The Information Architecture Summit 2010 took place this week in Phoenix. I rarely, if ever, attend big honking conferences like these any more because they’re too expensive, dialysis on the road is a bitch, and I don’t have anything to sell. They only make sense if you have something to sell.
Anyway, I was tempted to go to this one because Richard Saul Wurman delivered one of the keynotes. Wurman coined the term “information architecture” in—wait for it—1976 and the totality of his work has informed mine since stumbling across Aspen Visible in the 1970s.
It was really interesting—and disappointing—to follow the twitterstream (#ias10) from the conference. Wurman has to be one of the most abrasive human beings on the planet, but he’s unquestionably brilliant. The Twitter comments during Wurman’s keynote were blistering. Here’s a sampling: “To call this talk wide-ranging is like calling the universe big.” “RSWurman is so cranky he makes me seem perky and light-hearted by comparison.” “Richard Saul Wurman proving that hypertext is better delivered on a screen than in a speech.” “Learning that information architecture happens without ever reaching a point.” “I guess when people treat you like a legend for 20 years, self-importance is an occupational hazard.” “The puppies in the room are cutting RSW no slack, which is as it should be.” “I think RSW is a hoot, but I really wish he’d stop telling us all of the things we don’t know how to do.” “I can’t decide if the pressure is off for my closing keynote tomorrow, or if I’m doubly screwed after this.” “The good news? RSW hasn’t said ‘I shit genius every day!’”
Maybe it’s because Jim Klee, my major professor in both undergraduate and graduate school lectured exactly like Wurman does. As a vaudevillian—winding and looping multiple, seemingly disconnected, stories with many layers together to make a point sometime in the future. Sometimes the loops don’t gell until months into the future.
Or maybe it’s because my attention span is longer than that of the youngs (conferences like the IA Summit are populated almost exclusively by the youngs) who are constantly bathing in the stream that is the internet—a plethora of information bits demanding attention now. A Wurman presentation—like a Klee lecture—is more than anything like an auditory meditation; a modern oral tradition experience. It requires extremely close and careful attention, and the payback isn’t always immediate. And a pretty vast collection of frames of reference doesn’t hurt. I always appreciated the intellectual exercise, always got immense value from them, and will be forever grateful for the experience.
Here’s what I find puzzling: While they used the Twitter backchannel to rip Wurman during his keynote, the youngs gave him a standing ovation at the end of his address. That’s just sad.
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