January 2009
133 posts
All this cash flow rigamarole reminds me of being a student.
Editing yourself is a form of masturbation. Editing yourself well, a form of suicide.
Kid’s erasing outlines, nav systems, and checklists from the whiteboard when I’m not looking. I don’t notice till I need to remember them.
At 3:30, Darth Vader and a cadre of Storm Troopers do the Thriller dance: http://ping.fm/HXZM9
thinking someone should start an agency with the tagline: “pretty uneducated louts”. or maybe a band.
Have IAS poster announcements gone out, or did I miss it?
Unusual (and fun!) Date Ideas
oncealways:
Go on a search for as many good climbing trees as possible, climb as high as you both can in all of them, compile photo evidence
Go to a major chain bookstore, and leave notes to future readers in copies of your favorite books
Have her dress up as a ghost and you dress uup us Pacman. Walk around downtown holding hands, and whenever anyone sees you two, pretend to be embarrassed,...
All this “future of IA,” “how IA MUST evolve,” etc. seems silly. People with hammers saying they should not only build houses. Well, duh!
The $300 Million Button →
Great story of how usability testing discovered a problem the company didn’t even suspect they had, to the tune of increasing sales by $300 million a year. Saved By: Austin Govella | …
Recommendations for a PDF editor on OS X? (Other than Acrobat)
I *love* the word “conflate”. Sadly, it’s rarely the *best* word for the situation. We often price $10 words out of the conversation. :-(
I think my LinkedIn pic makes me look like a tool: http://ping.fm/OUpcJ Am I right or just being self-conscious?
Mediocre really is a ghetto. Aim to be the best in terms of accessibility or be the best experience.
Text Treatment and the User Interface (UXmatters) →
Nice introduction to issues surrounding type design for user interfaces. Gets a little wonky at the end with no clear way out, but good article, nonetheless. Saved By: Austin Govella |
RT @nickcave: “On the phone with Blixa. Or his answering machine. Always hard to be sure.”
Simpsons was a tad creepy. Kept waiting for Lisa and Juliet to get freaky and then beat Marge to death with rocks.
17 Pushbutton Configurations that Didn’t Make the... →
How the configuration of buttons on our telephones was created. Shows the design variations, test results, and reveals how the final configuration wasn’t necessarily the most useful. Saved…
Online Community ROI: Models and Reporting -... →
A survey of the most common organizations across the web use to measure the effectiveness of online community initiatives. It also reveals how many organizations perceive the benefits of…
The business value of web standards (Jeff Veen at... →
Great overview explaining the benefits of using web standards when producing HTML and CSS. Saved By: Austin Govella | View Details | Give Thanks Tags: articles, design,
Back from Austin a day early, but not before meeting @donturn, @rabourn, and Andrew Switzke for drinks at Manuel’s.
chi.mp adds multiple identities (personas). Execution a little wonky, but cool to see it in the wild.
Book fairy left a copy on my porch. We did a good job. Breezy, yet comprehensive; clear; and very visual intro to IA and UX topics.
“Charette” vs. “collaborative design”: which is better for UX?
RT: @mmilan social media guru shoots himself in foot (kind of): http://ping.fm/asJLm
The secret to being a Saint is never shitting in public.
Just referred to Erin and Christian as emalone and mediajunkie in an email. I’m so glad handles are making a comeback.
B&A posts bolt|peters case study on testing for Spore (the video game): http://ping.fm/RsYeA
The books are in the warehouse. Exciting!
final analysis 1/2: wordpress: easy setup and use. hard to customize. textpattern easy to setup. harder to use. easy to customize.
2/2: drupal: hard setup. ok to use, customize. movabletype: ok to setup, use, and customize. frog: easy to setup, use. hard to customize.
I now have Drupal, TextPattern, Frog, WordPress, MovableType, phpBB, and BBPress all installed on my server. What am I missing?
I think I’m planning a small conference in Houston.
I was out of the office all day Monday and had sick kid + inauguration stuff yesterday. My inbox and to-do list are overflowing :-(
Presentation - Faceted seach best practices - Wed,... →
I’ll be presenting with two others Wednesday, February 4, as part of the Taxonomy Community of Practice series of teleconferences presented by Earley and Associates. I’ll spend 20 minutes looking…
Service Design Design Patterns (wiki) →
A wiki of service design patterns started by Victor Lombardi. Saved By: Austin Govella | View Details | Give Thanks Tags: patterns, design, service, libraries
Unit PNG Fix (Unit Interactive) →
Unit PNG Fix, from Unit Interactive’s Labs, is a comprehensive, yet light-weight png fix built in javascript. It’s free to download and use as you like! Saved By: Austin Govella | …
UniTip (tooltip script by Unit Interactive) →
UniTip, from Unit Interactive’s Labs, is easy to use, customizable tool tip built in javascript and CSS. It’s free to download and use as you like! Saved By: Austin Govella | View…
I’ve always thought rock star designers were annoying. I dig that there aren’t really any rock star IAs. Awesome and smart: that’s enough.
OMG. Heading off to bed but have been trapped by Infamous. Hilarious and awesome. Can’t stop watching.
“You really wanna know my process? It usually starts with a ‘holler’ and ends with a Creamsicle….”
I think the lesson is that if @warrenellis says not to click a link, do NOT click the link. Ever.
“….and if there’s time inbetween, Thundercats. Ho!” (@Rabourn Creamsicle processes never end up with orange blobs.)
Doing my monthly MySpace check and God, Gaia, and Caine all want to be my friend. A very Gibsonian approach to social networks.
RT @emalone: post on “How to be awesome”: http://tinyurl.com/7pasfj
If you’re wary about the writing process, ping me. I’ve been editing for B&A and can help you draw a short line between start and finish.
I had three proposals rejected and will turn those into articles. I encourage others to do the same.
Best IAS proposal comment: “a little macabre, but kind of intriguing.”
Everyone should post their topics to their blogs. Just the title and a one-sentence description. (Then tweet the link.)
It’s cool to check Twitter and see people on 3 continents congratulating, cajoling, and consoling. Feels like we all live next door. +1
Getting a jump on taxes: good. Turbotax freezing: bad.