I started wondering last evening what twitter would be like if in addition to followers we could also see who was actually being paid attention to. The groups many of us use in clients like Tweetdeck or Seesmic, for example. So in the midst all of our positive talk of transparency and authenticity, I found myself chuckling at the opacity we in fact rely on to make it through the day. … »

In our last article on Johnny Holland we provided an overview of what a ’social life of a visualization’ might look like. Based on a person-centered social network, it showed how the identity of the visualization was important, and how having this allowed the underlying data to retain its integrity and facilitated the process of people interacting around it. Its implementation created a shared storytelling experience around visualization, and we broke this up into three phases; create, interpret and capture.  In this second article, we’ll delve more deeply into the creation phase of the ’social life of visualization’; including its rationale and the design challenges that it represents.

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Recently I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal about online ratings. The article, which surveys a number of online properties, cites the tendency to 4.3: On the Internet, Everyone’s a Critic But They’re Not Very Critical. The article’s authors pretty much capture what many of us get intuitively about why online ratings really don’t work, but I thought I’d break this down from a social interaction design perspective to get at some of the causes of this. … »

For some the second day of EuroIA 09 started with a hangover, for others with interesting talks. But all of us had a great time at EuroIA 09 day 2. I am going to bed now, but I hope you enjoy this writeup.

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About 150 UX professionals are gathered in the center of Copenhagen to talk, listen and at EuroIA 09. Johnny was invited to the party to cover the event and bring the good stuff to you. So enjoy the show.

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We are relying ever more on technology to help us out. In this article I am discussing how people form mental models of urban environments, and how technology can augment and even replace our wayfinding skills. … »

Organizations are tenuous phenomena; they can fall apart at any time. To navigate the landscape of organizational culture interaction designers need a set of practical tools, language & knowledge drawn from the world of cultural anthropology.
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Ahead of this year’s EuroIA conference I caught up with experience architect, strategist and all-round nice guy Joe Lamantia. We talked about designing for experiences, games design, Killzone and monasteries. … »

Set at the modern Hotel Realm in Australia’s capital city, UX Australia kicked off with nearly 180 UX professionals ranging from game design to usability in attendence. Here is our report of day 1. … »

I live and breathe user experience design, and yet it took me two years to get myself the device referenced by almost every single presentation about user experience since 2007… Apple’s iPhone. My reasons were very specific and perhaps boring, but what is interesting is the perspective this wait has afforded me. Since it was released, the iPhone has grabbed an astonishing share of mobile Web traffic, been regarded as a “game-changer” in both the design and business worlds, and has even been referred to as the “Jesus Phone.” Now that I’ve owned one for two weeks I’ve developed a different perspective. The iPhone is surprisingly difficult to use, but it sure is fun! And that is why it’s a game-changer. … »