For the past weeks I have been passionately following Irans election thru any media I could get my hands on, including dragging dad in front of the screen to translate Persian words from youtube clips so that I could note down terms which I was not familiar with. Hoping to catch a glimpse and feeling for what is happening within the country.

Fortunately I have met numerous co-enthusiasts thru Twitter and Facebook who shared my thirst for information and passion to discuss and share insights about the current political landscape and election. If you care to come across some of these enthusiasts just follow #iranelection on Twitter.

One thing is clear; this election season has brought many firsts to Iran; that are there to stay. Surely these “firsts” also reflect the mood and feeling within the country; ELECTION FEVER.

The campaign trail is vibrant, full of passion and endless discussions; the web is overflowing with commentary, analysis and jokes; and the many that refrained from voting last time around have vowed to vote on June 12^th and to drag everyone they know with them to the polls. In short, the country is alive and everyone has their own hopes set on the upcoming elections.

Tomorrow is the last day before the elections and apparently its law in Iran that all campaigning must be stopped 24 hours before the polls open.

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Here is the schedule:
2 June: Karoubi-Rezai
3 June: Ahmadinejad-Mousavi
4 June: Mousavi-Rezai
6 June: Ahmadinejad-Karoubi
7 June: Karoubi-Mousavi
8 June: Ahmadinejad-Rezai

Air time: 1800-1930 GMT on IRTV3
Source: ISNA news agency

I wonder if there will be any  live webcast prodcasting these debates, if you hear anything let me know.

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To begin I suggest you read the fantastic 4 part article published by Tehran Bureau which covers the political landscape of Iran and the various candidates and political groups involved.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

Tehran Bureau is a independent online magazine about Iran and the Iranian diaspora.

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I highlighted in blue the sections that I felt are key principles and ideas to keep in mind.

Ten principles that contribute to a Googley user experience

1. Focus on people – their lives, their work, their dreams.
The Google User Experience team works to discover people’s actual needs, including needs they can’t always articulate. Armed with that information, Google can create products that solve real-world problems and spark the creativity of all kinds of people. Improving people’s lives, not just easing step-by-step tasks, is our goal.

Above all, a well-designed Google product is useful in daily life. It doesn’t try to impress users with its whizbang technology or visual style – though it might have both. It doesn’t strong-arm people to use features they don’t want – but it does provide a natural growth path for those who are interested. It doesn’t intrude on people’s lives – but it does open doors for users who want to explore the world’s information, work more quickly and creatively, and share ideas with their friends or the world.

2. Every millisecond counts.
Nothing is more valuable than people’s time. Google pages load quickly, thanks to slim code and carefully selected image files. The most essential features and text are placed in the easiest-to-find locations. Unnecessary clicks, typing, steps, and other actions are eliminated. Google products ask for information only once and include smart defaults. Tasks are streamlined.

Speed is a boon to users. It is also a competitive advantage that Google doesn’t sacrifice without good reason.

3. Simplicity is powerful.
Simplicity fuels many elements of good design, including ease of use, speed, visual appeal, and accessibility. But simplicity starts with the design of a product’s fundamental functions. Google doesn’t set out to create feature-rich products; our best designs include only the features that people need to accomplish their goals. Ideally, even products that require large feature sets and complex visual designs appear to be simple as well as powerful.

Google teams think twice before sacrificing simplicity in pursuit of a less important feature. Our hope is to evolve products in new directions instead of just adding more features.

4. Engage beginners and attract experts.
Designing for many people doesn’t mean designing for the lowest common denominator. The best Google designs appear quite simple on the surface but include powerful features that are easily accessible to those users who want them. Our intent is to invite beginners with a great initial experience while also attracting power users whose excitement and expertise will draw others to the product.

A well-designed Google product lets new users jump in, offers help when necessary, and ensures that users can make simple and intuitive use of the product’s most valuable features. Progressive disclosure of advanced features encourages people to expand their usage of the product. Whenever appropriate, Google offers smart features that entice people with complex online lives – for instance, people who share data across several devices and computers, work online and off, and crave storage space.

5. Dare to innovate.
Design consistency builds a trusted foundation for Google products, makes users comfortable, and speeds their work. But it is the element of imagination that transforms designs from ho-hum to delightful.

Google encourages innovative, risk-taking designs whenever they serve the needs of users. Our teams encourage new ideas to come out and play. Instead of just matching the features of existing products, Google wants to change the game.

