On the afternoon of Friday, August 22, 2008, I “left work” for the last time. It was my last day at my full-time job and I was officially self-employed. The last two years have been a whirlwind, and the benefits and repercussions of that single action have been far more significant than I ever could [Keep Reading…]
If the product doesn’t work, its “user experience” doesn’t matter
I recently edited an article for UX Magazine (When You Startup with UX) in which I interviewed four startups on what User Experience means to them. Of all the things that people said, the quote that stood out to me the most was from Mike Singleton, a developer at Foursquare: “…when you only have three [Keep Reading…]
The 5-Year Anniversary of My LLC
With all of my elation yesterday, I completely forgot to acknowledge that on August 3, 2005, I signed the paperwork that established my LLC. I was 7 months into my first full-time job at Digitas, and struggling to make ends meet. Since friends and family were already asking me to “just help them” with their [Keep Reading…]
Fun Times in Mini-Apple-Us
When I was asked to speak at An Event Apart Minneapolis, I thought, “An Event Apart, yes! Minneapolis, whatever.” I wasn’t expecting much from my trip to the Twin Cities — but I was dead wrong. Flying over Minnesota for the first time a week ago today, all I could see was a flat expanse [Keep Reading…]
Whose life is this?
As my 28th birthday comes to a close, I can’t help but reflect on the past year. I experienced the deepest love, faced my greatest fears, and found accomplishments I never knew I could have. Life feels like it’s happening to me, like I’m largely out of control. And perhaps I am, but I need [Keep Reading…]
Whit Hour – Week 10
Thank you so much to the 35 people who showed up for the tenth week of Whit Hour — my weekly one-hour video chat to answer any and all of your questions about user experience, consulting, and whatever else you throw at me. Tune in every Monday night from 10-11pm Eastern Time at http://www.justin.tv/whitneyhess. Whit [Keep Reading…]
Undercover Boss: Just How Badly is Your Company Screwing Itself
Undercover Boss is one of my favorite new shows. Why? Because we desperately need to encourage upper management to get in touch with what’s really going on inside their companies. The right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing, and it’s harming employees just as much as customers, if not more. I was [Keep Reading…]
Being a godmother is like being a user experience designer
On April 18, 2010, Griffin James Lam Konig was born at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasett, NY, weighing in at 7 lbs 13 oz. Griffin’s mom Donna is the 39-year-old daughter of my childhood babysitter Theresa (who I’ve always called T-T). The day after Griffin came home from the hospital, twenty-seven years after Theresa [Keep Reading…]
Questions show passion, not doubt
I was recently contacted by someone to contribute to a project they’re working on. It was a well-connected and well-respected person whose work I’ve followed for years, so naturally I was quite excited by the inquiry. The initial email was a bit sparse — describing the project in just a couple sentences — and while [Keep Reading…]
SXSW Interactive: Never As Good As the First Time
I’m behind on summing up my thoughts on this year’s SXSW Interactive. A lot of people have panned the conference, saying “SXSW sucks,” “SXSW is dead,” and more constructively, “the conference isn’t that good.” Fast Company called the keynote with Twitter co-founder and CEO Evan Williams, “the most horrifically devastating keynote presentation in SXSW history,” [Keep Reading…]
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