Emily Chang - Blog

In an article at the NY Times last week, the writer states that "research shows that among the youngest Internet users, the primary creators of Web content (blogs, graphics, photographs, Web sites) are not misfits resembling the Lone Gunmen of "The X Files." On the contrary, the cyberpioneers of the moment are digitally effusive teenage girls." Read more...

I'm pleased to let you know that Max Kiesler and my proposed SXSW panel, Social Design Strategies, has been selected for SXSW 2008. Thanks to everyone who voted using the panel picker. Read more...

Over the last couple of weeks, I've been thinking about different aspects of data visualization (see an earlier post). Read more...

One of the reasons I love designing for the web is the constantly shifting landscape, both in terms of audience and tools. With each technological shift in the brief history of the Internet, designers have evolved and created new systems for people to navigate online spaces. In the last few weeks, there's been a good synergy between what I'm working on and what I'm seeing online. I've noticed several sites that are using visualization methods to entice visitors to explore and navigate content. Read more...

It's with a great deal of personal satisfaction that I write this post. About the time I started this blog, my company started designing the Stylehive, a collaborative shopping community. It's a place where contributors share and discover the hottest stores, styles, designers, trends, and must have products. Read more...

On August 20, 1980, Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler were the first to summit Mount Everest without the use of bottled oxygen. They accomplished this amazing feat by doing what no other expedition had ever done. They carried all of their own gear, did no route preparation, and did not use supplemental oxygen. They were successful where others were not, because they approached the problem from a different angle. After years of climbing experience, they recognized that their two greatest assets were agility and improvisation in the face of constant change. This philosophical shift enabled them to not only succeed, but to innovate, while others had attempted only to survive. Read more...

Today happens to be the four month anniversary of eHub Interviews, a series of email questions and answers with the creators and companies behind many of the new web 2.0 services and applications that we've been witnessing and using online. According to many of you who write in, the interviews are "one of your favorite parts... it puts a human face to all of these projects. It really adds a valuable dimension to the web review sites." I'm glad to hear it. Among many of the self-appointed roles that I have at/as eHub, the interviews are one of my favorite activities. One of the questions asked in each interview is "What is your design philosophy?" Read more...

It seems that every week there's a new web application or service that allows you to organize another facet of your life online - then share it. Whether it's collecting bookmarks or books, photos or events, new social software sites and web applications are popping up that let you take your offline habits online, play show and tell, talk, mingle, socialize, and explore. Read more...