Five ¢ents

Researchers at MIT’s Sloan School of Management are testing a new system that would categorize a user’s browsing type, and adjust the content of a website to match.

The fundamental appeal of such a technology is easy to see, but I have reservations about the scope of the changes. If a user is determined to have an analytical mind-set, highlighting graphs or comparison tables would be of value. The trick is to be sure that all users have that same information available to them. It would be bad form to wall of content from any user, regardless of computed disposition. Likewise, the fundamental information architecture should not be considered malleable. When using multiple computers, or encouraging others to visit, having the ground seem to shift beneath a user is a recipe for disaster. Ad Lab