Jan Chipchase works on User Research for Nokia and also writes a pithy blog – Future Perfect – posts normally just consist of a photo and a line or two that make you think.
Yesterday, he wrote a typical post about Wayfinding, which is finding out from a location feed on your mobile where you are and getting a map showing where you want to go.
As he says: “It’s easier to just ask someone”.
Asking someone the way has been termed as Social Navigation and is yet another barrier to the implementation of mobile local search, I posted about yesterday. For all the high tech available, it is indeed simply easier to ask a colleague, friend or stranger how to get somewhere or where the nearest x is.
Actually, it’s easier to phone someone on your mobile for this info, thatn use the phone itself to get it.
This will change as phones get better, but right now Social Navigation is the best form of local search there is, in terms of accuracy, speed and usability. This needs to be taken account of when we’re thinking what successful mobile search will look like.
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