Just what we goddamn need. More "user psychology" distilled down into a short list without any discussion of what it means to make good software, encourage good behavior, or contribute something meaningful to a user's life.
Give 'em fucking faces and controversy! No chance that'll make the world a slightly shittier place.
Boost the users ego. Facebook does this well and I have a sneaking suspicion it was never intentional. The whole impetus to create it was born out of human nature and the user engagement just flowed from there. At this point people post to Facebook to show off how cool and interesting their lives are. Facebook gets this right in so many ways. It's fast, easy, and you get lots of reinforcement in the form of likes. The fact that the whole thing just naturally came together is what really made it. Unfortunately not every web app can make it flow like them. The more thought you have to put into how you'll evoke these emotions you have to put in, the more evidence there probably is to suggest your app just doesn't lend itself well to it. That said, not all apps need to evoke emotions to be successful. Serving a basic utilitarian purpose and doing it well is often enough. Google Drive comes to mind.
I guess this is covered somwhat by the first word of #6, "Simplicity, clarity, efficiency, safety."
However, I believe that is far more important and deserves better emphasis. "Simplicity" in the sense of "just let me do something I want to do."
Users want to be able to order an omelet. They feel best when you just bring them an omelet. They are okay with answering a question with what kind of omelet they want and being presented with a brief list of the omelets on the menu.
They are NOT okay with you asking them: how many eggs? how long should we cook it? iron skillet or teflon? wooden or plastic spatula? ... or rubber? How many plates should I bring it on? Jesus, just bring me an omelette, will you! I'm not trying to make an omelette here - I want YOU to do it!
There is a comment to the article that says "How about control or choice?" I respectfully disagree with that. The list is emotions "every user" enjoys.
Loads of users are put off by both control and choice, and implicitly rank it far below other 'emotions' (as used by this article).
At the moment I'm typing on a keyboard I have no idea how to remap, listening to music at 100.00% of the speed it is meant to be played at and at the same frequency, using WIFI by simply entering a code off the router and being glad I wasn't confronted with any settings. No idea how to adjust the speed my microwave platter rotates at: and that's the way I likes it.
Don't you prefer a washing machine that maybe lets you select "half load" but otherwise just makes you turn it to whites, 60 degrees or colors, 40 degrees - rather than having a wheel with 26 settings, with an 8 column by 4 row chart somewhere with laundry symbols explaining which of the 26 settings on the wheel you need, and next to the wheel a separate row of 6 on-off toggle switches each also having an obscure symbol or single letter abbreviation on it?
Granted, if someone has taken the time to learn what the laundry symbols mean (quick: which one is wool? answer key: http://www.care-labelling.co.uk/whatsymbolsmean.html) they may be interested in picking something more specific.
But for "every user" I think "control and choice" rank far below "I'm using you because I want YOU to do it."
