RE: Anthropologists in Silicon Valley

Jim Whitehead (ejw@ics.uci.edu)
Thu, 10 Jun 1999 10:07:30 -0700


> > I'm a big fan of having anthropologists involved in product
> design. All too
> > often computer scientists try to create their systems based on
> a theoretical
> > view of how it will be used, without getting empirical backup.
> > Anthropologists can tell you how a product is actually used,
> completing a
> > vital feedback loop into the design process.
> >
>
> So, Jim, can you list for us the Anthropologists involved in the WebDAV
> spec development? :)

Unfortunately, Zippo. But certainly not for lack of desire. Back in early
1997 I tried to convince a student here to study the development of DAV, but
they weren't interested :-( I didn't exactly have a personnel budget.

And I certainly wish someone would go out and study actual web publishing
use by people at home, people in business, and high-end publishers. Talk
about relevant research...

So, if you know of any anthropologists looking for topics...

- Jim