*Some recent interviews *(http://is.gd/EcgxWq)

Hi all; just capturing some links to a buncha recent interviews that people
have been nice enough to do with me:

    - *Brad Nunnally* interviewed me in *Johnny Holland*: "Web Analytics and
    User
Experience<http://johnnyholland.org/2011/01/18/web-analytics-and-user-experience\
-an-interview-with-louis-rosenfeld/>:
    An Interview with Louis Rosenfeld". Lots of retweets but, oddly, no
    comments. Hmmm... negative attention?
    - I'm the subject of Episode
8<http://thedigitalife.com/2011/01/episode-8/>of
    *The Digital Life,* Involutions Studios' podcast series. It was great to
    talk with *Jonathan Follett* and reconnect with my old pal, *Dirk
    Knemeyer.*
    - *Dan Klyn* also interviewed me for his University of Michigan
    information architecture course, recorded it, and convinced me to let it go
    public. Only later did I remember that I said things in it that I'd probably
    regret. The good news is that I can't find it on the Web. I really like it
    when Google screws up that way...

I appreciate being asked my opinion, though I'm not entirely sure why these
nice folks bothered. Thanks though!

PERMALINK:  http://is.gd/EcgxWq
(And hey, you might want to sign up for the *Rosenfeld Review*
http://is.gd/R9ONAA )


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*From publisher of books to purveyor of expertise *(http://is.gd/731gbO)

Here are the slides for a
talk<http://www.toccon.com/toc2011/public/schedule/detail/16350>I'll
be giving at O'Reilly's Tools of Change for Publishing conference on
February 15, here in NYC. *John Oakes* of OR Books
<http://www.orbooks.com/>and I are both talking about new business
models in publishing. Well, in my
case, I'm suggesting that it's now impossible for many publishers to even
have a business model.

I start with the question actually posed to me by one of Rosenfeld
Media's<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/>recently-signed authors (see if you
can guess who from the photo): "why
can't you tell me what I'll make based on sales?". After some panicked
head-scratching, I realized that it's really, really hard to even say what a
"sale" is, when we're dealing with everything from $199 purchases for our
entire catalog to micropayments for book excerpts. Really, we're dealing
with an almost limitless number of business models, all at the same time,
and all changing every fifteen minutes.

I then move on to suggesting that the only model for publishers that makes
much sense is (shudder) faith-based: faith in knowing one's audience, and
faith in knowing the expertise that will benefit that audience. Those things
are not and can never be commodified. The publisher's job is to, from here
on out, look for opportunities to package that expertise for the audience in
all ways that make sense: not just books, but presentations, workshops,
webinars, instructional videos, consulting... you name it. In effect, the
future isn't in publishing books, but purveying expertise.

And there you have it; now you don't need to look at the slides. But here
they are, nonetheless:
*Is there such a thing as a good business model for publishing these
days?<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/is-there-such-a-thing-as-a-good-busin\
ess-model-for-publishing-these-days>


PERMALINK:  http://is.gd/731gbO
*


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*Teaching a new IA workshop: Atlanta, Chicago, San Francisco*  (
http://is.gd/HwkovT) *

**Steve Krug* and I are finally live with our spring 2011
workshops<http://www.eventbrite.com/org/855924825?s=3212105>:
*San Francisco March 23-25, Atlanta April 27-29,* and *Chicago June
1-3.*We've moved our registration system over to EventBrite, which
chewed up some
time, and to make things even more interesting, we've added a fantastic
third speaker to each of the three cities. Get this: *Indi Young* on developing
mental models <http://www.sensible.com/indiyoungworkshop.html>, *Whitney
Quesenbery* on storytelling for
UX<http://www.wqusability.com/storytelling-workshop.html>,
and *Ginny Redish* on writing for the
web<http://www.sensible.com/ginnyredishworkshop.html>.
Steve, of course, will cover DIY usability
testing<http://sensible.com/workshops.html>.
I'm thrilled to be part of such a lineup, and that Rosenfeld
Media<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/>is the series' main sponsor. You can
register
here <http://www.eventbrite.com/org/855924825?s=3212105>.

What will I teach? My *new workshop* on Adaptable Information
Architecture<http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/seminars/adaptable-informat\
ion-architecture/>.
I'm increasingly convinced that most large organizations will continue to
fail if they don't end the painful cycle of "redesign every three years and
hope for the best" and move toward a rational process based on
prioritization and tuning an information architecture. I've worked with
enough Fortune 500s, government agencies, and institutions of higher ed over
nearly twenty years to have seen so much waste and failure, and dammit, I
want to put an end to it.

