At first, she didn't want anything to do with it.

We could make choices without having a salesperson hanging over us. Even when a salesperson stands back, their presence can make a person feel a subtle pressure.

My mom always said she wanted to get through life without ever learning how to use a computer. But pretty soon, she was looking over my shoulder, and by the time we made the purchase, she was really into it. She was like a fish in water.

Too-subtle visual cues are actually a very common problem. Designers love subtle cues, because subtlety is one of the traits of sophisticated design. But Web users are generally in such a hurry that they routinely miss subtle cues.

When you go to a site, you usually run into usability problems pretty quickly. They're not hidden. They're not complicated. They're not baffling. They were in the design or crept into the design.

As a rule, conventions only become conventions if they work.