Request: "I was wondering if there is anyone out there looking to mentor another Information Architect. While I believe I have the basics down, regularly assume leadership responsibilities in defining the Information Architecture process & methodology at my current & past employers, and have in fact mentored junior IA's, I'm looking for someone to help me extend my expertise and focus my professional development. Because there are so few of us who focus on Information Architecture & the User Experience, I have actually been offered V-level & directorship positions. Frankly, I'm afraid. Of course I'm flattered and anxious to build my resume, but I don't want to extend too far beyond my level of proficiency."
Response: "I was in your same shoes a while ago. I was looking and looking for a mentor, but there was no one-- no one who knew more than me and who also had the time/inclination to mentor. I decided to become my own mentor. I read books, surfed the lists, gave myself goals, had lunch or breakfast with anyone and everyone I could, joined other IA's in their work, and learned from the people I was mentoring (everyone in the world can teach you something).
It sounds like to me the world is telling you you don't need a mentor. maybe it's time to take a big scary chance and step up to the plate and take that VP job. Perhaps instead of one mentor, you can create a kind of "board of advisors" of senior people you can call on for advise when things get hairy. I have one of those, it includes a couple creative directors, a few senior IA's, an engineer, a woman who owns her own company and a couple book authors on web subjects. These folks are there when I'm perplexed, or need a hand with advice/references/etc.
I think we as women are particularly susceptible to not taking risks like men do, and are often afraid to go for jobs when we aren't a perfect match for the job description. I've seen guys fake it through interviews, then madly read up on the job they went for and teach themselves on the job. Worse yet, I've seen guys fake it to get the job, and fake it through the job. I think this everytime I am faced with a challenge I'm scared of. And then I get mad, and I go for it. It's usually very hard when I take these big steps, and I get horribly stressed, I get insomnia, I cry-- and then I've done it, I figure it out and I have one more thing under my belt and I'm another rung up the ladder.
Anytime you're really scared, go for it. Every time you beat that fear, you get tougher."
From: Gleanings
To: Big Brains
Subject: Gleanings: merely academic
OPENING THANG
***Peter wrote up some of his thoughts set off by the ASIS&T conference.
http://peterme.com/asis/2001summit_intro.html
which, when I read them, got my poor little brain a popping
(see "reflection and responses")
http://www.eleganthack.com/blog/2001_02_01_pastblog.html#2319523
which set off victor
http://www.noisebetweenstations.com/personal/weblogs/
and then Andrés wrote and I posted that....
http://www.eleganthack.com/blog/2001_02_01_pastblog.html#2319523
and peter linked back to me.
busy little weekend. you can tell when it's rainy, can't you....
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE MATTERS
***User Modeling & Cognitive Analysis
Why do user/operator modeling or cognitive task analysis?
Terminology: Cognitive task analysis refers both to the process of analyzing
human performance from a cognitive point of view and the resulting product
of the analysis (e.g., a GOMS model).
http://tortie.me.uiuc.edu/IE342/2.modeling.html
***On applying Don Norman's The Seven Stages of Action
http://www.it.bton.ac.uk/staff/lp22/CS133/models.html
***Good overview of GOMS
GOMS is a family of techniques proposed by Card, Moran, and Newell (1983),
for modeling and describing human task performance. GOMS is an acronym that
stands for Goals, Operators, Methods, and Selection Rules, the components of
which are used as the building blocks for a GOMS model.
http://www.usabilityfirst.com/goms/
NEWS & COMMENTARY
***Web Informant: How to make money with an online news web site.
Robin Miller, editor-in-chief of OSDN.com. The best way to make money with an
online news site is to use a revenue model closer to those used by free
alternative newspapers than to those used by large-circulation dailies. This
is not a bad thing, since many small weekly papers produce excellent
journalism.
http://strom.com/awards/237.html
***AtNewYork: The Myths and Realities of Peer-to-Peer Networking.
Although helped by the wild popularity of consumer file-sharing programs such
as Napster and Instant Messenger, P2P has different uses in the corporate
world but is similarly ushering in social transformations of how people
communicate and build networks.
http://www.atnewyork.com/news/article/0,1471,8471_580941,00.html
IDEA CORNER
***goofy idea
http://www.realuser.com/cgi-bin/ru.exe/_/homepages/users/passface.htm
and why it may not work
http://www.choisser.com/faceblind/
variation
http://www.passlogix.com/
***and not so goofy. napster gets a little brother.
www.flycode.com
***and this guy has a ton of amazing ideas
Michael Dertouzos, director, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science. If you think the astonishing wave of change you've been living through has run its course, think again, says this digital guru.
http://www.accenture.com/xd/xd.asp?it=enWeb&xd=ideas/outlook/6.2000/dert.xml
APROPOS OF NOTHING
***Tracy sent me this link some time ago. it's pretty amazing.
http://www.360degrees.org/
***from the people who brought you CPU's with a cigarette lighter built in
http://europe.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/02/06/airlines.russia.reut/index.html
Today's Media Nugget featured this:
Repo Man 1984
"Bullshit! You're a white suburban punk. Just like me."
Repo Man entered the pop-culture consciousness as a defining artifact of the Reagan '80s: a punk anthem showcasing societal alienation in America. The bastard child of Dr. Strangelove and Easy Rider, this apocalyptic treat revolves around the disaffected Otto (perhaps Emilio Estevez' finest performance), who joins a team of repo men tracking down a Chevy Malibu with mysteriously glowing cargo in its trunk. With rapier dialog, surprisingly beautiful cinematography, and a perfect-pitch soundtrack, Repo Man rewards repeated viewing.
"The more you drive, the less intelligent you are."
-- Peter Merholz
If you haven't seen it, see it. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6305971048/medianuggeofthedA/107-1728894-9266936
You also *need* the soundtrack. A prefect punk primer.