Someone threw this hot potato at me and I caught it. Now I'm throwing it to you.

This is the HCI Bibliography, a primo source for information and resources for HFI and HCI issues.

And it's just begging for a place in your bookmarks bar and your reference pages. Remember never to stop sharing: it makes us all stronger.

Now go do even more good work.

Usability is Technology in Context.

Not bad, huh? I'll do some checking and see if there is an original source to chase. Oh, and there's a lot of Shneiderman being bounced around. I also recommend you check out Donald Norman (This will make more sense come spring).

Personally I’m digging on a bit of Dave Matthews and trying to be mellow on a Tuesday, even though really that means I’m prepping all of the terrible things I’ve got to come tell you on Wednesday.

Mostly, I kid. But, don’t stop talking to each other. A year will go by before you know it. Hold on to all of this as an experience. For example, I just had a conversation with a colleague of mine. She’s digging on the consulting business right now and wondered if I had any advice. What did I do? I recommended a memoir, a bit of historical non-fiction, and more than anything a bit of darn good writing: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers.

What does that have to do with ICT? Not much. What does that have to do with sharing ideas and relating to people? Everything. Keep telling stories. Keep sharing stories. Don’t grow old; grow wiser. Use your network. Learn. See you in class tomorrow.

And, as a consultant, I now impart my self-absorbed consultative powers upon you: It has been great meeting some of you the last few times I’ve made the journey to BSU, but I’ve heard little (read: almost none) from any of you. What gives? I’m not sure you are all buying in to this network the way they are pitching it to you. You got this far—they got you to bite this lure, now reel in the catch. Reap the rewards, if you will. They're not kidding when they say some of us are here to help. Don't make me tell somebody that I am concerned for the class of '08, and their awfully noncommunicative ways (not the best of ways to be for communication professionals).

If I were stuck, or stressed out, or wondering how to finish project X that was kicking my tail in, I’d probably be raising my fists to the sky screaming about what in the world I’d gotten into, and who was supposed to help me now.

Or if I was wanting to talk to someone about a job in Indy, or in the consulting arena period, or just wanting an alumni quote or perspective, I’d be screaming about who was going to get me out of those jams or into those positions.

Or if was wanting resume help or just somebody to throw things against, I'd probably be furious that there was no one there to listen.

And if I was going to lose my mind on this whole Challenge thing and wanted some perspective, I’d probably wonder if I knew anybody who’d been through all of this before.

But that’s just me.

Best of luck on this; it will be a long year and a long night, don’t lose faith.
And go see Tracy if you want to get ahold of me. I don’t sleep much, so no time’s off limits to you guys (ask her for my cell phone, and treat her nice if she gives it to you). Or, get ahold of any other alumni; you'll get the same response. Now go do good work, for the good of the order.

Jared.

My name is Jared Linder. I apologize for not doing this sooner, but I am not much of a letter writer. I often have the best of intentions, but then never take the time to actually follow through. Well, today I am finally writing down what I have often thought:

I want to thank you.

As of August 19, 2006, I was a mere graduate student beginning the long and arduous road of knowledge. As of August 20, 2006, I became your stand in.

Your decision to pursue other interests allowed me to fill the last remaining slot as a graduate assistant here at the Center. I have often thought of the situation from your perspective, and have hoped that your year has been fruitful and advantageous. I have often wished you—whom I have never met—nothing but the best as you pursue your own dreams and goals. And I have often wondered what you would have done had you had the opportunities that I have been graciously given.

I have decided to show you what I have done, and am hoping that my accomplishments would rival those of your own. I have had a wealth of opportunities this year, including and exceeding the normal classroom experience. Here’s a brief synopsis:

