HCI 2003 Part 1: the keynotes

I've been at Human-Computer Interaction 2003 - Designing for Society - for most of the week, down on the fairly chilly University of Bath campus. Plenty to report back about, but I'm still trying to get some analysis processed by an over-hammered brain...

What I will say is that I saw the best and worst of keynote speakers this week. Hiroshi Ishii, of the MIT Media Lab, was a terrifically inspiring and refreshing closing keynote speaker. I'd seen articles and images before of his Tangible Bits work, but never the man in action. Ishii wielded an abacus, showed us some segments of his work - and that of his students - on video, and really brought to life the ideas he has about how we can interact with the world. He also had words to say about the way CHI conferences select papers, which were uncomplementary.

On the other hand, and just as I expected, Gordon Smillie - "group director for Microsoft's enterprise customers" sez the blurb - was a cross between a politico and a salesman: free of content but a master of spin [Hey, every thought of getting a job with Tony?]. Given that there are a number of people in Microsoft who could have delivered something a whole lot more interesting for that audience, discussing themes of real interest to the user experience community (some of them were even at the conference), what a missed opportunity!

Opening keynote Bob Regan - senior product manager for accessibility at Macromedia - told me he was also selling, but the contrast between addressing the needs of your audience - which Regan did - and entirely missing the point of what these people want - which Smillie did - spoke volumes about Microsoft. Regan knows how to influence the buying public by demonstrating awareness of its needs, engaging his public at an intellectual level in their own field of interest. He is influencing an entire community's view of Macromedia: its people, its processes and its products, in a much more subtle way.