It was only a matter of time before it happened, and the day has come: computer scientists are now programming websites that have the potential to know the user’s feelings – in real-time.

Researchers at Brigham Young University explained that “[u]sing this technology, website will no longer be dumb.” Not only will they be able to understand what you’re providing, “but what you’re feeling.”

They later frustrated another 126 participants and tracked their performance on an E-Commerce site. By observing their cursor movements, researchers were able to identify which users were annoyed with about four out of five times.

In all the experiments conducted, the overall picture not only suggested that cursor movement not only could give away whether or not someone was calm or angry, but also their level of that respective emotion.

How Does That Help?

One theory is that such information could be coded into the software itself to make the experience of interacting with a website that much more pleasant – or less unpleasant. It’s too early to expect that soft music and calming voices will start emanating from your speaker as soon as you violently shake the mouse.

Lawyers Should Get on This

Lawyers who have interactive websites that make potential clients scroll through long menus in order to get to who they want to call should take heed. This should hardly be an issue for most attorneys, even the large firms. We can’t think of a single practitioner who has committed the unforgivable sin of omitting their contact information at the footer of their website.

Related Resources:

  • Websites Could Read Emotions by Seeing How Fast You Move Your Mouse (The Telegraph)
  • Holiday Present From Congress: No Internet Access Taxes (FindLaw’s Technologist)
  • Thousands of Airbnb Hosts Are Violating Anti-Discrimination Laws (FindLaw’s Technologist)
  • Idaho Courts Usher in the 21st Cent., Launch Statewide E-Filing (FindLaw’s Technologist)

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