Come to my workshop and you'll learn some practical ways to move from insane
one-off projects with the goal of "getting it right" to rational ongoing
processes to continually improve your site. Here are the
details<http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/seminars/adaptable-information-a\
rchitecture/>;
please join us.


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*Tilting at silos again* (http://is.gd/DERSNp)

Just finished a new deck for a talk called "Beyond User Research". I'll be
giving it at both the IA Summit <http://2011.iasummit.org/> in Denver (April
2) and as one of the keynotes at UX Lisbon <http://www.ux-lx.com/> (May 13).
Silos are once again featured—only this time, rather than bitching about
content silos, I'm railing at how the insights that come from various
varieties of user research are so fragmented that organizations are missing
out on their true potential.

I've given a couple of lackluster keynotes before, so this time I decided to
unlock the amazing power of Brooklyn's UX community and do a dry run. Get
this: I got *Alex Wright, Anders Ramsay, Mark Raheja,* and *Paul Ford* to
sit with me for almost two hours of practice and critique. Unbelievably
helpful.

I'm very glad I moved here.

Anyway, here <http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/beyond-user-research> are
the slides; feedback welcomed!


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

*Another new talk and other good things* (http://is.gd/cd17yZ)

Because I'm getting asked a fair bit, here are the slides
<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/site-search-analytics-for-a-better-user-ex\
perience>from
my talk two days ago at SXSW. You can download them from SlideShare if you
like. It's a very nuts-and-bolts talk on how site search analytics can help
you improve your site. Lots of credit to *Jared Spool,* as I gave an earlier
version of this talk as part of UIE's virtual seminar
series<http://www.uie.com/events/virtual_seminars/lr_analytics/>.
Not only is Jared a wonderful presenter, but he's a wonderful coach of
presenters.

The talk is also a good complement to the bigger-picture talk "Beyond User
Research <http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/beyond-user-research>" I'll
be giving at both the IA Summit <http://2011.iasummit.org/> (Denver, April
2) and UX Lisbon <http://www.ux-lx.com/> (umm, Lisbon, May 13). This one
seems to be getting a lot of SlideShare love; I'm pretty excited about it.

I'm giving a lot of talks <http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/> lately.
And, if you've known me lo these past six or so years, the site search
analytics book is done! Should go on sale in May. Click
here<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics/info/publication_notificati\
on/>to
get notified (and a discount) when it goes on sale.

And SXSW? What a blast, though one day was plenty. Good to be home. Thanks
to *Fred Beecher* for organizing a wonderful panel (which SXSW oddly calls a
"workshop"); it was great to hear his and *Austin Govella's* takes on the
intersections of web analytics and user research.
*sign up <http://is.gd/9viTRS> for the Rosenfeld Review
*


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*Slides for my Adaptable Information Architecture workshop*
Giving it for the first time Friday in San Francisco; then Atlanta (April
29) and Chicago (June 1). Details and registration
info.<http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/seminars/adaptable-information-arc\
hitecture/>
Here they are, courtesy of SlideShare: *Adaptable Information Workshop
slides <http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/adaptable-ia-presentation>**

*sign up <http://is.gd/9viTRS> for the Rosenfeld Review


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*The IA Summit: joint custody *(http://bit.ly/g7aUO9)*
*

It <http://2011.iasummit.org/> really was great. Something of a bounce-back
year in so many ways—energy, attendance, experience, and most of all,
content. Thanks so much to everyone who was involved—from *Jess McMullin*and
*Samantha Starmer*, who were co-chairs—down to everyone who bothered to show
up. Even those of you who got something remotely from the Twitter
stream<http://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23ias11>.
Awesome.

I'll admit that I'd been wondering if this would be our last IA Summit. If
it was, it'd be quite sad. But all things must pass, and a twelve-year run
would be nothing to sneeze at. I know I'd be proud. But there will be an
#ias12 (and in New Orleans, which is wonderful news).

Unfortunately, next year's event will once again be attended by a 900 lb.
gorilla that, like me, has attended every IA Summit: a broken business
model. The IA community's flagship event is owned by ASIS&T<http://asist.org/>,
an entirely different community's professional association. The IA
community's own professional association, the IAI <http://iainstitute.org/>,
has no ownership stake in the IA Summit. This is nuts.

