Mapping the Userati
Chris McEvoy of Usability Must Die fame and also a frequent contributor to WebWord recently created the Map of Userati Connections. He defines userati as a group of people concerned with issues relating to software and users, who are known to their peers, which includes yours truly. The connections were calculated using Google. So, for example, Chad Thornton has about 8 connections to Don Norman because the search terms “Chad Thornton” and “Don Norman” were found on the same page about 8 times.
(via WebWord)
- 4 Dec 02
- chris mcevoy, community, google, interaction design
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Comments
So Brenda Laurel is number 2 and I’d hadn’t heard a huge amount about her. Certainly not half as much as Jakob Nielsen, which the numbers might imply. I had heard of Purple Moon. I notice her speaking fees are quite respectable. I wonder if Userati numbers and speaking fees correlate?
Stuart Card I thought I hadn’t heard of, but then a quick read revealed he invented GOMS. Inspired by Jef Raskin’s book The Humane Interface, I’ve found GOMS useful for rigorious usability analysis.
Hey, what happend to Jef Raskin? OK, I’ve nominated him.
Chad Lundgren on 8 Dec 02
Well, the search terms “Chad Thorton” and “Don Norman” used to be found on the same page about 8 times. It seems as though the list of Userati has already affected the number of connections. I wonder if it’s possible for Chris’s script to take this into account?
Joshua Kaufman on 8 Dec 02
I’m afraid I messed up badly with the Brenda Laurel figures because I miskeyed the SQL statement in my database. This means Laural goes from no. 2 to no. 9 and Ben Schneiderman becomes no. 2 This will be fixed in about 8 hours.
I am glad that people are making new links in their brains between some of these people as that was my objective in doing this work.
I have already noticed the ‘Observer Effect’ with regard to userati and am trying to put together an article on this ‘effect’ with regard to usability.
By observing that there is no link between two people, I am actually creating a link between them. I think I should leave these results in, as they should even themselves out over time.
Any more comments or suggestions are gratefully received.
Chris McEvoy on 9 Dec 02