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; 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—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".
• 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 debuts in a few days, and Rachel Hinman's The Mobile Frontier 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 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.

Jan 11, 2012: Meet me (and friends) in Mountain View and NYC

The never-ending Rosenfeld Media UX Workshops tour continues! I'll be teaching my pragmatic approach to information architecture at 500 Startups in Mountain View (March 5); I'll be joined there by Luke Wroblewski (Web Form Design, March 6) and Steve Krug (Do-It-Yourself Usability Testing, March 7).

In New York City, I'll be teaching my IA workshop on May 23; Rachel Hinman teaches Mobile Prototyping Essentials on May 24, and Steve teaches his usability workshop 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?

Oct 17, 2011: Upcoming UIE seminar on information architecture

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 seminar: "8 Better Practices from Information Architecture". 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 to learn more and register.

Oct 12, 2011: Updated site search analytics deck

Just presented this one at the Web 2.0 Expo 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: