About Aaron Schmidt or Walking Paper.
| Who | Amanda Etches-Johnson and I |
| What |
a library user experience consultancy |
| Why | because we love libraries and UX work, so we put them together |
| For | libraries wanting to improve their websites and in-house services |
| How | many ways! |
| What Else |
a blog and a fun contest to kick things off! |
At the risk of people starting to think that I’m turning into a total retrogrouch (not true, btw) I’ll say that some of my most productive moments of the past year have been far away from a keyboard.
[via ACL]
→ Semi-new logo
→ Semi-new color scheme
#fe007a
#808080
→ New typography via cufón
Cufón displays typefaces not included with browsers but doesn’t require Flash. It is a bit easier to use than sIFR. I was originally going to just specify “Futura” as the first value for my H2 selector as a treat for those that have the font installed on their machines but then decided to use cufón so everyone could see it. It is a nice but not perfect solution. To see it in action click through to walking paper if you’re in your reader and look at post headlines. I’m into ALL CAPS now.
→ New plugins
Yesterday I was part of a preconference session at WebWise 09, put on by the Institute of Museum and Library Services. It was really fun! The session’s moderator, Nina Simon, gave my co-presenters and I the challenge of coming up with a social media plan for an ongoing library event. I gave the audience some strategies for using weblogs, twitter and collecting (and helping people make) user generated content.
My presentation was titled “Formatting for the New Web” [6.5 MB PDF]. It is quite pink in parts and features me dressed up as Abe Lincoln on one slide.
When I used multiple computers throughout the day it made sense to use web apps to read RSS feeds and email. I’ve been working exclusively on my MacBook Pro for some time now and I never considered I was still using tools more appropriate for a bygone situaion. No longer!
It all started when I decided to do some Spring cleaning and organization of my RSS subscriptions. My feeds were organized by topic and, like many of you I’m sure, a few times every day I’d skim though all of the new content and then “Shift-A” to mark them all as read. I became unsatisfied doing this over and over. 
Not only could I devote a seemingly endless amount of time processing all of the new info arriving but I was paying less attention to feeds that happened to appear at the bottom of the new items. Would I miss something? Gasp! This routine became less interesting overall. It became more of a chore or compulsion than anything else.
Organizing my feeds by priority and then topic seemed like a nice solution my RSS doldrums. I’d be assured to keep up with important feeds by reading stuff in the “First” folder, and if I wanted to devote more time I could go on to the “Next” folder or even the one labeled “Last.”
I tried to use Google Reader to do this, but reorganizing my large collection of feeds was painfully slow. I also discovered that the program doesn’t support folders within folders so my organizational scheme wasn’t a possibility. I use the Better Gmail 2 extension to make a small hierarchy of folders for my mail and there might be something like it for Reader but I didn’t bother looking.
I just exported my subscriptions, downloaded NetNewsWire and haven’t looked back. Its nice features include an ecto compatible “Blog This” tool that I’ve been using for work, not to mention standard desktop app features like offline reading. (I’m aware of Google Gears and Reader, yes, but it seemed to take forever and be buggy). There’s also a nice NNW iPhone application that lets me read some or all of my feeds and automatically syncs over the air to the desktop.
In the midst of this move I realized that while I’m good at keeping my email inbox empty I hadn’t really been doing so in the spirit of 
Inbox Zero. Having multiple instances of Firefox running, each with a Gmail tab somewhere amongst the many was an incredible distraction since I’d see email right as they arrived. Note: I’m not blaming the Interwebs for distracting me. It wasn’t Gmail’s fault that I felt compelled to immediately process incoming mail, it just gave me the option. I was reading email as they arrived to always be on top of things but sacrificing more time, effort and attention than it was worth.
So not only am I using a desktop RSS reader for the first time, I’m also using a desktop mail program for the first time in ages. Mail.app is collecting my Gmail but set to only look for mail when I tell it to. Same with mail on my phone. I’ve also set NetNewsWire to update only manually. In the end I’m getting the same amount of information, but I’m getting it on my terms and when it is convenient for me. 
OS X has a feature called Spaces which provides multiple desktops. I’ve been using it increasingly to partition the different parts of my life on the web. A Firefox window with a bunch of tabs in a few Spaces is easier to handle than one instance with 40 tabs. (Browser tabs are another dragon to slay evidently.) I’ve sequestered Mail and NetNewsWire to their own Spaces and am left with a few distraction free zones for projects and hobbies.
