I just returned from Interaction 10, the always-exciting conference organized by the Interaction Design Association (IxDA).  This year’s event was held in Savannah, Georgia. I know there was a lot of live tweeting, Johnny Holland was there, and the conference site will soon feature loads of videos. Folks have been busy on Flickr, too. So, since the event reporting has been pretty well covered by others, I thought it would be interesting to look at the physical paper trail this conference generated for me.

Interaction with dead trees
I had a client years ago that refused to allow paper into the office. Everything was electronic. Needless to say, this got them a lot of PR, but made them fairly ineffective. Let’s face it, paper is really, really useful. (I’m partial to beermats…for taking notes).

But honestly, is all this paper really necessary? How can we make the world a little more sustainable? Just look at what I dragged home from Savannah:

2 train tickets for the Copenhagen subway
1 printout of a so-called “e-ticket”
4 boarding passes from Delta
2 luggage receipts
5 security stickers of various kinds on passport and luggage
1 receipt for currency exchange at Danske Bank
3 taxi receipts (1 Danish, two US)
1 paper conference badge
4 schedules and maps from inside the badge
1 map of Savannah
17 sundry receipts for meals, drinks, and other conference-related expenses
1 reservation sheet from the Hyatt
1 welcome letter from the Hyatt
1 check-out description from the Hyatt
1 bill from the Hyatt
3 Delta paper napkins (with sketches)
12 pieces of promotional literature from the conference sponsors
14 pieces of United States paper currency
43 business cards

"Empty your pockets in the plastic tray provided"

New Year’s is a time of reflection. In my case, I pondered the many and varied ways we can promote the cause of information architecture. And I think I’ve discovered a completely untapped opportunity: professional wrestling.

Amazingly, there is not a single professional wrestler with an IA background! I’ve considered making this career move myself, but my wife thinks I look dumb in a Speedo (then again, who doesn’t?). So since my plans seem to have been vetoed, let me share my thoughts with you – perhaps someone else will enter the arena to make this bold, long-overdue move.

The name’s the game
First, professional wrestlers have a catchy name. I’ve considered the following:

Leo the Librarian (famous for the “Shssh of Death”)

Doctor Depends (never looks you straight in the eye)

The Terrible Thesaurus (a magical, yet misunderstood creature)

Getting a move on
Next, all wrestlers have “signature moves,” so I think I should have a couple, too. For example, Hard-Boiled Haggerty is famous for his “Shillelagh Swing.” And Cowboy Bob Ellis has “The Bulldog Headlock.” Well, here are some ideas I’ve been tossing around.

The Polar Bearhug
Perfect for tackling large-scale opponents

The Wurman Whirl
Create anxiety through the deadly use of information overload

The Dewey Decimator
796.8 ways to send your foe back to the stacks

The Barbed Wireframe
Box in your target no matter where he happens to be.

The Berrypicking Brainbuster
A shrewd combination of the very best moves available at any given time.

Michigan Leg Swirl
Prevail by degrees (this move is known in the industry as an “MLS”)

The Morville Mindbender
Become completely unfindable in the ring!

The Dublin Corner
Trap your opponent in a maze of metadata

Full Nielsen
Use statistics to pummel your adversaries into submission.

Defining the Damned Thing
A horrifying manoeuvre from which there is no apparent escape.

Moving forward
I have to confess, throughout my years as a professional information architect, I’ve had a secret mentor. I’d like to share his identity with you now:

Happy New Year!
Eric

Here at FatDUX, we recognized our responsibility to remain politically neutral at all times. This is a natural addendum to our Code of Conduct. Thank you for your time and consideration.

The three FatDUX directors demonstrate their political neutrality.

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***blatant political overtones and overtures forthwith.  don’t say you weren’t warned.***

I’ve been trained by the Obama campaign as a data manager for hope.  I volunteer in pod 33.  We’re a bunch of believers using weekend-empty offices and restaurants, our own laptops, cell phones and chargers, and this awesome database.  As in a database that inspires awe.  Along with pod 30 the canvassers are making about 50,000 calls every weekend to registered voters in swing states, and we talk with about 20% of those 50,000.  And whenever they talk to you, they hammer you with questions.  And when you answer those questions (Who ya votin’ for?  Which way ya leaning?  Gonna vote absentee?  Need a lift on the 4th?  Know where to vote?  Could ya put in a couple hours for us down at headquarters?) the canvassers record your answers and put it into a database.

And it makes us stronger.  Because come November 4?  We’re gonna know where to send vans.  And who can drive vans on election day.  And who not to bother because they’ve already voted early, or voted absentee, or because they’ve told us they’re voting McCain.  Yesterday I had the privilege of being lead data manager for hope.  And when one of my crack datageek team was lamenting that she had a full page of 5Ms (committed McCain — datageeks don’t mince words) we talked about how actually knowing that all those folks didn’t need to be called ever again between now and election day was a feature, not a bug.  And then we got busy and had all 7500 calls entered into the system by 7pm.

Here’s to the re-election campaign in ‘12!

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