I am a native Texan currently seeking my Masters in Applied Anthropology. I have been accepted into the Interdisciplinary Information Sciences Phd Program at UNT so that I can continue my studies starting fall of 2010 toward a PhD focused on Human Computer Interaction. My focus within the anthropology department is Business Anthropology - but my true love is Cyber (&) Design Anthropology. My undergrad was an interdisciplinary degree focusing on Anthropology, Philosophy, and Psychology.
My Cyber Anthro focus is on user experience, user interface design, usability, blogging, social networking, online gaming and communicating via any interface computers/consoles/handhelds/mobile phones. My basic interest is in any non face to face (f2f) communication between two or more people. This can take the form of one to one, many to one, or one to many.
Personally, I am a avid gamer both console and computer. While I own all three last generation consoles, out of the latest offereings I only own the Wii and I justify that because of its unique user experience. Otherwise, I am an avid World of Warcraft player and have played since the game was released over 4 years ago.
By trade, my background is in Web Development (designer/scripter/coder) where I worked for a 105 year old retailer doing internal web applications, then for a startup doing design/UI/SEO/light .net programming. After that I was an IA for an interactive marketing firm and then I worked HR software firm as a Usability and Interface Engineer.
Today I am a User Experience Researcher and Designer at internet company where I design user interfaces for desktop, mobile, and web applications. There I am able to meld my technical/design background with my advocacy for the user from a cyber anthro point of view to create sites where information flows easily and the tools are not only right at hand, but also easy to use and understand.
Other than that I am married and a (step)mother to a beautiful 7 year old. I love 19th century German philosophy, taking pictures, stompy music (the less mainstream the better), technology, gadgets, and organic design.
Please contact me if you have any comments or questions!
~Di