Saturday, 15 March 2003
blessed are the toolmakers...
…for they shall help the meek inherit the ‘net.
Or something like that.
I’ve been involved in a number of interesting online and real-life discussions lately about the role of toolmakers (programmers, info architects, interface designers, etc) in shaping the new social spaces that are emerging on the ‘net.
It’s left me very excited about where I am and what I’m doing right now, since I believe that our program at RIT has the potential to become a key source for intelligent, well-rounded, toolmakers. People who understand both the tool development and the contexts in which they’ll be used.
We’ve danced around this, getting closer and closer to it, for a long time. We include human factors, interface design, and technology transfer classes in our undergraduate core, for example. But I don’t think we’ve totally achieved the goal of integrated the human components with the technology development. The “human element” courses aren’t nearly as tightly integrated with the programming and implementation courses as they could be. And they also fail to draw from the wider range of subjects—from political science and sociology to literary criticsm and even theology—that could help provide the larger context for tool development.
What excites me about the conversations I’m beginning to see in weblogs and mailing lists right now is that they are more integrative in their approach. From the emergent democracy discussions to the community/individual dichotomy, these are the kinds of topics that the toolmakers—present and future—need to be involved in.
ego surfing
It’s been a lovely 24 hours. Went dancing last night with my friend Elouise (“Weez”), at a relatively new club in town called Rain. We were particularly delighted by the ladies’ room, which sports a lounge with couches and tables, a private window to the bar, and a one-way mirror that lets you make sure that unwanted suitors aren’t hovering by the door before you leave!
DJ Lino was spinning tunes—which is relevant mostly because Weez just finished his web site. Nice, huh? She’s good. Hire her. (freelance…she’s got a day job, teaching with me.)
Then my husband let me sleep late—until 10am, an unheard-of luxury for me. And when I did drag myself out of bed, it was sunny and nearly 50 degrees outside. Bliss.
I was in such a good mood, in fact, that I even sat down and did our taxes (which I should have done some time ago). Hefty sum coming back to us, probably quickly due to e-filing and direct deposit. (Thank you, TurboTax.com!)
And to cap off the evening, after I sat down with a glass of an excellent local Riesling, I did a little ego-surfing and discovered that I’m to #7 in Google on a search for “Liz”. (I’ve been hovering at #10 for weeks now.) Since it seems clear that I’m climbing rather than clinging, I’ve hereby awarded myself David Weinberger’s “Top Ten First Names” award.
So, all in all, a day to be thankful for. Good friends, good weather, good wine, good surfing. <happy sigh>
