Adriana Machado

Web content, Easter eggs, and Russian dolls

2008-10-19T11:51:00.010-04:00

In the old days of Web 1.0, companies and institutions used to create fixed structures to give all information to their audience. With the power of web 2.0 applications, content and processing have jumped from heavy desktop systems to the light flowing ever-changing web plataform. Either be 2D, 3D, touchscreen, or whatever way we keep developing to display and interact with information, content now is free to move and grow. Link it here, insert it there, email to a friend, save it to your bookmarks, RSS, and the endless possibilities of temporary and eventually forgotten containers are partitioning modern life into small electronic bits.

As a designer, the question now lies on how to manage all this and still be relevant to this world of so many authors. I think the answer is in looking at content as Easter eggs and Russian dolls. There is no need to find the homepage, the end, the middle, or set a strong structure. Content now has more flier miles than top international executives and it likes to be independent, homeless, and orphan.

As people exercise their freedom of expression, information is becoming more compatible with the human brain. Unfocused and with strange unexpected connections, human thought is being finally displayed in modules as they have always been living and behaving inside our heads.

Examples of that are widgets that you can insert inside aggregators.

Insert Basecamp inside iGoogle:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/control_basecamp_from_igoogle_with_the_periscope_gadget.php

Insert NetVibes inside Facebook:
http://mashable.com/2008/10/09/netvibes-facebook-2/

Learning how they will behave and what you will find inside might be just exciting and surprising as goodies you get in a gift basket.

Wikis in Plain English

2008-09-15T11:04:00.000-04:00

Common Craft is a Seattle company made of 2 youngsters that have spread some very clever videos explaining things in "plain English". Their simple and fun hand-drawn storyboards are a great example of how social and non-commercial information production can play a crucial role in closing the culture gap.

Now, everyone can produce things like that at the cost of their own time and no more than modern living essential house hold necessities like a computer and an internet connection.

Long gone the times when only a small elite could broadcast their ideas. Kudos to the internet and to passionate people that volunteer their time to open other people's minds.

Sharing UX knowledge through Del.icio.us

2008-07-26T13:54:00.009-04:00

I have been connecting with people and information related to UX (User Experience Design and Research) through social networks like the IA summit network, UPA events, UB IDIA students, and tools like Twitter, del.icio.us, Flickr, Facebook, Linkedin, international and local professional associations (IAI, IxDA, UPA-DC, AIGA-DC) email newsletters, RSS feeds, blogs, Yahoo and Google groups, etc.

So far, the most useful tool for community-shared knowledge seems to be del.icio.us. It is pretty easy to use and you can open it from anywhere like your school, work, home, and/or laptop computer. It also helps you if you install the Del.icio.us Firefox extension or "add-on".

Are you interested in collecting and sharing information related to UX practices and news?
Do you use or want to use del.icio.us?

If the answer is yes, please consider sending me your URL and/or adding me to your network from this URL:
http://del.icio.us/adrianamachado

EVENT: Information Architecture Summit 2008

2008-04-21T17:25:00.011-04:00

I was offered a scholarship to go to the Information Architecture Summit 2008 and I immediately though of the reasons why I should not go. Probably the same reasons that keep most people from doing a lot of things nowadays:

- Lack of money

- Lack of time

You may say – “but, you got a scholarship!”. Yes, I was one of the lucky students to receive a FatDux scholarship given to 6 American universities. But it was thanks to their generosity in the name of growing the IA field, I was exposed to this wonderful event. And being in this position, I feel responsible to share the knowledge of how this opportunity is so unique for other students and practitioners that want to get ahead in their careers.

Of course I had to still spend money. When attending to such event, you have to spend on transportation (air tickets in this case), hotel accommodations, food (which is always more than you spend on every day life), and take time off from work. Those are the investments that you need to make in order to get the payoff. But nothing good comes easy and I had to consider those small sacrifices.

Gladly, I thought about it and immediately accepted the offer. I just had to figure out how cheap I could make this trip and make the best out of it. A gut feeling told me that this could be a great opportunity I could not afford to miss. That was one of those moments that I listened to my instinct and kept on going. I searched the travel sites, airlines, asked people for tips, and looked for the best bargains and cheapest hotels I could find. The total amount was more than I expected to spend on it, but the pay off was way higher and more that I could ever imagine.

Over all, here is what I got out of it:

- ROI (Return on Investment)

- Productivity and inspiration

The money I put into it was way less that I have paid in a class, but the learning and insights I got were relative to taking one very intensive class in what is information architecture and how practitioners are accomplishing goals using information architecture in their work.

The combination of taking he classes at my university and attending to the conference helped me connect a lot of dots. There were many things I have wondered about and questions I had that have been answered. Those insights where so very lasting and inspiring that I came back from Miami feeling like a new converted religious freak trying to recruit everyone around.

After the presentations, discussions, and materials presented at the conference, I feel my perception of the field has become so sensitive that my mind cannot stop thinking and waning to know more. I feel charged and inspired to study and talk about information architecture, interaction design, and user experience in general.

Additionally, the community was very welcoming. There was a lot of network opportunities starting from the official website social network online through Crowdvine.

If I made you curious enough about this, here are some cues you can follow to learn more:

IA Summit 2008 official website:
http://www.iasummit.org/2008

Sponsoring Professional Communities:
http://www.asis.org
http://www.iainstitute.org
http://www.boxesandarrows.com

Sponsoring Companies:
http://www.fatdux.com
http://eightshapes.com
http://www.cimlife.com
http://www.nform.ca
http://www.nform.ca/tradingcards
http://www.yahoo.com
http://www.crowdvine.com

Keeping in touch with the Community:
http://www.slideshare.net/tag/iasummit2008
http://twitter.com/IASummit2008/with_friends
http://www.flickr.com/groups/iasummit2008/pool

Washington, DC IAs:
http://www.dc-ia.com

Introduction

2008-04-17T23:59:00.009-04:00

Why am I writing this blog?

There are so many blogs on the web today that I don’t expect to get many readers here. The abundance of information on the internet is too overwhelming, but so is the world we live in today. Nevertheless, there is room for everyone. Within each space, there are sub spaces and sub groups and little people that can make a whole lot of difference to a few. And that’s my goal.

This blog is my attempt to have a space to gather subjects that stimulate my curiosity and interests related to my career focus. They will be mostly centered in my learning process and my trying to make sense to what I have been discovering through classes, readings, events, projects, and conversations with many inspiring people I have been lucky to meet in the UX (User Experience Design and Research) world.

Who am I?

I was born in Brazil and lived there until the beginning of 1994 when I finished my bachelors in graphic design. Since then, I have been living in the Washington, DC metropolitan area where I studied ESL (English as a Second Language) and then joined the rushed work force of this bustling city.

My professional experience includes designing print and web communication materials for commercial and educational organizations with a decade in the travel industry.

Currently, I am studying at the University of Baltimore where I expect to graduate with my masters degree in the Spring of 2009 (around May).