I love and respect the people involved in both organizations. I'm the IAI's
cofounder. I've known *Dick Hill,* ASIS&T's executive director for twenty
years. Some of my best friends are information scientists.

But to have one community's organization handling the major annual event on
behalf of another community continues to make zero sense. It's an historical
accident (my fault, to some degree) that needs to get ironed out. Let's face
it, #ias11 worked well despite this huge crack in the event's business
model. We got lucky this time; we might not be so lucky next year.

Once and for all, we need to make this a jointly owned event. ASIS&T can
continue to handle the business end of things, such as finding a venue,
handling money, and so on. Having taken a risk on our community back in
2000, and having remained committed to continuing the event—even during some
lean years—ASIS&T deserves the right to continue. And let's not forget: it
legally owns that right.

The IAI should own the programming, promotional, and experiential aspects of
the event. This is obvious, and I doubt anyone at ASIS&T would disagree. In
fact, many people already assume (incorrectly) that this is the case. The
IAI must own at least some aspect of its own community's keystone event, and
the IDEA conference, as wonderful as it is, is not that event.

Sure, the IAI could create a competing event. But that will create
marketplace confusion, not to mention bad blood. It could also fragment the
IA community itself. Let's not go there.

ASIS&T could say no to sharing. But they'll eventually lose much of the
volunteer juice that handles programming, promotions, and the event's
experience. This is what will kill off IA Summit—if not immediately, within
five years. Besides, saying no would weaken the IA community by denying our
representative organization official ownership of (and revenue from) our own
main event. ASIS&T, which has been wonderfully supportive of the IAI all
along, has no interest in seeing that happen.

So let's do joint custody. It won't be simple and it won't be easy, but it
can and needs to get done. The alternatives present some huge, ugly,
we-don't-want-to-go-there risks. And the kid looks like a winner, at least
the morning after Denver.

And let's fix this problem now, while there are good feelings and great
energy, while there is momentum, and while our backs aren't against the
wall.


sign up <http://is.gd/9viTRS> for the Rosenfeld Review


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The new Redesign Must Die talk (http://bit.ly/fMpUIL)

Another day, another bloody presentation. I use the term "bloody" because
I'm in the UK for #UXLondon at the moment, which instantly makes me an
honorary Englishman. I can eat fry for breakfast, duck into a subway without
paying a fare, and, of course, talk about bloody this and bloody that.

Anyway.

This presentation is an updated version of my old Redesign Must Die talk,
given a few years back. I think that the only slide to survive this
redesi... (cough) new version is the infamous one featuring the kittens. If
you care nothing for redesign and only for kittens, jump ahead to slide #5.
Otherwise, prepare to witness my
wrath<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/redesign-must-die>
.


sign up <http://is.gd/9viTRS> for the Rosenfeld Review


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Sweat the important things http://bit.ly/jU0Yni

I've used the following diagram in many workshop presentations (like this
one<http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/seminars/adaptable-information-archi\
tecture/>).
It's homely, but it always seems to resonate well with at least a few of my
workshop attendees:

[image: Lou's scorecard of user wants and needs]

Just got asked to explain what's going on here, and realized I'd never done
so outside the workshop context. So here goes:

One reason sites suck is that so many of us have forgotten why our sites
exist. We get distracted, lose sight of priorities, and end up with sites
that don't do the most important things users want. Such a site is kind of
like Swiss Army knife without the, um, knife.

This simple little report card forces you to (re)prioritize what your site's
there for in seven simple steps:

    1. Identify critical audience segments
    2. Determine what each really, really wants
    3. Determine what stakeholders really, really want for those segments
    4. Combine #2 (wants) and #3 (needs) through negotiation
    5. Evaluate performance
    6. Fix what's not working
    7. Repeat regularly

Simple, eh? Yet a frightening proportion of organizations I've worked with
can't:

    1. Identify critical audience segments
    2. Determine what each really, really wants
    3. Determine what stakeholders really, really want for those segments

...and so, they're completely screwed when it comes to doing these things:

    1. Combine #2 (wants) and #3 (needs) through negotiation
    2. Evaluate performance
    3. Fix what's not working
    4. Repeat regularly

Really, how can you operate a site if you don't know who the primary
audiences are, what their critical needs are, and what stakeholders want for
each audience? Yes, I'm talking to you; don't try to hide.

