Preparing for User Research Interviews: Seven Things to Remember > This article immediately reminded me of the admissions role I just left with the TRIUM program. Though my experience with UX interviewing is limited, these guidelines somewhat overlap the processes for admissions interviews. While both UX and admissions aim to share information, the social dynamic between parties seems substantially different (i.e. analyzing a product or experience is different than determining a personal match). I wonder how my background and interest would translate in the field of UX. Hmm.
User Centric definition of User Research > This article was straight forward. It reminded me of Amit’s class a little — Designing for Constraints.
Social Music > I still need to determine which site to write about. I’m not approved on the Google group yet, so I don’t know which ones are available to discuss. I just registered at last.fm (for the first time!). I have used Pandora before. Both services offer streaming music and recommendations based upon tastes, tags, types… Pandora may have evolved since I used it a few years ago, but last.fm seems to have more features, including bios, pictures, videos, social connection element, etc. While I recall the sound quality of Pandora to be better, it’s a heavier and more rigid option. The Social Music page itself is attractive enough and is a big help for anyone analyzing the various social music sites.
How the Music Business Spent the Summer Killing Itself > My first thought while reading this article answers the question: why don’t I get turned onto new music that easily anymore? The answer actually came earlier when I entered several of my favorite artists into last.fm… I’ve heard or at least heard of most of the artists who make the kinds of music I like. For something revolutionary to hit me, I think I need to be in a different phase or place in my personal life. We are so saturated with options to take and hear music with minimal if any transaction costs, that anyone who explores new artists regularly might have a difficult time finding something that new or unique. Even if one or two (or ten or twenty) of a listeners favorite artists or labels pulled their stuff from these streaming services or from iTunes, there would be plenty of substitute groups offering similar sounds and lyrics. I guess it’s kinda interesting (and nice) to read about an entire music industry lagging behind the public and tech community (i.e. my folks).