Wearable technologies, and job titles
What we learned from trying Google Glass
This article is not to do with the web as such, but it is about a device that could have big implications for the web: Google Glass. If you have never seen Glass before, check out the Google Glass website.
It is early days yet, and there are clearly a few things that need to be ironed out. But we might be just a few years away from devices like this becoming ubiquitous.
It remains to be seen what Glass and similar devices will be most useful for. But it seems to me like they have the potential to change the way we think about the web even more than smartphones did.
Wearables are going mainstream
To underline the increasing importance of wearable technology like Google Glass, Motorola (owned by Google) are looking for a wearables director.
Wearables mark entry into a post-screen era, where users will look to immaterial devices, beyond screens and frames, and this requires new concepts, skills and thinking. Although designers have been talking about this new wave of technology for a while, as the wearables market takes off, designers will have to sharpen their existing skills and take a new approach to succeed as experts in this new area.
Job titles in the web industry
What is the difference between a Web Designer, a Web Developer, and a UX Designer? The web is only a couple of decades old, and as a professional industry it is relatively immature. There is an array of different job titles, and they are not always used consistently.
I enjoyed this article by Chris Coyier looking at the situation. I think he does a great job of nailing down what the difference between the various job titles really boils down to.
He also takes to task some of the bad job titles that are frighteningly common (although I have always rather fancied the idea of becoming an Epic Ninja Hypertext Guru).