Conventional wisdom hasn’t moved on but we certainly have more data on which to base decisions. Much of what I learned 8+ years ago about human computer interaction still applies today which makes being forced to make the same missteps again and again all the more frustrating.
As far as I know very little research is being done on public facing websites in Taiwan (outside of graduate/phd programs). Companies like Yahoo employ user research teams but that’s under the management and direction of hq. Most of the other teams doing this kind of work are employed by htc, Benq, Asus, and the like to inform their mobile product development teams. At the height of my formers teams importance we were constantly doing user research and usability testing but unfortunately that was for internal systems only. They would never agree to give me permission to publish.
Malcolm’s suggestion of Steve Krugs book is a good one. So many of these books are dry and real sleepers - whenever my wife had trouble sleeping I would hand her a book on usability and she would fall asleep from shear boredom. But Steve writes well and in a style that keeps you engaged. You can read this whole book on the way to work and come away informed.
Malcolm’s “wayfinding footer” is something that has become somewhat popular lately. Most of us, myself included, forget about that large bit of space at the bottom of the page. I can’t wait to see what he does with it.
http://www.powazek.com/2005/09/000537.html
http://designforcommunity.com/essay6.html