What’s most interesting about all of this is the fact that my information habits were just that. Habits. My way of doing things had evolved over time and I hadn’t given that development much thought, mostly because I’ve never had trouble accomplishing what I need to accomplish. (Mostly!) But in the past few weeks I noticed that things were taking a little longer to accomplish. Working from home allows for many, many potential hours of screen time and left unchecked, distractions can turn those potential hours into actual hours. I like my work and my computer but spending more time on either isn’t a priority. If it isn’t a priority for you either, consider taking some time to make sure your tools are working for you and you’re not working for your them.
When I used multiple computers throughout the day it made sense to use web apps to read RSS feeds and email. I’ve been working exclusively on my MacBook Pro for some time now and I never considered I was still using tools more appropriate for a bygone situaion. No longer!
It all started when I decided to do some Spring cleaning and organization of my RSS subscriptions. My feeds were organized by topic and, like many of you I’m sure, a few times every day I’d skim though all of the new content and then “Shift-A” to mark them all as read. I became unsatisfied doing this over and over. Not only could I devote a seemingly endless amount of time processing all of the new info arriving but I was paying less attention to feeds that happened to appear at the bottom of the new items. Would I miss something? Gasp! This routine became less interesting overall. It became more of a chore or compulsion than anything else.
Organizing my feeds by priority and then topic seemed like a nice solution my RSS doldrums. I’d be assured to keep up with important feeds by reading stuff in the “First” folder, and if I wanted to devote more time I could go on to the “Next” folder or even the one labeled “Last.”
I tried to use Google Reader to do this, but reorganizing my large collection of feeds was painfully slow. I also discovered that the program doesn’t support folders within folders so my organizational scheme wasn’t a possibility. I use the Better Gmail 2 extension to make a small hierarchy of folders for my mail and there might be something like it for Reader but I didn’t bother looking.
I just exported my subscriptions, downloaded NetNewsWire and haven’t looked back. Its nice features include an ecto compatible “Blog This” tool that I’ve been using for work, not to mention standard desktop app features like offline reading. (I’m aware of Google Gears and Reader, yes, but it seemed to take forever and be buggy). There’s also a nice NNW iPhone application that lets me read some or all of my feeds and automatically syncs over the air to the desktop.
In the midst of this move I realized that while I’m good at keeping my email inbox empty I hadn’t really been doing so in the spirit of Inbox Zero. Having multiple instances of Firefox running, each with a Gmail tab somewhere amongst the many was an incredible distraction since I’d see email right as they arrived. Note: I’m not blaming the Interwebs for distracting me. It wasn’t Gmail’s fault that I felt compelled to immediately process incoming mail, it just gave me the option. I was reading email as they arrived to always be on top of things but sacrificing more time, effort and attention than it was worth.
So not only am I using a desktop RSS reader for the first time, I’m also using a desktop mail program for the first time in ages. Mail.app is collecting my Gmail but set to only look for mail when I tell it to. Same with mail on my phone. I’ve also set NetNewsWire to update only manually. In the end I’m getting the same amount of information, but I’m getting it on my terms and when it is convenient for me. OS X has a feature called Spaces which provides multiple desktops. I’ve been using it increasingly to partition the different parts of my life on the web. A Firefox window with a bunch of tabs in a few Spaces is easier to handle than one instance with 40 tabs. (Browser tabs are another dragon to slay evidently.) I’ve sequestered Mail and NetNewsWire to their own Spaces and am left with a few distraction free zones for projects and hobbies.
What’s most interesting about all of this is the fact that my information habits were just that. Habits. My way of doing things had evolved over time and I hadn’t given that development much thought, mostly because I’ve never had trouble accomplishing what I need to accomplish. (Mostly!) But in the past few weeks I noticed that things were taking a little longer to accomplish. Working from home allows for many, many potential hours of screen time and left unchecked, distractions can turn those potential hours into actual hours. I like my work and my computer but spending more time on either isn’t a priority. If it isn’t a priority for you either, consider taking some time to make sure your tools are working for you and you’re not working for your them.
In addition to the UIE roadshow yesterday I have a bunch of fun speaking and learning opportunities coming up. I’m looking forward to it all!
2/25 : WebWise 2009
→ Social Media Iron Chef
2/17 : Drupal4Lib Camp
→ attending!
