- We’ve decided to consolidate our office space and so I’ll be spending time in the next few weeks going through the accumulated tech gear, paperwork, books, furniture and office supplies, getting rid of what we don’t need any more and moving stuff around to create a more streamlined and comfortable workspace. It’s overwhelming but necessary.
- Sign up for my Interaction South American workshop on Interviewing Users.
- In early December I’ll be speaking at Warm Gun. Use the code SPKWARM to save $150.
- My Brussels photos are now all uploaded, here.
- Out on the town this week, I’m hoping to go to this BayCHI event featuring, Frank Yoo, the head of design at Lyft.
- From the blog last week, When A Food Truck Is Not A Food Truck.
- Ten years gone: From November 2004 – Maybe name is not destiny, then?, eBay tries to harness warm fuzzies, Elevator Pitch Essentials.
- What we’re consuming: iPhone 6, The Roaring Twenties, roof sealant, Grilled octopus with bacon tempura, USB enclosures,
Tags: portigal, this week
Now you can have all the positive attributes of a food truck (adventure, deliciousness, speed?) without the inconvenience of having to actual go to a food truck. Here’s some examples I’ve seen recently where an individual restaurant is named like a food truck but is definitely not a food truck.
Slicetruck explains themselves this way
I like to try and remind people that we are actually a restaurant and not a food truck. We named it Slicetruck because we started with a pizza truck and just couldn’t think of a new name for the store. You should try naming a pizza place. Very difficult to find something no one is already using and real easy to fall into the lame trap of throwing some meaningless Italian name into it or a “papa” or “mama” into the name.
The Taco Truck tells us
In 2009 we launched our very first truck in New Jersey…So far we’ve opened stores, kiosks, carts, and trucks in NY, MA, and NJ.
At least they each have trucks in their history, although it makes for a confusing name, what with their not being trucks.
Tags: food truck, restaurant, retail, slice truck, storefront, the taco truck
- One of this week’s projects is reviving discussions about collaborations that I’ve had over the past 18 months. Checking in, coming up!
- Here’s video from last week’s discussion about Interviewing Users with the Denver UX Book Club.
- Early-bird (e.g, discounted) registration is now open for my Interaction South American workshop Interviewing Users: How To Uncover Compelling Insights.
- Two recent blog posts about talking to users: Stephen Colbert’s interview guide technique, Nick van der Kolk manages discomfort with his participant.
- Coming up next month, I’ll be speaking about user research at the HOW Interactive Design Conference in San Francisco.
- Ten years gone: From October 2004 – Dog eats penis.
- What we’re consuming: Lobster-garlic ramen, Diego Rivera’s Pan American Unity Mural, Pan Lido Salvadoreno, Methuselah Tree.
Tags: portigal, this week
Embedded above is a fantastic and disturbing episode of Love + Radio. Nick van der Kolk and Noah Morrison visit Jay Thunderbolt, who upon beginning the interview, aggressively reiterates his demand for payment (not possible for public radio, which Jay knew). Noah ends up going on a liquor run instead, as Jay offers him a pistol or Kevlar vest. Jay never stops insulting the interviewers, and stories of violence abound; indeed at one point he points a gun at Nick’s head. Meanwhile, they are interviewing Jay about the strip club he runs out of his house.
Yikes. This sounds like some of the War Stories, doesn’t it?
I don’t know what is going through Nick’s head as he’s doing this interview, but as I listen I find myself strongly repelled by Jay. And while the interview here is edited, so we don’t know all that happened, but Nick never reveals discomfort or lets Jay’s obvious provocations get to him. His patience and tolerance create room for Jay’s story to come out, and while Jay is not an appealing individual, you begin to understand and accept him as he is. Well, I did. Your experience may vary.
Nick finally responds to Jay’s taunting at the end, when he asks Jay “Do you think you understand the way I feel about you?” and Jay admits that he doesn’t. It’s a powerful moment in an intense interview.
Tags: danger, discomfort, fieldwork, interviewing, jay thunderbolt, journalism, love + radio, radio
for its contents. This is a safe-cache copy of the original web site.