6. Design for the world.
The World Wide Web has opened all the resources of the Internet to people everywhere. For example, many users are exploring Google products while strolling with a mobile device, not sitting at a desk with a personal computer. Our goal is to design products that are contextually relevant and available through the medium and methods that make sense to users. Google supports slower connections and older browsers when possible, and Google allows people to choose how they view information (screen size, font size) and how they enter information (smart query parsing). The User Experience team researches the fundamental differences in user experiences throughout the world and works to design the right products for each audience, device, and culture. Simple translation, or “graceful degradation” of a feature set, isn’t sufficient to meet people’s needs.

Google is also committed to improving the accessibility of its products. Our desire for simple and inclusive products, and Google’s mission to make the world’s information universally accessible, demand products that support assistive technologies and provide a useful and enjoyable experience for everyone, including those with physical and cognitive limitations.

7. Plan for today’s and tomorrow’s business.
Those Google products that make money strive to do so in a way that is helpful to users. To reach that lofty goal, designers work with product teams to ensure that business considerations integrate seamlessly with the goals of users. Teams work to make sure ads are relevant, useful, and clearly identifiable as ads. Google also takes care to protect the interests of advertisers and others who depend on Google for their livelihood.

Google never tries to increase revenue from a product if it would mean reducing the number of Google users in the future. If a profitable design doesn’t please users, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Not every product has to make money, and none should be bad for business.

8. Delight the eye without distracting the mind.
If people looked at a Google product and said “Wow, that’s beautiful!” the User Experience team would cheer. A positive first impression makes users comfortable, assures them that the product is reliable and professional, and encourages people to make the product their own.

A minimalist aesthetic makes sense for most Google products because a clean, clutter-free design loads quickly and doesn’t distract users from their goals. Visually appealing images, color, and fonts are balanced against the needs for speed, scannable text, and easy navigation. Still, “simple elegance” is not the best fit for every product. Audience and cultural context matter. A Google product’s visual design should please its users and improve usability for them.

9. Be worthy of people’s trust.
Good design can go a long way to earn the trust of the people who use Google products. Establishing Google’s reliability starts with the basics – for example, making sure the interface is efficient and professional, actions are easily reversed, ads are clearly identified, terminology is consistent, and users are never unhappily surprised. In addition, Google products open themselves to the world by including links to competitors and encouraging user contributions such as community maps or iGoogle gadgets.

A greater challenge is to make sure that Google demonstrates respect for users’ right to own and control their own data. Google is transparent about how it uses information and never shares data outside Google without a user’s explicit consent. Our products warn users about such dangers as insecure connections, different privacy policies on other websites, actions that may make users vulnerable to spam, or the possibility that data shared outside Google may be stored elsewhere. Google is reassuring but truthful about data sharing so that users can make informed choices. The larger Google becomes, the more essential it is to live up to our “Don’t be evil” motto.

10. Add a human touch.
Google includes a wide range of personalities, and our designs have personality, too. Text and design elements are friendly, quirky, and smart – and not boring, close-minded, or arrogant. Google text talks directly to people and offers the same practical, informal assistance that anyone would offer to a neighbor who asked a question. And Google doesn’t let fun or personality interfere with other elements of a design, especially when people’s livelihood, or their ability to find vital information, is at stake.

Google doesn’t know everything, and no design is perfect. Our products ask for feedback, and Google acts on that feedback. When practicing these design principles, the Google User Experience team seeks the best possible balance in the time available for each product. Then the cycle of iteration, innovation, and improvement continues.

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Enjoy.

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“The colors, the fonts, the icons for donating and volunteering, the use of videos, and the social networking Facebook-type options — including Twitter, which hardly exists in Israel — all reflect a conscious effort by the Netanyahu campaign to learn from the Obama success.”

read more

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It’s a great piece to help you get started when you want to “start anything”. Having come out of business school I can sincerely say that this book gives you the hands on information you need to make your project happen and be successful.

Here is a great video from one of Kawasaki’s presentations.

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He shares fantastic insights on how the advancement of technology is shifting and shaping our paradigm. His commentary of on how technology influences cultural norms is particularly interesting.

Make sure not to miss the closing questions. The questions included trends regarding the future of news media, the future of the US government and its use of technology and a great question about how one “do you guard against becoming evil”.

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