Lynda Sez » technology

What does it take to be a TEDster?

lynda — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 20:43:14 +0000

I just applied to attend the nearest TEDx event to me, in Waterloo in March. It was an odd experience, having to summarize my worthiness for one of these exclusive conferences. I understand the need to limit audience numbers, but the idea of being vetted against largely unknown qualifications reminds me of what I imagine 19th century British men’s clubs would have done. In that century there were up-and-coming tradesmen who could compete with the aristocracy for wealth, but still faced a class wall. I can only guess what the TEDx choosers are looking for but I trust they will value diversity. I’m not a startup CEO or a scientist or an author, not a programmer or a social media maven, but I think I can hold my own in just about any conversation that’s open to ideas.

All most of us need to know

rgdaniel — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:47:21 +0000

In just over eight minutes, with a minimum of scientific jargon, get the whole history of the Internet in a clever black and white iconic narrative.

Assorted misspellings possible

rgdaniel — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:14:30 +0000

I’m battling a head cold, like so many friends I’ve heard from, so I’ll leave my complaining at that. The most serious effect is impairment of my typing skills, which aren’t great even when I’m healthy. Makes me sound silly on Twitter feeds, but I’ll get over it.
This morning I did the first session of four workshops talking about e-business to small business owners, on behalf of a local agency, thanks to a recommendation from Emma, who is off on a semi-world tour wowing various crowds. The room was packed and the crowd was responsive. I’d like to take that as a good sign of people looking for new options in difficult times.
Took the rest of the day to rest and recover, except for taking a call from a recruiter for a major marcom agency. They are looking for a senior IA (to relocate, so not for me), but would take someone with even a year’s experience and train them. I wish I could pass on some names. Good to know some people are hiring and very pleased to know it’s happening in my field.

If you have 5 minutes

rgdaniel — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:12:21 +0000

An idea called Ignite, invented a couple of years ago for tech presentations, has produced dozens of quick looks at interesting new ideas. The setup is that a speaker has 20 slides that auto-forward every 15 seconds, with a total of 5 minutes to speak. Here’s an example about teaching children the skills to be inventors in their digital native world. The best examples are great ways for an audience to get the gist of something without being subjected to unnecessary detail or repetition. It forces discipline on the speaker both in creation of the slides and in the speech (something the business world desperately needs). Guess I better try this myself.

The fourth screen

rgdaniel — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:30:36 +0000

My week left very little time to spend on either of my courses, so you can guess what is in store for my weekend. I did manage to cruise through a number of emails and followed the odd link. This one, oddly enough, didn’t come from the course conversations; it was scribbled in the margin of some material I am using for the IA teaching I am doing this week. The blogger is an educator, apparently in Guatemala, with some thoughtful comments on this Nokia ad.

Evangelista

rgdaniel — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:18:20 +0000

Fear not, blog fans, it’s late in the evening, but I have not forgotten my commitment. Today was a teaching day, so I spent about six hours on the phone with my interns, who are absorbing all I know as fast as they can. I really enjoy my role evangelizing information architecture to people who have enthusiastically signed up for the indoctrination. Among other things, today we talked about designing web spaces, and I tried to convey the idea that there are many right answers to certain problems. I thought later that while there are many good designs you can come up with, or at least, many adequate designs, there are actually very few exceptionally well-formed designs. If we can at least aim to achieve those exceptions, we will be doing our job.

Getting Back to Things

rgdaniel — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:05:57 +0000

I had a gentle reminder from a dear friend who reads this blog that I haven’t posted in a while. So I’m here to correct that with a vengeance. September always seems to me to be a better time for resolutions than January — who feels ambitious in dreary winter? — so I resolve to post more often. In fact, I will try to post every day this month. Near the end of the month, I’ll see if that’s a good idea. As always, feedback on anything you read here is welcome!

I’m easily amused

rgdaniel — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 12:16:37 +0000

Yes, I do spend all of my working life and much of my recreational life on the ‘net, but I’m always ready to be delighted by technology anew. This week’s wonder in the candy store is the tracking service from Fedex. I ordered my new iPod (the Touch, not the Phone , cuz Rogers is getting enough of my money already) on the weekend and Apple kindly provided a link for me to track its progress. My new toy is taking an interesting trip. It left Kunshan, China, on Monday, got to Shanghai Tuesday, then Anchorage later the same day (although with the time zones, it seemed to go backwards a bit). This morning in the wee hours it arrived in Newark and already as I drink my morning tea, it sits tantalizingly in Mississauga. It’s scheduled to make it into my hands by tomorrow.

Just when you’re feeling discouraged

rgdaniel — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:34:41 +0000

You can’t stay discouraged about the state of the world and its future when you hear brilliant scientists like Hans Rosling articulate their passionate and hopeful ideas. Check out his TED Talk from this year’s conference.
On the home front, Agnes is back, with a bigger brain and the same tiny footprint that I love, especially on the road. The new kid, Abigail, is pretty attractive though. She’s bigger, but oh so fast. I’ve got all the Macs syncing pretty well so far. Abigail is ambidextrous, ambivalent, trans…, well, she goes both ways, if you know what I mean, but I have yet to install Windows. (And yes, people, I did pay for the MS software.)

Agnes Reborn

rgdaniel — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 03:02:48 +0000

Bob’s energizing wishes yesterday seem to have inspired Agnes into new life, albeit wobbly. I got her to reboot this morning, rescued some odds and ends, then callously proceeded to negotiate purchase of her replacement. Yes, it’s a she, not an it — I was trying to exercise distance in yesterday’s post, but the truth is, she’s Agnes, after all, my best buddy for all things mobile and digital. I’m writing this post thanks to her, but she needs a brain transplant. Thank goodness, that’s something money can buy. Meanwhile, tomorrow I pick up Abigail.