Hello World, I’m Back

Filed under Good Experiences, Information Architecture, Management, Me, me, me!
February 11, 2008 at 11:30 am

Today I have the great pleasure to announce I’m concluding an extremely important phase in my life, managing the Information Architecture and Usability for Comcast Interactive Media, and starting a new one, as Principal of Information Architecture for the same Comcast Interactive Media.

Yes, you read that right: I’m not going anywhere, yet, I’m going forward!

Coming to Comcast was a great opportunity for me - I wanted to work for a large organization and experience the trials and tribulations that my clients expressed when I worked as a consultant. I also wanted to manage a larger team and experience the challenges of long-term people management. Comcast welcomed me with an opportunity to do all that and more. Not only to manage people, but to start and build a team from scratch; not to just be in a large corporate environment, but establishing a new competency (information architecture and usability) across a very large organization.

This was a very enriching experience and I’m extremely satisfied with the outcome. What a learning experience! Fortunately for me, realizing that I reached this point didn’t mean I’d come across a dead-end at Comcast. Comcast Interactive Media is continuing to grow and so we came up with the Principal position, allowing me to keep growing and focus on new strategic challenges.

As Principal of Information Architecture I’ll be responsible for evolving the vision and establishing UX best practices across Comcast Interactive Media properties. Those include Comcast.net, Fancast, Ziddio.com, GameInvasion, Chill and all Comcast Cable, High-Speed Internet and Voice services.

I couldn’t possibly do that without passing on the baton of managing team and practice to someone else. That is a hard call to make given that this is “my baby” and I want the very best. Which is why I’m THRILLED that my dear friend Dennis Schleicher stepped in to take on the Director of IA role. Dennis is one of the nicest people I know. I’m not just saying that because we share a love of cheese. He’s also very talented and inspiring to be around - nothing seems impossible or hard when you discuss it with Dennis - you know you are talking to an anthropologist when you start answering your own questions. Welcome Dennis!

I’m very excited about all this so I’ll try and blog a little more frequently to talk about what I’m up to. The last I’ll add today is really the only reason I decided to write this post, to say thanks to the absolutely fantastic team that made this possible for me. Crystal Kubitsky, Eddie James, Austin Govella, Aparna Ramchandran, Paul Kali, Cynthia Hoffa and David Fiorito. You all rock. I hope I have reminded you of that frequently enough and I hope you are as proud of this team as I am. I can’t wait to continue working with you.

Comments (3)

What is it called?

Filed under Information Architecture
April 26, 2007 at 5:02 am

I use post-its for a lot of my “wall work”, but we ran out of walls at the office, so I bought 98″x42″ sheets of 0.5″ thick black foamboards. We’ll use these to create impromptu project war rooms and I’d like to add more than post-its (mostly just regular A4 sheets of paper) to them, without permanently damaging the boards.

I know that there is a product that allows me to attach things the way I want, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is called, much less where to get it. I have a hard time even describing it (lacking the right vocabulary in English I believe) - Eddie and Aparna tried to help me and I think they figured out what it was but they also couldn’t think of a name.

It’s a type of non-stick adhesive (?), not a tape, but some kind of dough (?!), often gray or white used to adhere paper to various surfaces. Eddie said it was big in the 80’s in the US. To me, it looks sort of like epoxy, but that’s not quite it since most epoxy products harden permanently fairly quickly.

This substance is really flexible, like molding clay, except you can reuse it over and over (eventually, after a lot of exposure to oxygen it hardens. If you keep it closed in a plastic bag it lasts for ages). You take a little chunk, roll it into a little ball and press it between the sheet and the surface you’re adhering to.

I’ve roamed two large art supply stores in vain. I have a faint memory that the original package was from the UK; I recall seeing it used at the British Council in Sao Paulo in the early 90’s (Yikes, I wish I had used that memory cell for something else…)

This is driving me nuts, so please help me if you can. Thanks!

Comments (13)

A List Apart Web Design Survey, 2007

Filed under Information Architecture, Management
April 24, 2007 at 9:18 am

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