One of the big, lofty goals I decided to give myself for 2017 was to read 52 books in the year. Here are some I’ve picked, in no particular order. There are more than 52 here, so I still give myself some choice. Have you read any of these? What did you think? Which must-reads [Keep Reading…]
Minor in Tech
When I was 13 and about to finish the 8th grade, a teacher I hardly knew approached me in the hall. “Whitney, I’d like to talk to you about next year.” “What about next year?” “Well you’ll be entering high school next year, and you’ll be asked to pick your electives soon. I think you [Keep Reading…]
Empathy is the Core of Design Thinking
David Kelley is the founder and chairman of IDEO, probably the world’s best-known design innovation consultancy. Though not quite a household name, Kelley has arguably made as much of an impact on the field of design as the late Steve Jobs — in fact, it was under Kelley’s leadership that IDEO designed the first mouse [Keep Reading…]
Mark Ruffalo and Sesame Street Teach Kids About Empathy
Empathy is a hard thing to understand, and it’s an even harder thing to do — if you weren’t raised to do it. With the help of actor Mark Ruffalo, Sesame Street tries to explain the meaning of empathy to the kids at home. Mark: “Empathy is when you’re able to understand and care about [Keep Reading…]
The Most Valuable Thing They Teach at Harvard Business School
It all comes down to one word: empathy. At Harvard Business School, renowned professor Clay Christensen helps his students see that the role of a business is to solve someone’s problem -– and therefore, by their very nature, all businesses are an exercise in empathy. James Allworth, a fellow at Harvard Business School’s Forum for [Keep Reading…]
UX and The Lawsuit
So you may have heard that Apple and Samsung are suing each other. I hate when mommy and daddy fight. In general, this lawsuit really irks me. Patents are outdated, both sides are being petty bullies, and customers are the ones who are going to suffer. I was wishing it would all just go away [Keep Reading…]
Interaction-design.org’s Encyclopedia is live!
Interaction-design.org is a Denmark-based foundation that explores research on all human-centered aspects of technology. In an effort to create world-class educational materials for free, they have just launched an open-access, peer-reviewed encyclopedia. The first seven chapters were released today, with many more to be published in the coming months. I was invited by editor-in-chief Mads [Keep Reading…]
I’m teaching a Girl Develop IT class!
My dear friend and “girl developer” Sara Chipps has been making waves in the tech community with her new initiative Girl Develop IT. Recently featured on ReadWriteWeb, Girl Develop IT strives to narrow the gender divide in tech by offering an extremely low-cost series of classes on programming to women who want to build their [Keep Reading…]
UIE Virtual Seminar with Tamara Adlin: Ad-Hoc Personas
User Interface Engineering (UIE) hosts wonderful virtual seminars every month on a variety of UX-related topics. This month was no exception. Tamara Adlin, a user experience consultant based in Seattle, WA, put together a smart and practical presentation titled, The Power of Ad Hoc Personas: Truly Practical Methods to Get Your Organization On the Same [Keep Reading…]
The first Whit Hour was a success
Last night from 9-10pm Eastern Time I hosted my first Whit Hour — a new weekly video chat in which I answer people’s questions about user experience, consulting, and anything else they ask. I had an absolute blast and surprisingly talked non-stop — not something I’m particularly comfortable with, but there were just so many [Keep Reading…]