And, buster, if you're not evaluating your performance on major tasks, how
the hell can you know what to fix?

By the way, repeating this regimen regularly (step #7) is tocostly,
pointless
redesigns<http://www.louisrosenfeld.com/home/bloug_archive/2011/04/the_new_redes\
ign_must_die_talk.html>
as
garlic is to vampires.

Some elaboration:

    - Users' wants come from (drum roll, please) user research! I'm a big fan
    of site search analytics as one way of coming up with a priority-ordered
    list of wants, but you should use other approaches, like clickstream traffic
    analysis and inbound call analysis. Put another way, what methods do you use
    to determine which tasks to include in task analyses? Inject them into this
    column.
    - Users' most common wants will account for a huge proportion of all
    their wants. See Zipf Distribution<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_law>.
    Put differently, a little inevitably goes a long way, whether we're talking
    search queries, document usage, you name it. Use this strange law of nature
    (and IA) to your advantage.
    - Users' needs are what stakeholders *think* users need. E.g.,
    Stakeholder: "We think all applicants will want to know about our alumni
    profiles". You: <sarcasm>"Sure..."</sarcasm> So populate this column by
    asking stakeholders.
    - What's this negotiation stuff in step #4? It's where you show your user
    data to stakeholders, compare notes, and combine what they've come up with
    anecdotally with your own evidence-driven approach. This is the hard part,
    but this is the stuff that separates UX mice from UX men. Uncomfortable
    negotiating? Congratulations: you've just hit your career ceiling.
    - It's an academic example; so I used letter grades. Score things however
    you want; just score them, baby! That's how you'll know which need to be
    addressed.

Like this stuff? Then I've got a
workshop<http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/seminars/adaptable-information-\
architecture/>
for
you (one more this spring--in Chicago, June 3).


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*1 UX lesson for your C-level friends* (http://bit.ly/jSXEkB)

Quick: you have the undivided attention of your organization's senior
leaders for the next ten minutes. What one thing would you teach them about
user experience?

(Collecting answers on my site, naturally: http://bit.ly/jSXEkB)


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The Metrics of In-Betweenness (http://bit.ly/krBYZg)

I just read somewhere that when organizations reach a threshold of 150
employees, collaboration ceases. I might quibble with the
black-and-whiteness of such a statement, but it feels about right to me.

If this really is the case, then the rational path for large organizations
is to to keep chopping themselves up into smaller pieces that enable
communication, collaboration, and innovation. In my consulting, I've seen
companies with successful product groups that are about this size. These
groups have their own KPI and often their own P&Ls. All good.

But usually there is no equivalent group that owns the glue, the connective
tissue between product groups. That means cross-promotion is often as poor
as promotion is good. In other, non-commercial contexts—say a corporate
intranet—that missing glue destroys divisions' ability to communicate and
collaborate with each other—which is still kind of important if a large
organization is to function at all.

Many senior leaders recognize the silo problem, but they solve it the wrong
way: if one hierarchical approach to organizing their business doesn't work,
try another hierarchy. Don't like the old silos? Create new ones. This dark
tunnel leads to an even darker pit: the dreaded—and often horrifically
ineffective—reorg.

Information architects have unique skills for addressing the problem of
silos. We're great at creating connective tissue. But this is hard stuff to
explain to non-IAs. And we're awful at making the case that we have
something to offer.

I hate to use the dreaded 'R' word, but if information architects are going
to remain relevant, we need to apply our skills to connecting content across
silos in a way that senior leaders can understand. In other words, we have
to demonstrate the value of doing a good job connecting content across silos
in a quantifiable way. We need to come up with better metrics for two areas:

    1. *Contextual Navigation:* Moving people horizontally between content
    and, ultimately, between silos of content.
    2. *Search:* Enabling people to drill down quickly into a site's deep
    content, regardless of which silo owns that content.

Many identify information architecture with only its top-down elements, like
main pages and site hierarchies. These other two pillars of IA are far more
important, far richer in opportunity, and as yet unexplored and
under-exploited by so many large organizations.

Metrics tend to find their way into KPI. Good metrics lead to great KPI. If
we information architects can develop better metrics to help optimize these
two areas, today's voids of in-betweenness will be transformed into
tomorrow's valuable real estate. We'll see large organizations that have
product managers, teams, and strong KPI built not for silos, but for the
stuff in between silos. And a clear path from information architect to
product manager will emerge to the delight and relief of the many
information architects who are currently pondering their future relevance.

