Our very own local Information Architecture group DCIA hosted an event where those of us who attended this year’s IA Summit spoke on the various topics discussed.

I presented on current IA theory

Current though on Information Architecture takes us to our very own cell phones and location finding devices. The idea that we are, as Peter Morville puts it, moving to an "ambient findability" environment where you can search and find from anywhere and at any time.

These systems of findability we create need to account for the context and characteristics of information.

Is the information:

• Usable
• Findable
• Accessible
• Useful
• Desirable
• Valuable
• Credible

The "credible" characteristic is your ultimate goal. Dr. Weinberger, the key note speaker and co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, reminds us that there’s a huge difference between being "knowledgeable" and being "wise." You can have information — but do you know what it means and how to use it?

About the IA Summit

The American Society for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) in partnership with the IA Institute have hosted the IA Summit since 2000.

This year the IA Summit was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was a great place to get the latest in IA theory and practice. I urge you to take a look at the IA Summit 06 pages to see what you’re missing. Next years Summit ‘07 planning is already underway and promises to be better than ever!

Cheers!

Washington DC�??s NetTuesday meetup was yesterday. (Aside: Wondering why NetTuesday is always on a Wednesday in DC? Michael Silberman, our hardworking organizer, says that it is so that we don�??t conflict with another Tuesday event in the region.) We had two speakers for this session – Jeff Regen from Defenders of Wildlife and Rosalyn Lemieux from MoveOn.org.

Jeff Regen talked about the Earth Day Virtual March that Defenders and Care2 had done. Jeff�??s advice? A virtual march can be successful if you had a good single/focused topic and good technology behind it. Defenders had a lot of bells and whistles for their virtual march – ipod every week for the activists who got more visitors to sign up, ability to choose and personalize your banner, etc. This reminded me of the AFSCME’s Stop Health Care Cuts Virtual March that we helped implement a while ago.

Rosalyn Lemieux talked about MoveOn.org�??s Save Darfur Virtual March that was to coincide with the actual event. She advised the organizers to think long and hard about why you want to do something like this. A petition campaign can be viral only if feel fulfilled doing something and proud about what they did that they would want to show it to their friends and family. What stood out for me in this was that she said that MoveOn.org does not pass through petition campaign emails directly to anyone. Instead, they plan for a �??delivery event�?� that involves the member community, is harder to ignore, and gets local press. Very useful tip if you are thinking of any petition campaigns.

Washington DC�??s NetTuesday (which happens on a Wednesday ;)) gatherings are becoming larger and Michael is doing a great job of getting interesting speakers. So, if you are in the area, join up. There are a few other sessions around the country. See if there is one in your area on http://netsquared.meetup.com/.

I just delivered a presentation on "Advanced Online Organizing Techniques" presentation at a grassroots environmental conference in northern New Hampshire. Workshop participants were amazed at the charts I showed demonstrating how Americans are abandoning traditional forms of communication and news like landline phones and newspapers in favor of digital technologies like the Internet and cell phones, both of which they use with increasing proficiency.

The hotel had promised cell phone signals and solid wireless Internet connections — but disappointed on both counts. On one of the slower afternoons, I slipped away to catch up on email at the place I have learned to count on for Internet access on the road… no, not Starbucks… the local truckstop. You read that right. The truckstop.

Sure, truck drivers might not fit your stereotype of an avid Internet user, but the price of entry has fallen so much in recent years that the main barrier for blue collar workers going online is literacy, not finances.

Given their lifestyles, it’s no surprise that truck drivers have embraced the wireless high speed Internet revolution with a vengeance. Big travel plaza chains like Flying J offer nationwide wireless access plans and sell laptops right alongside CB radios in their roadside stores. For armchair road warriors like myself, you can get an hour or two online at many truckstops for about the cost of a large cup of Starbucks joe.

As I drove back up to the hotel, the two streams of thought converged and I realized this is where we are all headed: towards a future where where Americans from all walks of life are as comfortable driving their computers as they are driving their cars… and pay-per-hour hotspots are as commonplace as gas stations.

So the next time you a blue light emanating from the cab of a big rig at a truckstop, keep in mind that driver might be watching the latest Flash movie emailed out by their union or pecking out an email to their member of Congress.

Cool!

Eric

It wasn’t particularly earthshattering news that a recent poll by Harris Interactive found that U.S. adults have generally favorable views towards nonprofit organization, and that the vast majority of households have made some form of charitable donation over the past year.

But here at Beaconfire, we found it very interesting to cross-walk these findings with other research related to Internet use.

The poll found that young people have considerably more positive feelings about "nonprofit organizations, including charities, private foundations, faith-based organizations, and other philanthropic groups" than the generations that actually provide the most finanicial support to these institutions.

On a scale of 1-100, with 100 being the most positive…

• The overall average was 68
• Adults aged 18-24 were the most openly positive, with average rating of 88
• Adults aged 65+ were the most grudgingly positive, with an average rating of 53

Those same 18-24 year olds that report the most positive feelings towards nonprofit organizations are also the most frequent and sophisticated Internet users. Those senior citizens offering more qualified support of nonprofit organizations are one of the demographic groups least likely to be online.

There are other nuggets in the survey worth reading. Get it here.