For the second year, an attempt to join the CHI Doctoral Consortium has been denied. Last year, I was focusing on barriers to entry in joining online communities, and this year I switched to merging complexity and HCI design. I share my reviews and reflection on the new failure.
Speechless
To support the Writers Strike, members of the Writers Guild Of America (WGA) created some artsy Public Service Announcements featuring A-list Screen Actors Guild talent. The campaign—”Speechless”—was created by George Hickenlooper and Alan Sereboff, and the short black-and-white videos have now been released into the wilds of YouTube.
Doctor Who turns 44
Although David Tennant doesn’t have to put up with the signature low-quality props and sets shot on video—the quality of the special effects is in line with industry standards, taking away some of the schtick—the original concept has stood the test of time: actors come and go, but the Doctor is eternal.
Hidden communities
Two examples of how latent readership can become real-world interaction, courtesy xkcd and Homeless Man Speaks. When we are able to connect the little things we read with the humans behind them, the world grows significantly smaller.
Joss Whedon on Writers
Joss Whedon is a talented person. He writes. He directs. He produces. He even, well, sings (or at least composes). He is also showing solidarity for his peers currently on strike, even though the action likely means cancellation of current television shows and could kill a future deal of his own to return powerful snarky women back to primetime.
Demographic bias exists in Social Networks
There was some controversy last June when uber Ph.D. student Danah Boyd wrote an essay for her blog Apophenia reporting on four years of ethnographic research on social networks. That essay claimed there was a demographic segregation by class between Facebook and MySpace. The current issue of the JCMC offers some quantitative evidence that Boyd’s informal observations are correct.
Experts make a to-do list for environmentalism
The Guardian reported today on the results of an expert focus group assembled by the UK’s Environment Agency. The panel was charged with coming up with a prioritized list of things we need to do to avoid. This list contains suggestions for government, companies, councils, religious leaders, and scientists, as well as actions individuals can take. The top 20 are all potential areas of design inquiry.