National Project Finalist, 2007 ITERA Conference
Managing Editor, CICS Newsletter
Student Representative, CICS Director Search
Grant Researcher and Author, Digital Policy Institute
Designed Web Portal for Human Factors Institute
Worked with Local Chamber of Commerce to Revitalize Community
Developed Project Timeline for FEMA Training Seminars
Working to Nationally Expand WiMAX Penetration
Author of Several Works, Including Policy Analyses, Newsletters, and Blogs much like this one
Spent $2,000 on Books, All of Which I am Keeping
Interviewed/Welcomed New Provost to the University
Visited India
Taxied on My Last $20 Across New York City
Spent The Nicest November Day Ever From a Beach In San Diego
Made Many Trips to the Airport
Led Almost Every Project I Was Allowed
Participated in Every Project I Could Find
Lived off of Powerbars, Raisins, and Coffee
Dropped a Few Balls
Traveled (including in the Air) Almost 50,000 Miles
Made a Lifelong Friendship with a Guy From Madurai
Sat front row at a Bullfight
Learned About Courage
Questioned my decisions
Fought for My Opinions
Earned the Respect of My Peers
Called My Mother on Weekends
Kissed My Fiancee Every Morning and Every Night
Conducted Interviews From My Car
Got Angry Visibly Only Twice
Cried Myself to Sleep Once
Napped at the Library in the Afternoon
Kept My Chin Up
Finished What I Started
Was Voted Student of the Year
Others which I Forget

I could go on, but I hope you get the idea. As you can see, I’ve been relatively busy. I’ve tried, Abhishek, to do the best I could. I am sorry that you missed out on this opportunity, and I only hope that your treaded path has been an exceptional one.

As I wrap up this period of my life, I only hope that I have done the same as you would have. The risks and challenges I have taken this year have not been entered into lightly, and I have grown at each step along the way. I hope that this gives you an idea of what you yourself could have accomplished, and I most earnestly hope that I have not disappointed in my attempts to fill the shoes of another.

If you should ever decide to attempt this journey, please feel free to contact me and I will help in any way I can, as you have helped me. In this life we have many attempts to make an impact. Thank you for helping me make mine.

Wishing you sincere happiness,

Jared.

As a rule, I operate on a principle taught to me by a software developer: If you can’t answer the question or solve the problem after 30 minutes, go get help. Fresh eyes and impartial input can often lead the way out of jams.

Enter Josh.
“These words are all kind of over-dramatic. Just use ‘future’.”
Ah ha……….bait and switch.
Substitution v. Synonym.
All of my fears of the connotations of my pool of words disappeared. I had a new word, with new meaning, with new direction, with new movement.

Stop trying to find a better word that means the same thing. Find a better word that means what that word means. Approximate. Estimate. Coming close might actually be more accurate overall. This was merely one out of 500 other little pieces, and there was no reason to lock up the machine due to a small glitch of relatively small consequence.
Problem solved.
Situation remedied.
Scenario resolved.
Case closed. (see how easy this is)
Substitute the fear of not coming up with the right word with the confidence to get help and the flexibility to accept deviations from your original plans. But keep a thesaurus handy, just in case.

And, as best as I can tell, for good reason.

I am not going to refute, or even repudiate those who stand opposed to the nomenclature; I will confer with your opinions, and enhance my original statements to include your criticism.
I’ve always needed a good editor, and don’t mind the input: without the assistance of a good editor, some of us simply are speaking our minds. And until one masters stream of consciousness like Joyce (or even like David Foster Wallace – who is a far cry from my beloved Irish master), there’s simply no reason to think that one’s ramblings are solidified as concrete writings on the first pass. Welcome to the wonderful world of the blogging professional: everything is in draft form.

So I present to you a new undertaking: a modern take on the industry, which will synthesize the modern with the future, the past with the yet-established, the common with the extraordinary—

The ICT Professional

And, as I mix the metaphors of modern job descriptions, I offer a new label for our ever-shifting industry: The ICT Professional.

Now, rest assured that I had no place in the invention of this term. I actually had to look it up to make sure I was using it appropriately. And I blame (thank) you critics for this post.

As the IT Professional remains the master of all things Information Technology, the ICT Professional has materialized to be the advocate, the champion, and yes the master of all things Information and Communication Technology.

And, what, you may ask is the differentiation between the two proposed labels? Simple: Communication. Ask yourself if your vision of an IT Professional possesses the ability to explicate the meaning behind his job title. Probably not. Your vision of the IT Professional probably can fix your office printer on a good day.

Well, as proposed earlier, the IT Professional is much more than that. However, I now must veer off course of the defense of this misunderstood industry in order to shine light on the new, emerging ICT Professional.

The ICT Professional possesses the ability to do just this—communicate. I have mentioned previously that IT Professionals must “educate, manage, and demystify.” I have since realized that this is the job of the ICT Professional, and that it is exclusively this singular element of Communication that is the differentiating factor in this equation.

The ICT Professional combines the technical with the ideal, the rational with the ethereal, and the parts with the labor. The ICT Professional is the total package just waiting to deliver the goods.

