Obligatory SXSW Post

Kathy Sierra's talk at SXSWi focused specifically on how you can improve help for users by helping them find the right context when they are confused. Most context-sensitive help assumes that the user is in the right place when they access the help. But the fact is, the reason they need help is because they're in the wrong place. One very practical suggestion for doing this--capture some real conversation between a user and a support person where the support person is troubleshooting and therefore narrowing down the problem. Her related post on "The Best User Manuals EVER" discusses this in more detail.

SXSW is mind-boggling. I'm soooo not the social creature and am largely just absorbing information rather than participating in the party scene. I've seen some phenomenal panels (some not so phenomenal ones too).

(p.s. I'm probably not the ideal blogger, needing to periodically tune out of e-mail and computers altogether. I've met some delightfully unconnected people this week. They are immersed in technology but their lives aren't absorbed by it.)