My 2007 Forrester Research retrospective

Looking back at 2007, I just wanted to compile a list of some of the reports I wrote at Forrester:

• 11/06, Gen Y Is Truly Different; Design Accordingly - Forrester analyzed survey responses from nearly 50,000 consumers to understand the differences between Gen Y and older generations of consumers. The analysis showed that Gen Yers are more apt to like style, fun, and technology; seek out what's hot; make purchases based on image; consume all types of digital media; and use every wireless service on their mobile phones. Each of these elements creates a different set of design requirements, such as injecting fun and social networking into the experience and developing experiences that bridge the PC and the phone.

• 10/17, The Gen Y Design Guide - Gen Y consumers are a unique breed. But what exactly makes them different from their elders? Our research unearthed nine attributes of Gen Yers' social, emotional, and mental makeup that shape their perception of interactions. To reach these young consumers, we've identified four design approaches: immediacy, Gen Y literacy, individualism, and social interactivity. To truly engage Gen Y, firms should create a Gen Y advisory board and apply Gen Y design approaches across touchpoints.

• 9/07, Uploading To Video Portals Isn't Easy - Forrester applied an abridged version of its Web Site Review methodology to the site experiences at five major video portal sites: YouTube, Yahoo! Video, Metacafe, Dailymotion, and Veoh. Our evaluation looked at how well each site supports young adults trying to upload a new video clip. Only YouTube received a passing overall score. Some of the major problems we found across the sites: poor contextual help and deficient privacy information.

• 8/08, Online Desirability: The Readiness Self-Test - Before diving into desirability-focused projects, Web site owners must first make sure that they've mastered the basics. To help execs gauge whether or not their Web site and their Web organization are ready to move to the next level, we developed two self-tests.

• 8/07, Desirable Online Experiences: Taking Web Sites Beyond Useful And Usable - Consumers are spending more and more time online, seeking out experiences that are relevant, engaging, and personal. We've explored three tactics for creating desirable online experiences: 1) providing engaging content and functionality, 2) focusing on aesthetics, and 3) incorporating elements of game design.