Blog entry + comments: http://bit.ly/krBYZg
sign up <http://is.gd/9viTRS> for the Rosenfeld Review


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You know you're maintaining too many blogs when... (http://bit.ly/r586Ov)

...you forget to mention on your main blog that your new book is now on
sale.

D'oh.

Well, it is! Grab a copy of *Search Analytics for Your
Site<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics/>:
Conversations with Your Customers* directly from Rosenfeld
Media<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics/>:
US$39 gets you the book in paperback and (instant, DRM-free) PDF, ePUB, and
MOBI. US$22 gets you the digital versions only.

The
testimonials<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics/content/testimonial\
s/>
and
tweets are nice; hopefully the Amazon reviews <http://amzn.to/oarAUT> will
be as well.

Apropos, *UX Matters* published a sample
chapter<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics/content/sample_chapter/>
and
aninterview<http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2011/07/site-search-analytics-a\
-conversation-with-lou-rosenfeld.php>
with
me, and *SearchEngineLand* has run the first of a two-part
interview<http://searchengineland.com/interview-with-louis-rosenfeld-author-of-s\
earch-analytics-84637>.
(Thanks to respective interviewers *Kristina Mausser* and *Shari Thurow!*)

And more thanks to the many of
you<http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/searchanalytics/info/acknowledgments/>
who
helped and prodded me lo these many years to finish the thing!

Anyway, please grab a copy and let me know what you think. Even
better, post<http://amzn.to/oarAUT> your
reactions on Amazon.

*permalink: http://bit.ly/r586Ov*


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I'll be teaching Adaptable Information
Architecture<http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/seminars/adaptable-informat\
ion-architecture/>
this
fall in three cities:

    - *Washington, DC:* September 9
    - *Seattle:* September 26
    - *London:* October 4

This is part of the growing Rosenfeld Media UX Workshop
tour<http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/>,
and I'll be joined by *Indi Young, Steve Portigal, Anders Ramsay,* and (in
all three cities) *Steve Krug.*

As always, the sessions are small and intimate. Also highly practical and, I
like to think, very engaging. And, as much as it pains me, we've cut prices
(given how crowded the UX workshop calendar is getting, this is a given).

My workshop starts with a fiery version of my Redesign Must Die
talk<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/redesign-must-die>,
and then digs deeply into the many more effective (and less expensive)
alternatives. I can pretty much assure you that what you bring back to work
will be far more valuable than the $495 you paid to attend.

If you'd like to learn more, check out the session
description<http://louisrosenfeld.com/presentations/seminars/adaptable-informati\
on-architecture/>
or
peruse the
slides<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/adaptable-ia-presentation>
.


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A simple model for gradual engagement (http://bit.ly/r5d7A9)
*
*

Design is complex. And in the face of complex challenges, we often reach for
the false comfort of black-and-white solutions. Lately, however, I've been
reaching for onions.

[image: onion-layer model]
(This one was kindly created by the incomparable *Eva-Lotta
Lamm*<http://www.evalotta.net/>
.)

*Onion-layer models help make the case for and rather thanor approaches to
solving problems.* They are a powerful visual way to communicate the shades
of gray that invariably color the solutions required by complex design
challenges.

Here's an example that came up during a recent client engagement. Their
challenge: work in a variety of new features—many which would require some
sort of authentication—into their commerce site. Part of the challenge was
the disturbingly large number of features that needed to be integrated. The
other part was the risk of hitting users with too many features too soon or,
conversely, hiding too many behind a daunting, crocodile-infested
registration moat.

Clearly some sort of framework was necessary to introduce those features at
the right pace and at the right time. If successful, this framework would
transform visiting lurkers into fully engaged, fully registered customers.
If not, we would all be screwed.

