How to give a geeky girl hot flashes…
Current mood: productive
Category: Web, HTML, Tech
Many people probably can’t align with the tech stuff I’m into. But that’s okay. They aren’t above or below what I like, just bored with it. They don’t dare give so much attention to how people use things. But, for a geeky girl, it hits the spot, so to speak.

Interaction design = what I think I was invented for. If I had a million bucks, I would probably buy all the books that I could stand to read on interaction design. To me, it’s what I do naturally anyways, less the buzz words and details of theory and processes of getting the job of interaction design done.

To so many people, if they even give a thought to my existence at all, they probably think I’m a simple girl who has kids and likes the internet. What no other person can see are gears turning in my head, and inventions or modifications to flows that I never seem to document as I should.

My biggest hobby, or addiction, centers around the interaction design inside a home. Mostly the kitchen. I have figured out why I’m so indecisive when it comes to interior design. Because my heart is always reaching toward a satisfactory design that encourages efficient interaction and correlation between objects and workstations. I have so many possibilites that come to mind for one 10 x 20 space that it drives me crazy. Not to mention a $0 budget to make any of it happen. But still, I have a constant drive that makes me reach for smart interaction.

I hope in the nearest years ahead, I will have opportunities to explore interaction design using various methods. Flash is a top priority, but ActionScript, which really goes hand in hand with Flash, is up there too.

I can probably safely say that most companies aren’t aware of interaction design though. So, obviously, the majority of companies aren’t going to invest a salary into the idea. That’s a downfall. So, for me, with tendencies toward interaction design as it is, I have to kinda sneak it in as I work. Really just keeping it in mind as I design or setup this site or that.

There are some cool books that I want to eventually buy on the topic. Alan Cooper is a name that is big in the industry of interaction/user design. He’s written some books that sound absolutely on the money with stuff I want to learn.

One of the books he’s written:

The Inmates Are Running the Asylum: Why High-Tech Products Drive Us Crazy and How to Restore the Sanity
..has a quoted review that is interesting:

“Frightening but true. Personal computers have engendered another New Age codependency. They shame us, they frustrate us and yet we keep spending money on them. Alan Cooper’s book explains why it shouldn’t be so and what we can do about it. A humbling and enjoyable read.”
—Jean-Louis Gassée, Founder, Be, Inc. and Apple Computer France

http://www.cooper.com/insights/books/

Is it getting hot in here? [exuse me while I wipe the beads from my technological hot flash away…] [rina grins a pleasing smirk] “That was good stuff”. (lol)

That’s so funny, like computers are taking over the world. But I’ve bought devices that I thought would be the end all solution to productivity and the like, and now, my kids use them as toys. Sony made PDA devices called the Clie. Awesome little do-dad. Loved it. But they changed so rapidly that a year later my $300 device was on it’s way out the door to obsolete-land.

It’s not that Sony made a bad product and made a good one the next year. I just think they should spend more time on devices with the intention of making a high quality product that lasts a long time. If money is the concern, make it with upgrades and expansions. It just seems like if a product had a good following, obviously it would mean lots of money. The problem for the company is that it’s a long term return. They don’t seem to like that. They have so much money that they risk short term products that satisfy the stuffits-diseased consumers who have the money to waste over and over. Build it and they will buy it. Because they will buy it. Ah…enter in genius marketing. Let’s market that this device is the best of all time, but don’t tell them we’re already working on the next big thing that will send the current device packing.

I’m not longer one of those consumers. I would rather have a product that was well thought out (using a process like interaction design of course). Something that was made with me in mind, not “hey, we’re going to make a bunch of money”. Purposeful products that serve to make my life better, or at least the experience of using that product a better one.

I won’t lie. Budget is one of my biggest methods of restraint for buying new devices and software. Everything has to be monetarily justified now, and serve a true purpose either for bringing in more income or benefitial to the family. That’s honestly one of the best things to happen to how I spend money. I think smarter with money in general.

Well, that’s enough of my Saturday being spent on a blog post. Besides, my coffee’s getting cold!