite Interaction

One of the biggest changes in the web over the past couple of years (and really the backbone of the social/new media movement) is that the web is now a two-way, interactive conversation. It's not enough to simply "put" information online and then expect potential customers to view it and respond. You have to initiate, and continue to invite interaction on the part of your customers. Once you've positioned yourself as an expert in your field you must make an effort to enter your customer's worlds and make your expertise relevant to them.

Once you've positioned yourself as an expert in your field you must make an effort to enter your customer's worlds and make your expertise relevant to them.

Social Media Applications: (2 & 3 share the same applications, with different uses) This is where some of the more "flagship" social media platforms come into play. You first must define where you customers spend the bulk of their time online. If your customers are on Facebook or Twitter, you need to be on there as well interacting with them. If they are on niche communities such as Cork'd (wine community), you need to have a presence there. You don't have to have profiles on every platform - rather you need to have effective profiles where your users spend their time, and you need to make an effort to invite interaction within these channels.

3. Interact Yourself

Finally it's not enough to simply invite interaction on the part of your customers. You must interact yourself. This means making an effort to draw out your user base, network with potential clients, and build relationships. If a new customer chooses your service brand over another it will likely not be because you are more of an expert (though that will play a factor). It will likely be because you have done a better job building a relationship and a platform for further relationships with your users. Plus it builds a more loyal customer base - those who want to use your services because they have a relationship with you, not just because you know what you're talking about.

If a new customer chooses your service brand over another it will likely not be because you are more of an expert (though that will play a factor). It will likely be because you have done a better job building a relationship and a platform for further relationships with your users.

Social Media Applications: (2 & 3 share the same applications, with different uses) Once again this is where more of the well-known social media platforms come into play. The application is basically the same as #2, and both should be done hand-in-hand. Invite interaction and give interaction - and ideally, give more than you get. Remember people aren't online waiting for you to find them. They're online for themselves - so it's up to you to enter their world and bring them into yours in a way that is both unpretentious as well as strategic.

So for service providers and service brands, social media can and should be utilized because it can be very effective for your business. In our next article we'll look specifically at our second category - product brands. In the meantime we'll conclude with a few questions that you should ask as you think through how to effectively leverage social media for your business:

1. Do you have a solid brand presence online? If so, is it optimized effectively and can it be leveraged as the central foundation for your social media efforts? If not, why not, and what do you need to do to create a solid brand presence online?

2. Have you created, integrated, or leveraged platforms for interaction and conversation between your brand and your customers?

3. Are you inviting interaction on these platforms and are you interacting yourself?

The internet in particular has experienced the bulk of this paradigm shift. What once was a one way conversation between brands and users has now become a two-way, interactive dialogue. It's not enough to simply "put" information out there - now you must continue to offer relevant content that your users care about in such a way that keeps those users coming back for more. The whole "social" side of media simply means that brands are no longer completely in control of what's being said about them - therefore it's more important than ever to monitor and maintain your brand presence and identity amongst your current and potential users.

But how should small businesses and freelancers approach social media? Often I hear small business owners and decision makers brush off social media initiatives because they don't see how a Facebook profile or Twitter account makes sense for them. I addressed this in a previous article where I said one of the keys to aligning your business strategy with your brand strategy was:

Don't generalize - don't just assume, for instance, that your business doesn't need to utilize social media because you can't see how your business will fit on Facebook. Don't generalize one form of media or marketing based on one entity. Just like social media is much more than Facebook, your brand strategy should seek to find ways to reach your customers through the mediums they use the most.

You see, social media isn't just social media platforms. Social media is the interactive, ongoing conversation you (or your brand) is having with your customers. Remember you're always branding - your customers are always forming an identity of your brand in their minds - the question is what identity are they forming. The same is true of social media.

Social media isn't just social media platforms.

Let me also say that every social media platform is not for everyone. Though I am a believer that every business should embrace social media initiatives, I don't believe that every business should embrace the same ones. It really comes down to what you define as being part of the social media world - but the bottom line is that every business and every brand should desire and make an effort to interact and engage their customers on a regular basis.

So if your a small business owner, decision maker, freelancer, or someone in between, how do you embrace social media? I'll leave the specifics for another post - defining what specific initiatives you should embrace - but I believe there are some general points everyone can and should employ. In order to create and maintain a solid social media strategy to help build your brand presence, you must do each of the following:

1. Create Relevant Content - Whether it's through your website, a blog, a Twitter profile, or an email newsletter, make sure you're creating content that's both different and relevant to your users.

2. Maintain Relevant Content - Once you've created content you've got to maintain it. It's not enough to build a Twitter profile and post once a month. Make an effort to keep consistency a priority.

3. Connect With Your Users - Creating and maintaining content is just half the battle - you also have to connect with your users over the content you produce.

4. Interact With Your Users - Just like you have to maintain consistency with you content, you also have to maintain consistency with your users. It's not enough to build a community and connect with it once. Your users want to interact with your brand - make an effort to do so with them.

Social Media isn't the end-all, be-all for businesses. Just because you employ social media strategies doesn't mean you'll be successful - you have to determine the best initiatives for your unique business and brand. We'll talk about this more in our next article - but the bottom line is every business no matter how large or small needs to connect with their customers. There is no excuse to have a one-sided marketing strategy anymore. The day is here where your customers and potential customers are ready to interact with you and your brand - the question is will you connect with them, or leave them forming a negative identity of your brand in their minds?