Anthropology: The Art of Building a Successful Social Site

"In anthropology it's very clear that the environment that you create influences people and how they behave", Spolsky explained. "People will come into the environment and behave according to what you built in certain subtle ways; ways that you probably didn't think about."

He points to the Scalinata della Trinita dei Monti, or the Spanish Steps to further his point. "They were built to be stairs," he said, "from the Spanish Embassy at the base, up to the Trinita dei Monti at the top." Instead, they've become the "living room" for backpackers in Rome. "Partially it has to do with the steps being the perfect comfortable height to sit on," he said, but also, they provide a fantastic view of the Piazza di Spagna at the bottom.

"This was completely non intentional," he explained. "Similarly, the user interface you create for your applications will influence how people behave."

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