Until recently, I've disliked every PDA I've ever owned. Too hard. Too complicated. Too big. Too small. Too much work.
Yet today as I was playing with my
iPhone, and I was marveling for about the billionth time over the clean
UI and incredible experience, it drove the point home that things are
hard because we feel overwhelmed by them. Maybe they accomplish an end
goal, but they make our lives harder rather than difficult. Unless, of
course, they are easy to use tools that are powerful, and built with the user
experience in mind.
And despite what others think, I am not a technical person. I am an average user, who does not like to put in extra work. Instead, I want my computer or stereo or camera or phone to do as much of the work for me as possible.
This personal experience is relevant to blogging because the same rules apply. Yes, it has to accomplish the end goal, but it should be easy to use blogging software, powerful, and a pleasant experience for the user. With respect to blogging tools specifically, that means straightforward navigation, clear terminology, and keeping the user focused on the task at hand (in the case of blogging, usually that means posting content. Or, for an administrator to improve content).
The bottom line is that there's only so much time in the day, and we can only become experts in so much. Rather than becoming an expert, why not rely on easy to use blogging software that make the job as painless as possible, while making you successful?
