Category: speaking
-
Humanizing Business with Stories
During the first week of April, I had the opportunity visit Smith College, where I did my undergraduate degree. I was there to talk to Anthropology majors, speak to a Methods class (Anthropology with a sprinkling of Design Thinking), and deliver a public lecture. It was great to be back on campus and interact with the…
-
I’m a People Nerd
In January I was interviewed by dScout for their People Nerd blog series. dScout is a mobile research platform that spun off from innovation consultancy Gravity Tank, which was recently acquired by SalesForce. The interview is called The how and why of building UX for SAP and ZS: Natalie Hanson on anthropology getting a seat at…
-
AAA16 – Design Anthropology
This year, the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropology Association was held in Minneapolis, MN. Our session on Design Anthropology was organized by Christine Miller and Emilie Hitch, and sponsored by the National Association for Practicing Anthropology (NAPA). Innovation, Human Understanding, and Design in the Software Industry Presentation Abstract The software industry today is still largely imagined and…
-
Themes in Ethnographic Research
A few days ago, I had the opportunity to meet the design research community of practice at Fjord (the design firm acquired by Accenture) in Chicago. I was asked to speak to them about how anthropologists approach ethnographic research in a way that might be interesting or instructive for design research professionals. ZS competes with…
-
Humanizing Business Technology
I attended the The Qualitative Report’s Fourth Annual Conference at the end of this week. I enjoyed listening and learning to many of the sessions, and on Saturday morning I presented the Closing Plenary. In addition to sharing a bit about my own personal and professional journey, I also had a chance share my thoughts about the…
-
Ethnography / PAMA
This week I had the opportunity to present as part of a Lunch and Learn panel entitled Ethnography: Understand and Shape your Brand Experience for the Philadelphia chapter of the American Marketing Association (PAMA). Here is a description of the event from PAMA: The difference between a successful product launch, and one that falls short…or…
-
Ethnography: Understand and Shape your Brand Experience
Panel Abstract The difference between a successful product launch, and one that falls short … or fails is often an “ah-HA! moment” during its design and packaging. For nearly a decade some of the biggest brands have taken the inside track to market dominance—and that track rolls right through the user’s home, office or worksite.…
-
Field Research / Philly CHI
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to present to the Philadelphia chapter of CHI on the campus of Philadelphia University, where I am also serving as an Industry Fellow in the College of Design, Engineering, and Commerce (DEC). Here is a link to event details, and the blurb that was circulated about my…
-
Field Research Methods in the Business Context
In the Spring of 2011, I collaborated with members of the administration and faculty at Philadelphia University. They were in the process of re-thinking and implementing significant curriculum changes that included research methods for business and design students. This presentation was co-sponsored by the Philadelphia chapter of CHI on site at the university. Field Research…
-
Michael Krigsman podcast
This week I had the opportunity to speak with ZDNet blogger Michael Krigsman. About 30% of all IT projects fail, and his blog is focused on why that is the case, and what can be done about it. Michael runs his own consulting business that is part of the SAP ecosystem. He has become interested in…
-
Sustaining Stories … In-house, Ethnographic Practice
In 2008, the Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Conference (EPIC) was held in Copenhagen. Unfortunately, global economic and personal circumstances required a last minute change in our travel plans, and my co-author Johann and I were not able to attend. We asked Simon Pulman-Jones (our session curator) to deliver a shortened version of our presentation using this script.…
-
Market Discourse and the Evolution of Corporate Anthropology
Market Discourse and the Evolution of Corporate Anthropology Paper Abstract As anthropologists, we position the value of our perspective and services in the corporate context. Thus, we both perpetuate and are subject to the discourse of the market. This paper describes one company’s transformation from a technocratic to market-driven mindset, and how workers are managed…
You must be logged in to post a comment.