I came up with this simple approach for the onion layers:

    - *Layer 0:* User visits the site (unauthenticated; no cookies, no
    nothing)
    - *Layer 1:* User asks the site a question (for example, a search query)
    - *Layer 2:* Site asks the user a question (would you like save this
    product to a wishlist?)
    - *Layer 3:* Site suggests something to the user (you might enjoy these
    products ordered by people like you)
    - *Layer 4:* Site acts on the user's behalf (we've gone ahead and saved
    these products to your account's list of frequently-ordered items)

There are lots of good models for this sort of dialogic approach, ranging
from the reference librarian's
interview<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reference_interview>
  and expert systems <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expert_system>
design to permission
marketing<http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/01/permission-mark.html>
  and *Luke Wroblewski's* concept of gradual
engagement<http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1128>.
And my layers here shouldn't be taken too literally. In fact, the client
team quickly came up with a smarter and more sophisticated version of this
model.

But the onion-layered approach is useful nonetheless, because it underlines
the importance of gradualism. And it forces us to answer some important
questions:

    - How do we actually get user to move from one layer to another?
    - Have we demonstrated the next level's value?
    - Have we earned users' trust yet?

Design is rarely black-and-white, rarely a binary decision-making process.
We need more models, even ones that are smelly and make us cry, to help
demonstrate the power of *and*over *or.*

*Permalink: http://bit.ly/r5d7A9*


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Thinking of writing a book?

Just got asked for the Nth time by a colleague for advice on whether or not
they should write a book. Figured I should share my advice, or at least
capture it here so I can point folks to it in the future. Here goes:

    1. First ask yourself if a book is the appropriate package for your
    content (and its users).
    2. If it is, ask yourself if you really want to spend at least a year of
    your precious time and effort to write one.
    3. If you do, ask yourself if you want to publish it yourself, or if you
    see value in having a publisher work with you. Some people can pull off a
    book on their own; others like/need to have editorial, production,
    promotion, and distribution handled by someone else.
    4. If you want a publisher, find the one whose audience most closely
    matches the one you wish to reach. While I believe that some publishers are
    far superior to others ;-) ultimately we do much of the same thing: match
    books with our audiences.
    5. If you have identified multiple publishers that might be appropriate,
    figure out which one will actually help promote your book. (You'll still
    have to do a lot of it yourself, but it'd be swell if your publisher would
    also shoulder some of the promotional burden.)
    6. If one publisher seems to promise to promote your book more than
    others, then examine their track record and see if it's covered in bullshit.

That's it! Hope this helps.
Permalink: http://bit.ly/oa6vv5


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Closing the Findability Gap: 8 better practices from Information
Architecture

This is the closest thing I've done to a big picture "what IA is good for
and where it's going" talk in a very long while. Hope you find the
slides<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/findability-gap-9383069>useful.


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Updated site search analytics deck

Just presented this one at the Web 2.0
Expo<http://www.web2expo.com/webexny2011/public/schedule/detail/21140>
this
morning. As part of my program of continual improvement in presentation
creation, I've beefed up the practical stuff. Hope you find it useful:
*Site Search Analytics: 8 things you can
do<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/site-search-analytics-for-a-better-user-\
experience>
**
**Permalink: http://bit.ly/qICoiG*


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Upcoming UIE seminar on information architecture (http://bit.ly/qU3TCy)
*
*

I'm frustrated.

I've taught my full day workshops probably seventy times over the past
decade. I've increasingly downplayed what I call "top-down navigation"—you
know, main pages, site hierarchies, and the such—in favor of the other two
hugely more important areas of IA: search and contextual navigation. You
know, the stuff that unlocks your deep content.

And site maps and wireframes? I don't think I've addressed them since the
second edition of the Polar Bear book.

Well, it happened again today. I heard someone mention "IA and search". As
if they're separate things. Folks, IA is all about helping people find
information. That means helping users browse and search and ask questions,
as well some other things, like orienting them.

(Worst thing is that I sometimes hear self-styled information architects
talk this way.)

Well, dammit, once again I'm going to try to dispel some myths about IA. And
offer some concrete suggestions about what IA can do for you aside from
wireframes. On November 3, I'm teaching the UIE
virtual<http://www.uie.com/> seminar:
"8 Better Practices from Information
Architecture<http://www.uie.com/events/virtual_seminars/conversation/>".
During the talk I'll map out some new directions for what IA (and
information architects) should be about, and some concrete areas where IA
can make a difference for your organization.

Please join us. It's 90 minutes of your time. If I don't make a reasonable
case for IA at this seminar, I'll surrender and just stew in my frustration.
Silently alone. For eternity.

No pressure.

PS Code "ROSENFELD" gets you $40 off lifetime access to the seminar's
recording. Once more, here's
where<http://www.uie.com/events/virtual_seminars/conversation/> to
learn more and register.


