UXnet contributes to World Usability Day
Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 by Keith InstoneUXnet cited as “important collaborator” for World Usability Day 2006; Instone honored for contributions in 2005
The User Experience Network (UXnet) is taking a leadership role in World Usability Day 2006. This second-annual event, to be held on November 14, 2006, is an international celebration of usability and other important components of a successful user experience.
“Last year, UXnet played a key role in making the inaugural World Usability Day a success,” said Elizabeth Rosenzweig, a Past President of the Usability Professionals Association (UPA) and Director of World Usability Day. “This year they are actively engaged with our organization on the ground level and promise to be an important collaborator, helping make 2006 an even more successful event than 2005.”
World Usability Day is an Earth Day-style event, focused on raising the awareness and visibility of usability engineering and user centered design, organized by volunteers and local event coordinators. Leveraging the theme of “Making it easy,” the 2005 event made news around the world, with notable happenings on six continents in 35 countries. UXnet Local Ambassadors were one of the largest groups of local organizers for World Usability Day 2005.
“We appreciate the opportunity to play an increased role in the success of World Usability Day this year,” commented Rick Cecil, the UXnet Local Ambassador representing Raleigh-Durham, who is also serving as the leader of UXnet World Usability Day activities. “UXnet will be providing regional hubs across the globe to help recruit and organize volunteers, helping to make the biggest and most effectively coordinated impact on November 14.”
A big reason for the expanded role of UXnet in 2006 was the hard work by Keith Instone, the Secretary on the UXnet Board of Directors, on behalf of World Usability Day 2005. In fact, Instone was recently honored by UPA with a special Usability Service Award at their annual conference for his outstanding work on the World Usability Day website. The text of his award reads:
Organizations thrive on the work of ‘unsung heroes’ who put in extra effort to start, revitalize or sustain UPA activities. They often devote extraordinary effort, beyond normal volunteer work, whether on a specific project or in a general sustained effort. Keith Instone is a 2006 recipient for his tireless work as a member of the World Usability Day 2005 committee. His leadership in creating WorldUsabilityDay.net, which brought many people from different user-experience communities together to help create the first World Usability Day; and his innovative work on the official WorldUsabilityDay.org web site contributed in many ways to the success of this inaugural event.
“We’re exceptionally proud of Keith,” said Dirk Knemeyer, President of the UXnet Board of Directors. “e have the privilege of benefiting from his diligence and outstanding work on a daily basis, and it is no surprise to see other organizations recognize him as well. Keith is a shining example of the very best of volunteerism and selfless individual contribution to the greater good.”
Instone previously received the ACM SIGCHI Distinguished Service Award in 1998.
Founded in 2004, the User Experience Network (UXnet) makes connections between people, organizations and resources that represent user experience. With active initiatives currently building networks between locales, events, industry associations and UX managers, UXnet is a leading international non-profit organization representing the interests of the user experience industry. For more information, please contact the UXnet Board of Directors, directors@uxnet.org.
