Is this your first year attending the USG IT conference at Rock Eagle? Get some "secret" tips that will make your conference a great experience. To get a general idea of how the conference is organized, peruse the 2015 agenda (also available as a 2015 PDF schedule). And then read on for registration and parking maps, packing tips, social media links, and more! (Updated for 2015)
Do you have fond memories of playing Oregon Trail on ancient computers? Re-capture that joy by playing the game for FREE on your Windows computer, using just a few simple steps!
Updated: added easy ways to play online (with any computer) at the Internet Archive.
A quick synopsis (with help from twitter participants) of each awesome presentation at AlterConf in Atlanta, Georgia on February 28, 2015. This is part 1 of 2.
Below is an example shell script that creates a random alphanumeric string. It does not use awk or sed, as I was working on a locked down server at the time.
Enjoy the slides from my HUGELY entertaining "ViewsWoW!" presentation, given at Rock Eagle on October 25, 2013. Other presenters also sharing their slides at this Google drive
Did you validate your drupal website and realize you need to replace some unclosed HTML4 tags with XHTML strict self-closing tags? Or maybe you're adding in some ARIA roles to make your text a bit more accessible.
Lo and behold: you will suddenly need to use your web host's phpmyadmin interface and SQL to find and replace strings of text in drupal's database.
Unable to attend
ReMix South in Atlanta (October 19-20, 2012), but find twitter streams a bit overwhelming, lacking in context, or chronologically
confusing?
Your solution: a re-organized, select set of tweets for each of the sessions. Please post comments if I've missed (or completely
mis-categorized) any particularly good tweets!
Do you have a Drupal 7 web site? Do you want to get an email when someone comments, so you don't have to check your site all the time? Don't panic! Here's how you do it.
You don't need to install any new modules to do this in Drupal 7. All that's needed is a little configuring and to copy and paste in a short bit of code.
Update: Both the easiest & most powerful way to get these notification emails (in Drupal 6 or 7) is to install and configure the Rules Module. NodeOne has a great set of video tutorials on their site explaining how to use the Rules module. I've also put example code for a Rules-based email notification in the comments to this post for both Drupal 6 and Drupal 7.
Do you have to design a web site, but you have no graphic design training? Are you a designer, but need evidence-based research to justify your design decisions? If either of these apply to you, I've got a poster and paper that will help.
Were you unable to attend
THATCamp SE 2011 in Atlanta (March 4-6)? Find twitter streams a bit overwhelming,
lacking in context, or chronologically confusing?
Here is your solution: a re-organized, select set of relevant and/or funny tweets for
each of the sessions. Please post comments if I've missed (or completely
mis-categorized) any particularly good tweets! There's even a list at the bottom of this post of tweets that I couldn't place (your help is welcome!)
I'll also post links to people's notes, blogs and slides.
Instead of scouring the internet for hours, as I did, just follow a few simple instructions and you'll be up and running in just a few minutes with the Bluefish Editor on Windows (assuming you have a fast download speed).
I decided to spend a few more minutes evaluating Bluefish from the perspective of a web developer, since I'd already spent two hours figuring out how to install it.
Conclusion: it's okay for a free text editor, but I'm sticking with my affordable and more powerful text editor, OxygenXML.
Were you unable to attend Web Directions USA 2010
in Atlanta (September 23-24)? Find twitter streams a bit overwhelming, lacking in context, or
chronologically confusing?
UPDATED: with the latest slides and links from presentations.
Here is your solution: a re-organized, select set of relevant and/or funny tweets for
each of the talks given. Please post comments if I've missed any particularly good
tweets!
I'll also be posting a few notes, as well as links to the slides and podcasts of these
talks when they go live on the Web Directions site. Another blogger has also written more
detailed reflections on the sessions he attended.
To my horror, XHTML deprecated the start attribute for numbered (ordered) lists, the one that allowed us to start the list at a specific numerical value (other than 1). Well, scream no more: here's how to do this simple task in XHTML, with a few, short lines of code.
How is the web like dining at a French restaurant? The difference between design and structure. What languages are "spoken" on the web? How REAL web developers learn to code.
All of these topics are covered in this first installment of my Introduction to Web Development series.
Dan Brown explains his 8 principles of information architecture, with occasional clandestine references to his 2009 IA Summit talks on Design Rules and Modelling Concepts.
When I first started blogging back in 2008, I decided to use drupal as the behind-the-scenes software. I'd been in love with it for years, ever since using version 4 at work. But, my goodness, the trials of getting it to look nice!
