Natural language vs. Tech language?

Question

Redesign of eBay reminds me of an old debate I had with fellow UX designers: is natural language always better than artificial tech language (even if it addresses clear mental model)?

Let me give you an example:

In new eBay UI the text in the search input says "I'm looking for..." - which is a nice example of natural language, but it's followed by nasty "All categories" - which is very close to artificial tech language (would you call shop department a category in offline environment?). In fact though in eCommerce we tend to talk about "categories" all the time, so it might address the right mental model in the head of our users.

If eBay would decide to go all the way with natural language they should come up with something like "I'm looking for... [in all departments]" etc.

To make it even more interesting while eBay uses "category" throughout the interface, Amazon goes with "department".

So the question is as follows: Is natural language always better than artificial tech language (even if it addresses clear mental model)?

ps. If you want to play with new eBay UI design here are some wireframe templates: http://uxporn.uxpin.com/ecommerce/ebay-new-homepage-ui-design-pattern/ http://uxporn.uxpin.com/ecommerce/ebay-new-profile-page-ui-design-pattern/

Answer 1

It depends on your application as well as users.

Natural language is helpful in an app which is widely used- something like as you said - E-bay. Because they can expect even a 70 year old to use their site, and they would want to keep it friendly and usable for him as well as a 7 year old. They can't risk using technical language which might lose them ground with the non-tech people.

Tech language might be helpful in a scenario, where you dont expect anyone else but someone with a degree in computer science from MIT. For example, if I have an interface which is selling ardino boards (dont ask me what they are), I would not expect a 70 year or a 7 year old to come to my website. My target audience would be limited to the techies. And when my domain is restricted, tech language can work better in such a scenario. Even a mix of two can work.

Bottom Line: Techies understand natural language, but everyone who understands natural language doesn't understand tech. Keep that in mind, when you are using some.

Answer 2

It depends on your audience and use case. In eBay's case, they would have benefited from going all out with natural language, in my opinion.

This is where iterative testing shines. For instance, you may even find that being inconsistent from one place to another works best. I am often surprised to glimpse what's going on in the user's head.

Case in point: I did a site test last year where we took an almost identical product module on an ecomm site in two similar but slightly different locations. We ran simultaneous independent tests (with and without an add to cart button) and there was significant variance in opposite directions. Our hypothesis was that the customer was in the same state of mind and would expect the same tools. If we would've followed that logic we would've left a lot of money on the table.