Please understand that this is not a retraction on the importance of the IT Professional, merely an expansion on the encompassing viability that Communication plays in this arena of the future: this business world of the modern economy—an economy that is so bombarded with facts that it is thirsty for understanding.

Communication is both the well that fills and the chalice that pours this understanding.

Why? Because once automobiles were new, and when common people figured out how to work on those vehicles a common understanding—a compendium—of knowledge emerged. People found the power within themselves to solve the problems that they were facing everyday. And those people either wrote their findings down, or more than likely, told someone else. They communicated the body of knowledge to others. Now granted, an entire industry of professionals emerged as a result, but so did the cottage industry of self-sufficient, garage-bound, weekend mechanics. In the midst of an industrial revolution, regular people found the time to self-educate themselves on the skills that others were being paid to learn. Normal people tore through the complex systems at hand and still produced drivable results.

And is this a negative statement on the professionals in the automotive field? Absolutely not; it is in fact merely an exploration into the situation that allowed the field to expand into the everyday, the routine, and the normal: the industry gained enough social permeation that the common man developed an understanding of not merely the output, but also the component parts and processes that allowed for successful comprehension of concept.

Technology today bears little difference; and today the common person is so inundated with technology that there is little hope to avoid the chance that one will have to essentially fix one’s own problems. And just as most of us drive cars today, plenty of people deal with technology today, even though most don’t work in the industry.

And who’s going to be there when there’s a problem with that technology? A guy who can write Cobol? What’s that do for the other 99 percent of us? It really boils down to who will tell what to whom. Either way, we are still faced with communication.

None of us have to wake up tomorrow able to build a home network; yet as technology continues to permeate, more gain that specific understanding. You do the job without thinking you’ve become a component to the industry.

So I ask this simple question: Has IT permeated into its surroundings, or has Communication merely found its way into IT? The answer, like any other evolutionary quandary, is probably both.

Welcome to intellectual heft. Be prepared to lift.

Seems easy enough. A couple of lines and out, right? But, trying to define what that means proved more difficult than I'd imagined. What started as a simple exercise became laborious: I ultimately crafted these words from all that I could muster from the depths of my understanding of this conceptual modern enigma of a profession and pressed forward toward as poignant a description as possible.

I then realized I was writing this for myself. And maybe for you.

The IT Professional must bring an understanding not only of technology itself, but also of the possibilities that those advancements have for both businesses and society. This realization also instills the IT Professional with the responsibility to educate, manage, and demystify: technology without informed, able users serves little purpose.

The IT Professional creates for oneself a wide swath of opportunity by comprehending the extraordinary power that technology has toward unifying once-seemingly divergent career paths and employment choices. Distance education seminars and telemedicine sessions can be conducted using the same types of technology that keep corporate email and personal phones performing accordingly, and IT Professionals are indispensable in understanding how to make each function.

In this new economy, as technology continues to pervade, the line drawn between IT Professionals and non-IT Professionals will not merely blur, but will necessarily dissipate. Leaders will be at a disadvantage in this new economy if they lack at least some understanding of the technology that surrounds them and the systems that enable normal operations.

My personal venture into the world of the IT Professional is in fact due to all of the above factors. By creating for myself a broader understanding of the industry, I am not only reeducating myself on the functions and possibilities of the new economy, I am actually helping to craft and design its future.

This personal reinvention will allow for actual invention.

Jared Linder
Graduate Assistant and Institute Fellow
Center for Information and Communication Sciences
Ball State University
2/21/07

And, although most consumers would state their opposition to DRM, by utilizing some type of DRM, Hollywood could potentially offer more flexibility and choice—not less—to users than if all copyright protection was removed. The issue may be less about piracy and more about individual usage rights for different pricing structures.

Sources:

Mcbride, Sarah. (2007, February 16). Hollywood weighs copyright protections. The Wall Street Journal, p. B3.

Fisher, Ken. (2007, January 15). Privately, Hollywood admits drm isn’t about piracy. ArsTechnica. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070115-8616.html

Although currently disagreeing on moving toward one regulating body, the national regulators did stress their willingness to develop a stronger “network of independent regulators.” The EU Telecommunications Minister stated she would push to assume some of the powers of the national regulators since a unified solution was not reached.