Herein you will find my journey through 2 themes to this beautiful design you see in front of you now.
Boykin gives 7 recipes for confusion and tips for avoiding them in web design. I've also embedded the hilarious cat food video he created that explains the importance of designing for the cat, not the owner.
"The number 1 rule of e-commerce: make it easy for people to give you money."
Learn the 2 Laws of Simplicity, 4 solutions for creating simplicity (with fun remote control images), and 6 strategies for simplicity in design. Or, as Albert Einstein explained, how to "make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible
without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single
datum of experience."
Here's a list of some of the most useful Firefox extensions: the top 5 for web developers and designers, 3 for everyone, and a few more untested - but possibly useful - extensions.
How are similarity, attractiveness, pictures and stories relevant in the web development, IA and UX fields? Read these summaries and reflections on chapters 8 and 10 in Susan Weinschenk's book, "Neuro Web Design: what makes them click?", to find out.
How are vision and other senses relevant in the web development, IA and UX fields? Read these summaries and reflections on chapters 9 and 10 in Medina's book, "Brain Rules", to find out.
I summarize the most relevant and interesting thoughts from part 1 in Michael Eysenck's book on Fundamentals of Cognition, giving a few ideas for how this research on visual perception and attention might be relevant in the web development, IA and UX fields.
I'm lucky enough to be using Archivists' Toolkit (AT) at my internship with the Atlanta University Center. AT is an open source archival data management system that allows archivists (or graduate interns) to enter the finding aid data for a collection without knowing how to code EAD.
Being a curious person, and a glutton for punishment, I thought I'd try to install and use AT on my Windows Vista laptop and connect to a test MySQL database in my shared web hosting account (at bluehost). I discovered a few gotchas and have, I hope, explained the installation process in a clear, linear way that will help others perform this installation more quickly. Mind you, I came to the realization that AT currently doesn't work on Vista, but the steps are the same for XP.
Need to get users' attention for your web site? Worried about giving boring presentations? Read these helpful ideas from chapter 4 of Medina's book, "Brain Rules" for ideas on getting people's attention in the web development, IA and UX fields.
So much of your website is WORDS. Can brain science insights help you to use words better on the web? Read these summaries from chapters 17-21 of Michael Eysenck's book on Fundamentals of Cognition, for a few ideas that are relevant to the web development, IA and UX fields.
How do we get users' attention in the short-term and maintain our brand in the long-term? Read these summaries from chapters 5 and 6 of Medina's book, "Brain Rules" for ideas on how these concepts are relevant to the web development, IA and UX fields.
How do users remember (or forget) your brand? How do they learn to use your web site? What causes them to take action on your web site? Read these summaries and reflections from chapters 11-16 and 28 of Eysenck's book, "Fundamentals of Cognition."
How is research on attention-getting and the unconscious relevant to you, if you're in the web development, IA and UX fields? Read these summaries of the most relevant and interesting thoughts from chapters 1 and 6 in Susan Weinschenk's book, "Neuro Web Design: what makes them click?"
How do users decide, browse, avoid and assign relevance or entertainment value on the web? What role do needs play in information seeking? Read these summaries and reflections from chapters 4 and 5 of Donald Case's book, "Looking for information" for ideas on how these concepts are relevant to the web development, IA and UX fields.
How are human information behavior (HIB) theories and models relevant to you if you're in the web development, IA and UX fields? Read these summaries of and reflections on chapters 6 and 7 in Donald Case's book on "Looking for information".
However, note the "blogspot.com" in that URL? That's Google, who totally caved to Ralph Lauren's spurious copyright infringement claim. Spurious, because parody is an excellent example of Fair Use.
Happily, BoingBoing is hosted by a Canadian company who is not subservient to the DCMA.
The lesson? Host your controversial blog outside the U.S. :)
This software makes it possible for me to spend days in the depths of XML and XSL and not go totally insane. Here are my 5 reasons for loving this XML editing software.
Kellar, Watters, & Shepherd (2006) offer a high-level classification of user’s activities on the web as goal-based information tasks, these could be helpful when structuring personas. The information goals they discover are: information seeking, exchange, maintenance and, perhaps, monitoring.
This report highlights information seeking on the internet, which is
becoming an increasingly-used source for voter information.
Unfortunately, at the moment, the internet is most useful for national
elections. Statewide and, especially, local election information is
still difficult to locate on the internet. Local voter advocacy groups
would be well-served to focus on sharing their local voter information
in the formats and customized for the tasks mentioned below.
