Tripped over this review of Information Architecture for the Web and this passage reverberated with me
"It is odd that Rosenfeld and Morville seize the title of architect, because the central claim of the architect's profession is the very breadth of concern that Information Architecture lacks. Architects have always competed with craftsmen, construction firms, and engineers; what architects offer is an original and coherent vision that inspires and entire Web site or building. Beyond the supervisory power of the job title, Rosenfeld and Morville aren't very interested in architecture. "
At the risk of opening up an old can of worms, I have to say that this small passage suggests to me that a slightly broader definition is truer than "Information architecture involves the design of organization and navigation systems to help people find and manage information more successfully."
What does it take to truly be an architect of information?
good slogan from an interesting lesson on users and personas
Know that you are not the user.
I actually had "you are not the user" taped to my monitor for six months. It helped.
Starting my book on IA... I'd love to hear you all say what you'd like to see a book on IA address... especially folks who are not labeled IA's, or who are just learning about IA, or have to explain IA to others....
how may I serve you?
Well, my timing is amazing. I came down with the flu on Saturday morning, and was recovered by Monday night, which meant I did not get to take advantage of the fact that my husband has Columbus day off. A perfectly good three-day weekend spend blowing my nose! However, in between naps I had a good time beta-testing the new blog management system, Moveable Type.
with which I built a foodblog
more comments on the new toy on metafilter.
I'm going to be doing usability testing on it next week; please let me know if you are interested in participating. You must live in SF or be willing to come up, and already be blogging or actively planning to start a blog in the near future.
Noel's gotten sick too, which means the carbon log is hopping
You've probably seen this: I saw it earlier, forgot about it, and have returned to print it out finally
Welcome to the Introductory Tutorial on Thesaurus Construction
The Effects of September 11 on the Leading Search Engine
Changes in Metatag Descriptions Over Time
Information Architecture and the Support of Brand Promise (pdf)
"Some believe information architects should only concerned with the structure of hard information. I disagree." Note: his graphics are misbehaving, but the ideas are all there
Considering interface standards on the web
Making the World a Happier Place, One Web Site at a Time
An interview of Jakob Nielsen and Marie Tahir concerning their new title, "Homepage Usability."
Rethinking Corporate Research: Why does the world's biggest chip maker outsource so much research?
Rethinking Corporate Research: Why and how IBM restored its world-class labs to business relevance.
Is buying search terms deceptive advertising?
and many other fine food articles...