3/17 : Illinois State Library On The Front Lines: Agents of Change
→ Keynote, Creating the Usable Library
3/20 : IA Summit 2009
→ The Usable Library Website (poster session with Amanda Etches-Johnson)
3/22-27 : Gates Foundation Global Libraries Peer Learning Meeting
→ various sessions
3/28-4/2 : Computers in Libraries 2009
→ various sessions
More details and PDFs as it all unfolds.
In late October I wrote a semi-cryptic Facebook status update telling people that I gave notice at my job. Then a few weeks later a few people emailed me when they saw my job at the NPPL listed on the PNLA Jobs website. Sorry that I haven’t been able to say anything until now, but Ts were getting crossed and all of that.
I’m super excited to let interested parties know that I’m now the Digital Initiatives Librarian for the District of Columbia Public Library. Not quite sure what a Digital Initiatives Librarian does? Well, it is vague on purpose but I can tell you that I’m going to be doing website visioning, usability testing, web presence development and planning all sorts of fun projects. Much of this stuff is going to fall under a subdivision of the DCPL Information Technology Services department that we’re calling DCPL Labs (still in beta so expect to find some lorem ipsum). You can visit the DCPL Labs Projects page for some details of what we’ll be starting with, but I’m most excited about:
Another aspect of the job that is fun and challenging is that I’m not moving to DC. I’ll be telecommuting from Portland and visiting DC as needed. In our estimation this might be for a few days monthly or every other month. I’ll be working from home (which probably means I’ll get back to posting more pics of Mao on the green couch to flickr) and my local haunt, Red Square Cafe. This flexibility also means that I’ll still be doing some traveling for neat presentation and workshop opportunities.
The DCPL is implementing a big transition, including some major construction projects. It is encouraging that the library is considering their digital presence in this transition, and I’m honored to help with the task.
I have a confession. The gradient theme in Apple’s sideshow software Keynote and I had a passionate love affair. But like many bright lights, it burnt fast. I can’t really tell if the breakup was all about me or the theme’s fault. Whatever the case, I’m through with it. I think it has something to do with the time that it let me down in the big, bright rooms with somewhat anemic projectors at Internet Librarian last year.
It isn’t entirely obvious how to design a new theme in Keynote so I’ll report what I learned from a post on MacTips. There’s a small divider directly underneath the “View” button in Keynote’s menu. Pull this down to reveal master slides.
You can design the slides to spark a new flame, then choose “File, Save Theme” to move the relationship along. You even get to give it a pet name. I’m sure I’ll fuss over it for a few days, but I’m aiming for a new theme with white letters on a grey background with light blue highlights. It might remind you of the design on walkingpaper.org, should you ever click through from your feed reader. Once I get it squared away I’ll upload it here in case it is good and you ever want a minimalist Keynote theme. *sigh*
Here’s where my new love and I have planned for the Spring:
26 Feb
National Federation of Abstracting and Information Services Annual, Philladelphia
The New Information Economy: The Changing Value of Content3 Apr
Multonomah County Library Staff Day Keynote, Portland (!)
The Read/Write Web Opportunity4 Apr
Margaret Chisholm Lecture, University of Washington iSchool, Seattle
Work on This, Please: Facing Current Challenges in Librarianship6-11 Apr
Computers in Libraries, Crystal City
Various sessions and workshops22 Apr
Suffolk County Handheld Libraries Conference Keynote, Bellport
Library in your Pocket7 May
Massachusetts Library Association Annual, Falmouth
Having a Phone: IM Reference8 May
Medical Library Association Annual, Chicago
Web 2.0 Panel22 May
Catalan Library Association, Barcelona
The Read/Write Web Opportunity27 May
ProBiblio, Amsterdam
Transatlantic Tech Librarianship
If you’re reading this via RSS you might not care but I’ve refreshed the look of walkingpaper.org. Not a full redesign (I couldn’t bear to change the look!), but just some updates. Upgrading to WordPress 2.3.1 and K2 RC3 pretty much forced me to redo the CSS to make the site look how it did, but otherwise it was painless.
I’m forever telling people that library websites need to be friendlier, more fun and more human, so I decided I should model this behavior. The about section has some additional info and a picture of me. Font sizes are a bit larger, links are now a nice blue instead of red and I have a friendly greeting on the front page that includes a small photo. The archive page is gone, but the sidebar is more useful and includes a tag cloud. Navigation is better because of a maybe good, maybe annoying AJAX slider at the top of the page.
Hope you like it and let me know if you find any gremlins!