Add Title

I’ve been with Automattic for a year and four months, according to LinkedIn. My title, Libation Engineer, is the result of mixing going-away cocktails with a firm stance on the negative impact of using words (like engineer) in a way that dilutes the traditional meaning. (Long story.) Anyway, my business cards say Libation Engineer (+user experience). The problem is that people either want to know the story behind it (see aforementioned ‘long story’ comment), or they think I’m a bartender (as my lawyer did). Since I’m about out of business cards, I asked Matt if I could change my title and he agreed.  I asked a handful of people for suggestions, and here are the top choices. If you think one is better than the others, please vote and help me pick my new title. You can also suggest something else, if you have any clever ideas.

My job description, such as it is, includes user experience design for the WordPress open source project and UX consulting on Automattic projects, some loose project management for the open source project, and working on community initiatives for both .org and .com. Oh, and I’m co-organizing WordCamp NYC, which will be super awesome, and you should come if you’re within a few hours. That probably shouldn’t affect your vote, though, since that’s something I’m mostly working on after hours, and after November 14-15, won’t be relevant anymore.

So vote:

Filed under: Personal

Gavel

Filed under: Politics

Truth in Advertising?

Even Jessica Alba, named sexiest woman in the world more than once, isn't immune to retouching.

I, like many women, find the airbrushing of the female form in popular media to be, well, basically an evil plot by the patriarchal multinational media conglomerates to subjugate women into a reduced psychosocial status that requires them to buy into meaningless consumer-driven lifestyles of diet products, spanx, makeup and anti-cellulite creams in an attempt to match the media portrayals of women’s bodies, which are rarely realistic.

(Cough, sorry, flashback to my younger, more strident years.)

Still, it’s actually true. And it pisses me off even more when the original photo shows a genuinely well-proportioned (or even skinny) woman (see above). So I was blown away when I saw that a law is being proposed in France to require labeling of retouched body images.

The required warning would be needed in newspaper and magazine advertising, press photos, product packaging, political campaigns and art photography, according to the Telegraph. The language will reportedly be: “Retouched photograph aimed at changing a person’s physical appearance.”

via Photoshopping Illegal? France Set to Regulate Airbrushed Pics.

It seems unlikely to pass in France, and unlikely to ever be brought up in the U.S., but I think this would be great. In the same vein I also would like to see similar disclaimers on teen movies and TV shows: “The actors portraying 15-year-olds are in fact 28 years of age. You should not look, act, or dress like this is you are really 15;” and historical films/fiction: “Things didn’t really happen this way, but we don’t really care if you know the difference between fact and fiction, because if we say it’s based on true events, we get more cash.”

National health care, now this? If only I’d stayed in French class in college. Sadly, I didn’t get much past, “je suis un barreur.” (Ironically, I dropped the class because it conflicted with crew practice.)

Filed under: Current Events , accuracy, advertising, bodies, fact, media, truth, women

Testing WordPress, PDX Edition

I’ll be here all week, folks.

Portland WordPress users: I’ll be in town tonight through next Tuesday morning to attend WordCamp, and would like to do some usability testing with you lovely people while I’m around. I have time slots all day tomorrow (Thursday), a few on Friday, a couple before/during/after WordCamp (though those will mostly be very short), and a couple on Tuesday morning. If you’d like to participate and can spare 20-40 mintues to help improve the next version of WordPress, send me an email (you can use the contact form on this site) or send me a message on Twitter (@janeforshort).

Filed under: Usability, WordCamp, WordPress , portland

iPhone testing at WordCamp Portland

I’ll be doing some usability testing of WordPress and the WordPress iPhone app (new beta version!) while I’m in Portland for WordCamp (9/16-22). I’ve got five beta tester slots being held for participants (we can only have a total of 100 beta testers). If you use WordPress on your iPhone and would like to try the new beta version (and will be attending WordCamp), let me know.

**Update: Due to high demand, I’ll be raffling off the slots. Send me an email, or @janeforshort on twitter by 9pm tonight pacific time to let me know you’re interested, and I’ll pick 4 beta testers at random (one slot was already promised when I realized there would be more demand than supply). If you don’t get picked, you can still help with testing… I’ll have my iPhone at the WordCamp, and will let people try the beta app that way as well.

Filed under: Usability, WordCamp, WordPress , iphone

Purple Hair

Sitting in the ear doctor’s waiting room, waiting to get checked out before we head to Tybee tomorrow. My hands are stained purple from putting purple streaks in my niece Jamie’s hair this morning. End result shown below.

Filed under: Personal

The Future of WordPress is People

Here are my slides from WordCamp Montréal.

Filed under: Uncategorized , community, montreal, volunteer, WordCamp, WordPress

ATL II

There are two things I like about the Atlanta airport. 1. Their trash cans have built in compactors, so there is less emptying of the cans and a lower volume is sent to the landfill. 2. They have the highspeed hand driers in the bathrooms that I first saw at SFO. These are more energy efficient, and dry your hands crazy fast, nothing like the old style hot air driers. I wish all airports had these things.

Filed under: Travel , airport, green

ATL

I don’t really use our iPhone app… I don’t enjoy typing on the touchscreen for more than a short text message, and I don’t love how long it takes to complete actions (due more to AT&T than to WordPress, I believe). We have a new version going into beta soon, though, and I’ve downloaded the simulator so I can review the UI, so I thought I should use my airport wait time today to refresh my memory of the current app. So far it’s pretty much the same as I remember. I’m hoping to get the simulator going tonight, so I can maybe mention what’s coming in my talk this weekend at WordCamp Montreal (“The Future of WordPress”). Time to go through security!

Filed under: Travel, WordPress , iphone

A Different Plugin Search Links Thing

When you search plugins from within the admin, it brings in the repo search results. I think that the plugin name should pop up the tabbed info from the repo page for the plugin, instead of linking to the repo page in a new window or the plugin site. I also think that the Install link should be on the left, not the far right, under the plugin name, so it’s in the same place as action links on other Plugins section screens, and that there should be a View Plugin Site link there, like there is on the other screens, too.

Filed under: Usability, WordPress , plugins, UI