PhillyCHI | UPAPA Joint Meeting - Jared Spool, Monday July 23, 2007

* Apologies for cross posting. Please join us on Monday July 23rd as
Jared Spool discusses the challenges of usability and Web 2.0. Space
is limited, so sign up early! *

Title: Brave New World: Usability & Web 2.0
Date: Monday July 23, 2007
Time: 6:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Location: Berger Auditorium, Skirkanich Hall, University of Pennsylvania
210 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104
Map: http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/mapsBldgs/view_map.php3?id=140
RSVP: http://upadelawarevalley.org/events/event_register.php?id=6

*** About This Event ***
Once again, everything is exciting. The advent of social networks,
APIs, mashups, RSS, aggregators, and folksonomies promise a world
where the information and services we've always wanted are delivered
right to our browser. However, delivering on the promise is easier
said than done. Moving from a great concept to an exceptional user
experience proves to be more of a challenge than many people thought.
What works on a small scale is a very different story, when put into
production.

As Spiderman's Uncle Ben pointed out, "With great power comes great
responsibility." Just because we can do all these things doesn't mean
we should do them. In the early 1980's, the cheap availability of
laser printers and digital fonts produced a plethora of documents that
more resembled ransom notes than professional publications. We could
easily imagine designers going wild with the capabilities of this new
technology and not using the restraint necessary to ensure they
produce an optimal experience.

In this entertaining and informative presentation, Jared will show
examples of the usability challenges we face as the web continues to
change and evolve. He'll discuss the implications of "The Long Tail",
the introduction of a mashup mentality in business environments, and
how basic techniques, such as usability testing and field studies,
change when social network is at the center of the design.

*** About Jared Spool, Founding Principal, UIE ***
If you've ever seen Jared speak about usability, you know that he's
probably the most effective, knowledgeable communicator on the subject
today. What you probably don't know is that he has guided the research
agenda and built User Interface Engineering into the largest research
organization of its kind in the world. He's been working in the field
of usability and design since 1978, before the term "usability" was
ever associated with computers.

Jared spends his time working with the research teams at the company,
helps clients understand how to solve their design problems, explains
to reporters and industry analysts what the current state of design is
all about, and is a top-rated speaker at more than 20 conferences
every year. He is also the conference chair and keynote speaker at the
annual User Interface Conference, is on the faculty of the Tufts
University Gordon Institute, and manages to squeeze in a fair amount
of writing time.

*** About User Interface Engineering (UIE) ***
User Interface Engineering is a leading research company, specializing
in helping design professionals produce delightful and enticing user
experiences. They work with all of the top organizations in the
technology space and help thousands of designers every year. Hosting
events, such as the annual User Interface Conference and the brand new
Web App Summit, UIE continues to push the envelope of new design
practices and techniques. You can find more information about UIE and
learn about their latest research at http://uie.com.

*** About the Sponsor: Refinery, Inc. ***
This event is sponsored by Refinery, Inc., an award-winning
advertising Age Top 30 interactive agency servicing area Fortune 1000
clients. You can learn more about Refinery at http://refinery.com.

*** About UPA Delaware Valley & PhillyCHI ***
The event is co-organized by UPA Delaware Valley
(http://upadelawarevalley.org) and PhillyCHI (http://phillychi.acm.org).