Developing Usable Experiences

Cider anyone? Considering information reuse and flow…in a non-traditional way.

September 18th, 2006 10:58 pm —  211 views

This was going to be a comment to a post by one of the Graduate Student Instructors (GSI) but I decided against it. This blog is a shout into the wind, across the pond if you will…I am the Author and this is an exercise in articulation.

This commentary focuses on the abstract relational characteristics of information as a record derived by the processing of data. In this case, and for reasons of personal resuse, I consider a cider mill. The cider is the record, the apples represent data, and the mill our processing.

This isn’t recommened reading. I’d wager its more dull than my previous post. This blog is to capture and aggregate thoughts into one place…

From “notes to self”…

I offer an example of reuse as an experiment to assess the application of abstract principles. The subject is pressing cider, the reuse is the machinery and specialized operational knowledge. The subject has longevity having spanned generations and involves physical, social, legal, procedural and issues. Cider mills in Michigan observe a long tradition of processing data into records. In this abstract view, it’s apples into cider as a study of information reuse and flow.

The physical location and processing power of cider mills evolved by sheer demand. The social impact of mills was rooted in the social systems of the Michigan farmer. As time has passed and more millers joined the craft, processes began to suffer, quality dropped and the health of the user (people who drank cider) was at risk. Groups developed to educate the populace on the qualities important to the craft of milling cider. The mill is a resource for processing data into useable records. In an abstract sense, the cider represents a record of the apple. Cider shares similar properties to actual records in that storage, context, physics and time play a significant role in their use and preservation. How individuals use the information from the apple can be contrasted with the groups and organizations devoted to the tradition of cider milling.

With respect to balancing interests, the most effective approach to preserving the tradition and practice of milling is organization and education of both millers and consumers. The historical practice of pressing cider is at risk because cider milling operations exist that don’t observe tradition and practice. The practice of copying what has been done for decades is a now a matter of authenticity and variation is discouraged.

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