Comments on: Tim Bray on user-generated-content http://infovore.org/archives/2006/07/27/tim-bray-on-user-generated-content/ a weblog by Tom Armitage Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:42:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Matt http://infovore.org/archives/2006/07/27/tim-bray-on-user-generated-content/comment-page-1/#comment-6279 Matt Fri, 28 Jul 2006 14:17:27 +0000 http://infovore.org/archives/2006/07/27/tim-bray-on-user-generated-content/#comment-6279 As someone who's usually had 'user' somewhere in their job title or on the tip of my tongue for a decade or so, I'v been wrestling with the 'us/them'ness of it as a term for a while. Don Norman recently wrote: "Words matter. Psychologists depersonalize the people they study by calling them “subjects.â€? We depersonalize the people we study by calling them “users.â€? Both terms are derogatory. They take us away from our primary mission: to help people. Power to the people, I say, to repurpose an old phrase. People. Human Beings. That’s what our discipline is really about." http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/words_matter_talk_ab.html People is a bit fluffy/hippy/huggy to convince the grownups you know whatyou're doing I reckon though, I'm leaning towards pinching a term from the economists and lawyers, specifically Yochai Benkler (http://www.benkler.org/) who is famous for using the term 'Peer-production' Is there mileage in 'peer-generated content', or 'peer-centred design'? hmm. As someone who’s usually had ‘user’ somewhere in their job title or on the tip of my tongue for a decade or so, I’v been wrestling with the ‘us/them’ness of it as a term for a while.

Don Norman recently wrote: “Words matter. Psychologists depersonalize the people they study by calling them “subjects.â€? We depersonalize the people we study by calling them “users.â€? Both terms are derogatory. They take us away from our primary mission: to help people. Power to the people, I say, to repurpose an old phrase. People. Human Beings. That’s what our discipline is really about.”

http://www.jnd.org/dn.mss/words_matter_talk_ab.html

People is a bit fluffy/hippy/huggy to convince the grownups you know whatyou’re doing I reckon though, I’m leaning towards pinching a term from the economists and lawyers, specifically Yochai Benkler (http://www.benkler.org/) who is famous for using the term ‘Peer-production’

Is there mileage in ‘peer-generated content’, or ‘peer-centred design’?

hmm.

]]>