Sources:

Jolis, Anne. (2007, February 17). Europe telecom officials balk at a tie-up. The Wall Street Journal, p. A2.

Paul Meller. (2007, February 5). EU telecom regulators face deadline. NetworkWorld. Retrieved February 18, 2007, from http://www.networkworld.com/news/2007/020507-eu-telecom-regulators-face.html

YouTube frequently deals with copyright situations, and removes clips as requested. Viacom is now also demanding that YouTube not allow future postings of Viacom material on the site. Although copyright law is clear about a site having to remove content at an owner’s request, there is debate if YouTube has to comply with this request due to copyright law not being clear about preventing a site from posting material in the first place.

Viacom currently has an agreement to air its videos in return for ad revenue on Google Video, which is run by Google Inc, also YouTube’s parent company. In January, Viacom launched its own video-sharing site, Acceptable TV.

Sources:

Karnitschnig, M. (2007, February 3). Viacom orders removal of videos from youtube. The Wall Street Journal, p. A3.

Grossberg, J. (2007, February 3). Viacom’s youtube smackdown. Retrieved February 4, 2007, from http://news.yahoo.com/s/eonline/20070203/en_industry_eo/70fb7ed5_cfd04c60_926e_731bdd91167a

Adherence to policies, regulations, and government involvement is nothing new to outsiders wishing to do business in China. Ubiquitous U.S. companies like Yahoo! and eBay have recently turned to local Chinese operations to help improve less than stellar results.

Also, looming not far from any Internet deal, is China’s national program for a “civilized Internet.” This policy allows for purging of unwanted online content. And, with that common understanding, the concept of My Space pushes forward into an entirely different market and social network.

Sources:

Fowler G., & Dean, J. (2007, February 2). In China, myspace may need to be ‘ourspace.’ The Wall Street Journal, p. B1.

Kharif, O. (2006, September 21). Murdoch’s mission to china. BusinessWeek. Retrieved February 5, 2006, from http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/sep2006/tc20060920_643272.htm?chan=technology_technology+index+page_more+of+today's+top+stories

In my opinion, the practice borders on manipulation. This is an effective way to communicate; however, we have to watch the power we possess. For words are power. Dr. Luntz understands this.

Now on to the positive:

He stresses word choice and tone. Excellent concept, and effective when used properly.

He also stated this morning that the level of hostility in a conversation is usually indirectly proportional to the listener's level of understanding of the subject. This is a beautiful concept, and probably a true observance.

I admit I have not read Dr. Luntz's book, merely listened to him discuss it. But I will pick up a copy soon and comment on the actual material inside.

Hopefully it will contain much insight into one communicator's idea of personal communication, and will possess usable ideas on helping to facilitate understanding of concepts through effective communication, while focusing less on using words as tools of the educated as potential weapons of personal agendas.

I will let you know how it goes.

From my perspective, I am thrilled that everyone was able to complete the assignment. Regardless of anyone's chosen solution, or everyone's struggles, we have all emerged from this difficult task with results. That is to be commended.

But, what did we learn?

This wasn't like staying up all night watching movies and eating pizza. This was pushing your brain full tilt for numerous hours and mentally exhausting yourself, only to have to then produce decent results and defend them in front of professionals who had both clearer minds and clearer direction.

Both my professionalism and my presentation ability were running at less than 50% at 8 am. Doomed from the start. What a huge mistake.

But how did I get to that point?

Poor planning and procrastination, plain and simple. We often find ourselves in predicaments of our own creation. This was no different. No one to blame other than the man in the mirror.

The team held together well enough (you know who you are); however, we only had a combined 30-40 minutes of sleep between us. It was amazing to see the difference in our moods at 12 pm (when it was still fun) and 7 am (when we were not yet finished).

This was not a personal disaster though. I think both my team and I learned a good deal. I already mentioned the sleep thing. Also, I think some of us learned what they were capable of when faced with uncertainty in the face of a fast deadline. Most importantly, I think we learned that we have to rely on each other to accomplish tasks that are this massive; no one of us could have done this alone.

So, congratulations to the victors of this year's Accenture Challenge. You are truly amazing to pull this off. And congratulations to everyone else, who if nothing else hopefully learned a good deal about themselves and their abilities.

And, I am glad I no longer feel like a zombie. Too bad it took sleeping through most of my weekend to get back to normal. But, I will use this knowledge to my advantage in the future. That--more than anything--makes this project a success for me.