[IxDA Discuss] (no subject)

[Mark Schraad]

Note: I posted this to my blog (which is rarely read ;-), but thought  
it might make a good starting point of discussion for the group. Many  
of the posters here seem to be searching for references, short cuts  
to expertise and experience, and general good insight. - Mark Schraad

A quick guide to readings

I have spent a great deal of time reading in the last few years. Much  
of it wasted. It occurs to me that there are some patterns observed  
that may be worth sharing. One of my personal life principles is “I  
can always make more money, but not more time to live.” Time is a  
much more precious commodity. And wasting time is the greatest of all  
wastes. So for what is it worth… this may be worth the time to read,  
and save you some time down the road. Then again, it may be a further  
waste of your remaining hours…

Academic papers and publications.
Often to esoteric or theoretical to be applied (the PhD dissertation  
that was the foundation of Google being a recent exception), these  
are generally too specific or too theoretical to be of much direct  
use to practitioners. What they do well though, is provide food for  
thought, seed for expansion, and often a vision for what will be  
possible or commonplace down the road. Mined well, this can be a  
great place to spend you time.

Books by academics.
Some of the more productive professors in a field are those actively  
engaged in the practice. My personal opinion is that too many  
professors are well removed from the real world. At the same time,  
too many practitioners are so “heads down” they are unaware of  
current research. If you are lucky enough to live near IIT, CMU and  
Stanford, you likely know one of these cross breads (most often a  
lecturer, guest or associate professor) such as Dan Saffer who have  
taught, researched, worked and also write. My hat is off to these  
obsessively driven industry leaders. This is often very valuable stuff.

Books about our profession but that do not target us.
This may seem curios, but many books about business, design,  
interaction and marketing are not targeting that market. Dan Pink and  
Seth Godin are good examples of such authors. There is very little  
for the savvy marketing professional to learn from a Seth Godin. He  
is speaking to the CEO or manager that has never taken a marketing  
class. Dan Pink, by his own admission is not an expert in design… but  
he does recognize its value. Dan is a great advocate of our  
profession and deserves much credit for helping to bring design  
thinking to the attention of the press and business.

Barely worth the coffee table…
I have several books that are titled very topical and mean well, but  
fall well short of being helpful. They are often full of images, few  
words and nary a point. Most of my examples have come from  
professionals at major firms and leverage that firm’s reputation. I  
won’t name names, but you know who you are.

  “In my experience” books.
I have also wasted time reading books by practitioners that are  
neither writers, visionaries or provide much in the way of vision. I  
can only guess that the intended audience is the lost entrepreneur or  
manager browsing the business or web section at Borders. Usually  
these are cleverly and seductively titled. Read the first chapter or  
the introduction while still in the store, only then make your decision.

Case studies… war stories and the picture of success.
Often sold as recipe books or chronicles of greatness, these books  
are fun to read, can provide insight, but are also very dangerous. As  
much as I respect and admire Jim Collins, and enjoy reading his  
books, way to many interpret these chapters as solutions for their  
particular problem. The story told is one perspective, after the  
fact. Evidence is missing and it is generally not the precise same  
situation that you, as the reader are facing. Be ware of no  
evidentiary solutions.

Techie manuals
Often great for getting up to speed late, but fast… the useful shelf  
life of these books is often very short. Maybe that is why they are  
so expensive. I don’t need to be on the bleeding edge, so I usually  
buy them after the fact, on the sale table at a fraction of the  
retail price. Some of these, however can be great! A recent example  
is Dan Cederholm’s “Bulletproof Web Design.”

The outside visionaries
Very often, the problems we as designers, marketers and innovators  
are facing are not specific to us. There are other sources of  
information that can provide great insight. Malcolm Gladwell comes to  
mind. I read nearly everything he writes. Well researched, complex  
and very relevant material, explained in such a manor that it is easy  
to understand. I could only dream of obtaining this skill as I am not  
nearly as obsessive as Mr. Gladwell about writing. Christopher Meyer  
and Stan Davis are another example of a writing team that present  
topics well beyond a specific practice, but that have huge  
implication to what we do.

Blogs
Understanding the nature of a particular bog is important. Mine for  
instance, started out as a venting mechanism while trying to figure  
out the relationship between my work and my graduate research. Later,  
it became a perfect positioning tool for the job hunt. Now, it is  
simply a nice form of expression that I enjoy assembling. If people  
read it great, if they don’t it is still fulfilling to me. Many blogs  
however are full of poorly researched advice (this one at times, I  
suppose as well) with a mission transparent to the reader. Some  
bloggers band together to optimize tagging and search optimization.  
This helps to raise their Digg ranking and eventually sell “the  
book.” Beware the huckster.

Three rules that may help in evaluating readings. First, be aware of  
what you know and where you are headed. Relevancy is critical.  
Second, try and understand the credibility and purpose of the author  
and the book. Third, know that there are very few new ideas… but many  
are repackaged, over and over. And fourth (OK, I lied) understand the  
Pareto Principle (also called the 80/20 rule or even as the “long  
tail”) as it applies to books. Most of the real content is presented  
in the first 2-4 chapters. The rest is reiteration and evidence.  
Often this is worth the effort, but there is no shame in abandoning a  
book prior to its finish and beyond its usefulness. Few authors (and  
no sane publisher) will allow the critical information be held until  
the final few chapters. Though summary chapters can be well worth the  
time.