I just read an article saying the blogging is overrated. If you ask me, it's a Human Factors question. Does blogging serve a REAL user need in a way that is easier (to access, to learn, to use) then other methods? I think that blogging is relevant for many situations, but it is probably not the universal panacea that some have claimed. There are a few good human factors-related blogs, such as Good Experience.

I also decided to help a friend overcome his fear of public speaking. My first thought was to try to elicit his schema of public speaking, identify the links to fear (physical, instinctive, cognitive), and then work on redirecting the activation. If that is possible, then Human Factors can become the next form of cognitive psychotherapy :-D.

I had lunch today with a guy who does Human Resource outsourcing. He has as much trouble as I do with a 3-word description of what he does. My brief for the specific kind of Human Factors that I do was "I help companies target their products and services to match the specific needs of each customer group."

I like that one. It's concise and accurate. Hopefully I will remember it for next time.

Read the latest Alertbox today on excessive verbiage. It's a good message. It seems like everything these days wastes my time.

Emails have 10 cycles of replies appended to the bottom so you can't find what you need. I have tried to cut and paste only parts that are relevant to my message.

Forms have so much garbage in them. But this is often because of legal constraints rather than human factors. Until we stop suing each other, this will continue.

This is a blog to discuss human factors. Anything is fair game as long as it has a remote connection. I plan to be very generous in accepting contributions.