SIGIA-L Mail Archives: RE: SIGIA-L: Re: Eclectic Group
RE: SIGIA-L: Re: Eclectic Group
From: TOstler_at_ixl.com
Date: Fri Apr 28 2000 - 19:04:07 EDT
OK Betsy, you're on!
Architect
Art critic
Architectural journalist
Lecturer
Cognitive scientist
Husband
Researcher
Prolog programmer
Children's book author
Bakery worker
Unemployed
Father
Recumbent bicycle rider
XML search engine author
Site editor
Copywriter
It's clear that an eclectic background is one of the key qualifications for
being an IA.
Let's have some more contributions.
Tim Ostler
Information Architect
iXL LONDON
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-----Original Message-----
From: Betsy Martens
To: Maribeth Sullivan; sigia-l_at_asis.org
Sent: 4/28/2000 1:53 PM
Subject: Re: SIGIA-L: Re: Eclectic Group
on 4/28/00 11:10 AM Maribeth Sullivan wrote:
>
>> ... The limitations of a purely business orientation will kill so
much of
>> what allows us as an eclectic group of people to contribute to IA.
It is
>> vital that this 'profession' keeps its vitality alive by continuing
to
>> draw from the incredible range of backgrounds evident at the
>> conference. Awareness of marketing - yes. Hegenomy of a business
culture
>> - no!!
>> -Henric Beiers
>
> Henric has a point. The incredible range of backgrounds is in good
part
> what made the conference so exciting. I'd like to hear from list
members
> about their range of professional and experiential backgrounds and how
they
> think these backgrounds and experiences contribute to the field of IA.
>
> -Maribeth
I think this is extremely important, particularly as it contributes to
the
question of empathy for the user. In fact, it was in a conversation with
Henric at the conference (as well as Jon Littell) that we remarked on
our
diverse backgrounds and what possible role this might play in the making
of
a *really good* IA -- someone who loves learning new things and whose
job
history reflects that burning desire to learn new things repeatedly,
even at
the cost of a straight-line "career path." The empathy a good IA brings
to
the table derives from having been in the position of a new user, over
and
over again. We know that space, we know that sense of newness and
ignorance
and we are very familiar with the process of transforming that ignorance
into knowledge.
This is what makes the empathy possible: a willingness to drop the ego,
swim
around in confusing new information for awhile, and then proceed to
organize
it for someone else's benefit. The fact that we are very technically
savvy
doesn't *have* to equate with a lack of empathy. That's part of the
challenge we face: keeping one hand extended to help pull the user along
while we push ourselves to reach for the next handhold.
IMHO. Or this could simply be my elaborate self-delusion to account for
a
completely checkered career. Please note thqt the following
chronological
list does not include hobbies taken up (like fiddle-playing, a truly
humbling experience in the course of which I never did achieve mastery):
english lit major
dictionary editor
college textbook editor in math & science
experimental filmmaker
community organizer
documentary filmmaker
waitress
typesetter
photographer*
writer*
database designer*
preflight and systems coordinator
software trainer*
database project manager
digital asset management project manager
information architect*
* = still alive and kicking
OK, here I stand, exposed to the list. Who else will share?
Betsy
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