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Meet me (and friends) in Mountain View and NYC (http://bit.ly/x7DRCp)

The never-ending Rosenfeld Media UX
Workshops<http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/> tour
continues! I'll be teaching my pragmatic approach to information
architecture <http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/adaptable-ia> at 500
Startups in Mountain View (March 5); I'll be joined there by *Luke
Wroblewski* (Web Form
Design<http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/webformdesign/>,
March 6) and *Steve Krug* (Do-It-Yourself Usability
Testing<http://sensible.com/workshops.html>,
March 7).

In New York City, I'll be teaching my IA
workshop<http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/adaptable-ia> on
May 23; *Rachel Hinman* teaches Mobile Prototyping
Essentials<http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/mobile-prototyping/>
on
May 24, and Steve teaches his usability
workshop<http://sensible.com/workshops.html> on
May 25.

These are really practical workshops—very small, very hands-on—and a great
way to boost your UX team's skillset quickly and cheaply. Please spread the
word; hope to see you there!

P.S. We're looking to add a third city. What should it be?


Louis Rosenfeld :: http://louisrosenfeld.com :: @louisrosenfeld
Rosenfeld Media :: http://rosenfeldmedia.com :: @rosenfeldmedia
keep up with <http://www.rosenfeldmedia.com/books/stay_connected.php> Rosenfeld
Media


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May 16, 2012: It's been a while

Yes, too long. Just some quick updates on what I've been up to in 2012:

    - Been teaching my Adaptable Information Architecture
workshop<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/adaptable-ia/>;
    last one of the spring is May 23 in NYC (and, yes, still some seats open).
    Planning more cities for Rosenfeld Media's fall workshop
tour<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/>—likely
    in Toronto, Minneapolis, NYC, and Tel-Aviv.
    - Hey, speaking of my workshop, *Smashing Magazine* just (minutes ago)
    published my very related article "Stop Redesigning And Start Tuning
    Your Site
Instead<http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/05/16/stop-redesigning-start-t\
uning-your-site/>
    ".
    - Consulting for a couple select clients whose names I dare not speak.
    Yes, I continue to make a living as an information therapist.
    - Publishing new books like crazy! Rosenfeld Media has published eight
    titles so far, but it looks like—thanks to the perverse gods of
    scheduling—we'll double the catalog this year. *John Ferrara's* Playful
    Design <http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/game-design/> debuts in a few
    days, and *Rachel Hinman's* The Mobile
Frontier<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/mobile-design/> in
    a couple weeks. And we have about eight more in the pipeline (and more
    signings coming soon).
    - And traveling (and usually speaking) like crazy. Highlights include
    WebVisions (in NYC and, soon, Barcelona), UX Hong Kong, the IA Summit in
    New Orleans, and, in about an hour, this
talk<http://www.slideshare.net/lrosenfeld/search-analytics-for-content-strategis\
ts>
at
    Confab in Minneapolis.
    - Finally, planning something big that will launch in a couple weeks. In
    a nutshell, Rosenfeld Media 2.0. We'll tell you all about it in our next
    (free) newsletter <http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/stay_connected.php>.


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*July 20, 2012: Meet me in Toronto, Minneapolis, or... Moscow?*

Fall is around the corner, and that means workshops. Rosenfeld Media's UX
workshop roadshow <http://rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/> will visit NYC
October 10-12, Minneapolis November 12-14, and Toronto November 28-30.

You'd think I'd be teaching in NYC, given that it's where I live, but I'll
be making my way to Moscow that week to keynote UX
Russia<http://userexperience.ru/2012/en/>.
I'm pretty excited—haven't been there since I spent the summer of '85 in
the USSR—and I imagine things may have changed a bit.

But I will be teaching my Adaptable
IA<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/adaptable-ia/>workshop in
Minneapolis and Toronto. You know, the workshop that helps you
avoid pointless, expensive redesigns with a wonderful practical regiment of
tuning? The one that anyone involved in IA in any large or mid-sized
organization absolutely must attend? Yes, it's that
one<http://rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/adaptable-ia/>
.

There is a pretty amazing lineup <http://rosenfeldmedia.com/workshops/> of
non-Rosenfelds presenting as well, and you'll love the courses. As always,
they're intimate (capped at 50), engaging, and highly practical.

Hope to see you somewhere this fall!


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