3|0g Day 2008

Literary criticism applied to interaction design. A man who knows everything. School of Informatics HCI/d, old and new. A re-imagined cartoon made metaphysical by subtraction. These are some of the interesting things I read each week, and today I share them with you.

BlogDay was created in 2005 by Nir Ofir to dedicate one day each year to getting to know other bloggers of interest. Participant authors recommend five other blogs to their readers, leading to new discoveries and connections. The annual event, which takes place on August 31 each year, also has a Twitter account to help track activity.

Want to participate today? Take the survey, and do the following:

1. Find 5 new Blogs that you find interesting
2. Notify the 5 bloggers that you are recommending them as part of BlogDay 2008
3. Write a short description of the Blogs and place a link to the recommended Blogs
4. Post the BlogDay Post (on August 31st)
5. Add the BlogDay tag using these links:
   http://technorati.com/tag/BlogDay2008
   http://www.blogday.org

Also, bloggers should be aware that Blog Action Day is coming on October 15. On that day, the blogosphere will be writing about the same topic—poverty.

Recommended Reading
My list this year features three IU School of Informatics connections and a couple of humorous sites.

1. Interaction Culture
   Started as a course blog for the HCI/d graduate program last year, Assistant Professor Jeffrey Bardzell‘s continuation of this channel has been a pleasant surprise. Jeff’s academic work includes amateur multimedia and virtual fashion, but his core interest in developing a theory of “interaction criticism” that draws from his literary background. He’s a bright guy with an unhealthy love of hockey, a topic I hope will crop up in his blog posting at some point.
2. Notta Blog
   Josh Evnin is one of my favorite peers from the fourth graduate HCI/d class at SOI. As I was planning to ruin my family’s finances for the rest of this decade, I was jealous of his search for an industry job. He found a good one with Thoughtworks and has used the experience to feed his blog.
3. Drewidia
   The newest class of HCI/d students includes Drew McKinney, a consultant-turned-academic who is bringing some startup expertise to Bloomington for a couple years (at least). His latest project, Craigsmonitor, became an Apple iPhone Staff Pick last week. I imagine he will have some interesting insights to share on design and business as he works on his Masters degree.
4. Areas of My Expertise
   Dry comedian John Hodgman is one of my favorite reporters from The Daily Show. He also blogs, SOMETIMES IN CAPS. That is all.
5. Garfield Minus Garfield
   Dan Walsh removed the main character, the fat cat Garfield, from his own comic strip and revealed “the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle.” Even original creator Jim Davis likes the idea.

What is your 3|0g Day list?