inkblurt

Contextual user research is a “new” approach?

August 10, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

I spotted an article in the latest Metropolis Magazine touting a new, “innovative” approach to “make research a fundamental factor in all phases of product development.” (The article isn’t on the site, though.)

I’m glad the approach is getting press, but I was a little surprised to see it called “innovative” since I thought more people knew about this?

IIT’s website luckily has a PDF of the article that you’d normally have to buy the magazine to see.

Institute of Design : In The News

Here’s a quick link to the PDF download. (Not large at all.)

The future?

July 28, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

The ever effervescent Weinberger had this to say on his Democratic National Convention blog

Barack Obama: The good news for Hillary is that she might get State Department when Obama is President in 2012.

This is just wrong.

July 23, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

Krispy Kreme introduces glazed doughnut frozen beverage – Jul. 21, 2004

The chain introduced a new line of frozen drinks Wednesday, including frozen original kreme — a drinkable version of the company’s signature doughnut — raspberry, latte and double chocolate.

No Spin Zone indeed…

July 16, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

My First (and Last) Time With Bill O’Reilly

Sure enough, when The O’Reilly Factor aired later that night, both Thomas Kean’s statement about 9/11 and my charge about O’Reilly deleting it were missing. All that was left was Bill O’Reilly, fuming at the liberal media’s lack of objectivity and balance, and ruing the divisive effect “spin” has on our national unity.

Try listening to the whole song next time

July 12, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

Ok, so this would be stupid use of a song in a commercial number 2,358. Mitsubishi is using just the first line of a song, a Flaming Lips song.

Do you realize – that you have the most beautiful face

Problem is the rest of the verse goes like this:

Do you realize – we’re floating in space –
Do you realize – that happiness makes you cry
Do you realize – that everyone you know someday will die.

Granted most people haven’t heard the whole song, but from now on Mitsubishi automobiles will remind millions of Flaming Lips fans of the mortality of their loved ones.

Adtunes.com — Mitsubishi Galant, Times Two

weblog social network maps

June 24, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

LiveJournal is an amazing, genre-bending web entity. There are imitators (mostly using LJ’s code) and admittedly there are some clunky things about LJ’s execution, but I really would like to dig in and write about just what in terms of architecture makes LJ work and be such a magnet for its users. One small change or different decision in how journals are linked, browsed, or whatever, could completely change the way it all works, and then change how the individuals relate entirely.

I’m still mulling.

But this is a cool link to a mind-map (that works kind of like the infamous “brain” interface) with spatial proximity, size and color being used to map prominence and/or relevance of certain ‘friend’ names on the site. In fact it’s part of a community on LJ called “weblog sociology” which I may have to keep up with more closely. This post in particular and the resulting comments bring up points that I think are central to IA in general. To me, the ‘net isn’t about information, but about connecting people to people (often via their information and knowledge)… but this is another topic upon which I must further mull.

In the meantime:

weblogsociology: MindMap = Friendship Patterns

Grow your logic.

June 23, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

How is it that I’ve gotten so out of the loop that I missed this book? I ran across a link to it in Peter Morville’s excellent article (itself worthy of a few thorough readings) and was glad to see somebody else putting into much better and more complete expression something I’ve been inarticulately grunting for a long time: that things like ‘artificial intelligence’ or even complex human systems — you know, like, corporations — are going to have to somehow embrace biological structures, organic methods. Whatever those are.

I only just started reading this book, but it sounds like it’s making a great case for this point of view. Looks like a really fun read too.

Kevin Kelly — Chapter 1: The Made and the Born

For the world of our own making has become so complicated that we must turn to the world of the born to understand how to manage it. That is, the more mechanical we make our fabricated environment, the more biological it will eventually have to be if it is to work at all. Our future is technological; but it will not be a world of gray steel. Rather our technological future is headed toward a neo-biological civilization.

mohlahskeenah

June 19, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

moleskinerie

This is Moleskinerie, a blog dedicated to the proposition that not all notebooks are created equal. Its impeccable provenance notwithstanding this site will talk more about the places and adventures, life’s little dramas and other forgettable events that otherwise would have been lost were it not scrawled between the pages of these little black books.

Art as a Team Sport

June 17, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

I’ve been utterly slack at posting here for a while. But I’m alive, really!

And, here’s a tidbit from Wired… I’m thinking my company should send people to Pixar to learn a thing or two.

Wired 12.06: Welcome to Planet Pixar

Producing a string of blockbusters may be difficult; creating an environment that produces them is harder still. “We’ve got this question that we’re constantly asking,” says Randy Nelson. “How do you make art a team sport?”

Most fun I’ve ever had with flash. Ever.

May 27, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

…t.y.p.o.r.g.a.n.i.s.m…

If you start playing with this, you won’t get any work done today.

I’m just sayin’

Vonnegut rants.

May 24, 2004 by Andrew | Permalink

Vonnegut spilled some bile on the web a few weeks ago:

Cold Turkey

For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that’s Moses, not Jesus. I haven’t heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.

Good stuff.