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Experience Design + Community Building - MinneWebCon ‘09

I had the pleasure of speaking at the University of Minnesota’s MinneWebCon event on Monday, April 6th. I even got Doc Searls’ to autograph my copy of his legendary book The Cluetrain Manifesto.

Enjoyed meeting everyone - keep the conversation going.

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Published:: 4.2.09 / 7am

Category:: Academic, Culture, Design, Inspiration, Social Media, UX

Great presentation. I love the integration with real-world community building, and building blocks of communities. I’m in favor of organic real-world communities (Burning Man is cool - I participated in some similar social communities built on the spot in the 80s and felt “connected” in a very visceral, transformative way).

I appreciate virtual communities, and reconnecting to old school friends from all over the world online, but I also yearn to connect more humanly and socially in real-time, real-flesh, with others. I wonder…

How are we changing our minds and bodies as we increasingly engage in virtual worlds, and less in the natural and human environment? I walk down the street and pass young folk who are constantly connected. Where is the time to just think and digest information cognitively? To acknowledge a person you don’t know, and glean information from and reflect on that interaction or quick glance?

How do humans manage their social anxieties differently in real-world contexts vs. virtual?

How do we bridge between these worlds? I notice that I often don’t acknowledge an email or Facebook social exchange with a friend when we’re in person. Maybe our bodies experience these two worlds in different parts of our brains.

Can we as developers facilitate interaction better with/between neighbors (hybrid community)? Why is that so hard?

Finally, I encourage you to check out this interview with Ray Kurzweil who suggests that we’ll be able to shut down our real-world senses and completely immerse ourselves in the virtual world with a bio-computer chip in our bodies by 2045: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/04/03/03 Apparently his predictions are very accurate.

I look forward to more of your work. Thanks again!

About

Jason Sack has served as Director of User Experience at both Zeus Jones and space150. Sack has built UX teams from the ground up, with an eye toward delivering simple, humane interactive experiences. He previously taught at local design college Art Institutes International. His passion for UX and IA has evolved over a decade of experience, drawing on an interdisciplinary approach to creativity and technology. His fascination with the network age is built on the belief that design can improve people’s lives. Sack has consulted with companies such as 3M Corporation and HealthPartners, and currently leads a team of IAs at a global consumer electronics company in the Bay area.

Sack holds a Masters degree from California State University and a B.A. from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of the Usability Professionals’ Association, and has written about the intersection of technology and culture for publications such as InfoNation, iBiz, and City Pages Online. Sack enjoys public speaking and has presented at events such as Flashbelt, The University of Minnesota’s MinneWebCon, and UPA MN. He is still looking for relevant ways to integrate his ’62 Gibson Les Paul Jr. into his career.