Kathy Sierra’s post on putting some randomness in your product is a great one. I think she hits on some great ideas about putting something unexpected in the product to delight users while still striving to create a product that is largely predictable and therefore allows the user to focus on their task and not on the software.

A couple of her suggestions really struck home and got me thinking. They would be great to implement at Judy’s Book or at any other user-generated content site for that matter. They are:

  • Staff Picks - Business of the week, photo of the week etc.
  • Unexpected Uses of [x] - Truth is stranger than fiction. I bet this would generate really cool and entertaining content
  • Something unrelated - Occasionally introduce things that aren’t related to the primary purpose of the product

The focus is on providing consumers with something unexpected while they interact with your product and it makes a ton of sense. Kathy’s blog is full of gems like this post. Highly recommended for anyone interested in designing cool products.