Metzger performs a literature review on efforts to improve the credibility assessment skills of Internet users, including checklist and contextual models, as well as empirical studies. She then details the new strategies suggested by her review and proposes future directions for web credibility research. Her dual-processing model highlights the importance of studying not just a user’s ability to evaluate, but also their motivation to do so.
Dervin and Nilan (1986) trace the paradigm shift in information needs research away from systems-centered and toward a more user-centered approach. I was particularly intrigued by those user-centered studies that examined information needs: (1) by the different kinds of information needed at different stages in research; (2) by eliciting statements of problematic situational activities; and (3) as observable behavioral indicators.
Learn about how user research techniques are relevant in the web development, IA and UX fields. Read these summaries and reflections on part 4 in Donald Case's book on Human Information Behavior (HIB).
How are the topics of Human Information Behavior (HIB) research, and user research into the influence of occupation, social role, and demographics relevant in the web development, IA and UX fields? Read these summaries and reflections on part 5 in Donald Case's book on Human Information Behavior (HIB) to find out.
Sitemaps are inadequate to fully communicate the complex structures needed in content management. Happily, I was privileged to hear Dan Brown's thoughts on how to use a concept model (CM) to capture and communicate some of these structures. Dan defines 4 main formats for CMs, lists the steps in CM creation as it fits into the design process, and includes some insider tips along the way.
Having trouble discovering project requirements? Can't figure out the solutions to a design problem? Donna Spencer suggests using design games to have fun while increasing collaboration and gathering insights.
To fully leverage a content management system (cms) requires clear instructions on how the cms should automatically process content. It is essential for designers to decide on and communicate these processes or rules.
Dan Brown puts design rules in the context of other deliverables, defines and explains the 3 types of design rules, and offers tips on how to ensure that you have good, standardized rules.
A checklist for better information design, tips on how to sell your design, numerous references to books and people for learning more, a few professional habits one should acquire, and intriguing insights from the field of psychology - all in a half-day, engaging workshop on Wednesday at the IA summit. What more can an information architect ask for?!
How can web developers make it easier for voters to keep government honest and make informed decisions in the voting booth? To begin to answer this question, I've done a preliminary survey of research on voter information behavior, especially as it relates to online usage.
Yikes and copyright, Batman! Will hyperlinks be penned in and no longer free range? A big law firm tells a web site how they can and cannot link to the law firm's web site.
Using Fidel's 2000 article, I explore how a user-centered approach could be applied to my work in web development, especially to the voter information site I hope someday to perfect.
A follow-up to Part 1: introducing Dreamweaver Templates, this post urges you to pause before you start coding and to create a very basic design using wireframes first.
An overview of some of the basic concepts, tools, and options available in Dreamweaver Templates (DWT). These notes are particular to the CS3 version, but many will apply to other versions, as well.
Learn about the major types of regions in a Dreamweaver template (DWT), examples of how to use regions to create flexible design elements, and common pitfalls to avoid.
Library items in Dreamweaver are often used to create repeated elements (such as navigation menus or footers) on every page of a web site. However, updating Library items involves touching EVERY SINGLE PAGE that item resides on: a real developer no-no. One of the best solutions to this problem is server-side includes (SSI).
Best free software for: protecting your computer, developing web sites, and having fun/being productive. I assume you have a Windows machine because they're cheap (unless you're a REAL techie who uses Linux and builds their own computer, in which case, this blog entry is probably beneath you).
When searching library databases - or Google, for that matter, it is helpful to have the following arrows in one's quiver: boolean logic, truncation, and proximity operators.
Abstract: Stressing the importance of marketing for the bottom line, Kassel gives seven steps for creating a marketing plan after you've defined your target market and understood its needs.
Abstract: Miller gives a basic overview of and urges that students be educated in copyright law. She notes copyright's implications for online social networking using three web 2.0 examples: YouTube, MySpace, and Flickr. Finally, she discusses plagiarism both by students and of students' work.
Abstract: Botterbusch and Parker use the example of wikis to explore the collaborative space they see between the two extremes of full copyright protection and full freedom of content.
Abstract: According to Ojala, information professionals are distinguished by their use of the best search terms, which differ between the web (natural language) and for-fee databases (controlled vocabularies). She notes the usefulness of using keyword suggestions from web advertisers and questions whether our controlled vocabulary expertise will be useful in the future of free text searches.
Abstract: Markey limits her survey of the last twenty-five years of research on end-user searching to only intervention-free studies, namely transaction log analyses. Her summary of search behavior patterns is intriguing.
Abstract: Strickland explores the parameters of fair use in copyright law as of late 2003, including the DCMA, Teach Act, and various relevant legal cases and state statutes.
