SIGIA-L Mail Archives: Meaning (was Re: understanding metadata
Meaning (was Re: understanding metadata , was Re: SIGIA-L: future directions for IA)
From: Jay Linden (jeigh_at_home.com)
Date: Thu Aug 30 2001 - 13:17:41 EDT
Ziya Oz wrote:
[...]
> Can "meaning" be given (to the user by the IA) or is it arrived at (by the
> user)?
Yes. To both. To an incomplete extent.
The IA (or UX or designer or the marketing director's nephew who built
the site) can impart a meaning. The user can impose a meaning.
In a perfect world, they can be the same meaning. Of course, in a
perfect world, there are no taxes, musical instruments always stay in
tune, litterboxes clean themselves and both sides of the bed are the
right side.
But that oughtn't stop us from 1) realizing that meaning -- both the
meaning we impart and the meaning the users arrive at -- is one of the
most important parts of the experience, if not the most important, and
2) striving to match what we impart with what the users receive.
That's the essence of communication and, to what extent it can be
measured, the measure of good communications. (And ultimately, for most
business sites, it can be measured in dollars and cents.)
--
Jay Linden Toronto, Canada
e-business Advisor, IBM Global Services jeigh_at_home.com
These onions are MINE and not those of my EMPLOYER.
Wait, that should be OPINIONS. I have no idea whose onions these are.
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