Abstract: Kirkpatrick argues that, when you design a web site for accessibility, you also “increase the usability of that site for everyone.” Giving best practices examples of accessible web coding, she shows how these also benefit non-disabled users.
Abstract: To ensure that library web sites exhibit usability, Dowling delineates three categories of usability guidelines and eight steps that create accessibility.
Abstract: Steinerová & Šušol (2007) use gender difference, an admittedly problematic social construction, as a nonetheless helpful lens through which to frame information behavior.
Abstract: Spink and Cole (2006) survey the main research on human information behaviors – delineating three interdisciplinary approaches – problem solving, ELIS (everyday life information seeking), and foraging – proposing that a fourth – information use with modular cognitive architecture – may also be gleaned from the literature, and then attempting to construct an integrated approach from the comparison of those four approaches.
Abstract: In contrast to discipline-specific, stage-based models of information behavior, Foster (2004) interviews interdisciplinary information seekers, and proposes a non-linear and cyclical model. His model describes three core processes and three levels of contextual interaction that are dynamic, shifting, and without an inherent sequence of occurrence.
Abstract: After a brief literature review of research on ELIS (everyday life information-seeking) and on adolescent information behavior, Agosto and Hughes-Hassell (2006) present the results of their qualitative research gathered from twenty-seven urban teenagers.
Summary: Overall, I find the Ixquick metasearch engine to be a cut above many other metasearch engines for general/topical searches. However, I also evaluate it on 9 criteria and note areas in which it could improve.
Abstract: Smith explains why some of the web is invisible to search engines. He offers techniques for searching the invisible web, as well as books and web sites containing additional strategies. Comparing standard print references to invisible web sources, he lists sites that are particularly effective for locating “invisible” information online.
Abstract: Eisenberg urges librarians to take the responsibility in the parallel information universe of “participation, user control, sharing, openness, and networking” that Web 2.0 has created, just as they have always done in the print information universe. He presents librarian-focused SWOT analyses of three major Web 2.0 technologies – virtual worlds, social networking, and personal digital devices – and then ties them back to the traditional library functions.
Abstract: Brandt emphasizes the importance of and gives models for evaluating information sources on the internet by adapting traditional evaluative techniques and criteria for an online environment.
I believe that Vannevar Bush's ideals have been advanced by the emergence of the internet, but not yet achieved. Bush's broadest dream is that of "scientists, burying their old professional competition in the demand of a common cause...so that knowledge evolves and endures throughout the life of a race rather than that of an individual" (Bush, 1945).
Below is an example shell script that creates a random alphanumeric string. It does not use awk or sed, as I was working on a locked down server at the time.
Do you have to design a web site, but you have no graphic design training? Are you a designer, but need evidence-based research to justify your design decisions? If either of these apply to you, I've got a poster and paper that will help.
Over the last 2 years, 
Instead of scouring the internet for hours, as I did, just follow a few simple instructions and you'll be up and running in just a few minutes with the 
How is the web like dining at a French restaurant? The difference between design and structure. What languages are "spoken" on the web? How REAL web developers learn to code. 
Dan Brown explains his 8 principles of information architecture, with occasional clandestine references to his 2009 IA Summit talks on 
Boykin gives 7 recipes for confusion and tips for avoiding them in web design. I've also embedded the hilarious cat food video he created that explains the importance of designing for the cat, not the owner.
Learn the 2 Laws of Simplicity, 4 solutions for creating simplicity (with fun remote control images), and 6 strategies for simplicity in design. Or, as Albert Einstein explained, how to "make the irreducible basic elements as simple and as few as possible
without having to surrender the adequate representation of a single
datum of experience."
Need to get users' attention for your web site? Worried about giving boring presentations? Read these helpful ideas from chapter 4 of Medina's book, "Brain Rules" for ideas on getting people's attention in the web development, IA and UX fields. 
So much of your website is WORDS. Can brain science insights help you to use words better on the web? Read these summaries from chapters 17-21 of Michael Eysenck's book on Fundamentals of Cognition, for a few ideas that are relevant to the web development, IA and UX fields. 
How do we get users' attention in the short-term and maintain our brand in the long-term? Read these summaries from chapters 5 and 6 of Medina's book, "Brain Rules" for ideas on how these concepts are relevant to the web development, IA and UX fields. 
How do users remember (or forget) your brand? How do they learn to use your web site? What causes them to take action on your web site? Read these summaries and reflections from chapters 11-16 and 28 of Eysenck's book, "Fundamentals of Cognition."
