Before the start of a new week

It's winter time in Ontario again (thanks to that, I didn't miss my brunch today), and tomorrow marks the first day in my new job as Sr. Information Architect at Organic here in Toronto. Though the time I spent at Publicis Modem as IA, helping to build an agile digital team at the traditional mass agency, was definitely an interesting experience and helped me to think of many things in a new light, I'm happy to be headed "back" to a great, established digital shop now.

I know that specialty shops will eventually disappear and successful agencies will all become digital, but for the time being I find it easier to work at an agency where people already "get it" more than at an agency that's just getting started in digital. Having to spend time on educating and explaining the basics of the work process took time away from concentrating on what I really do best, which is designing engaging user experiences, helping to create effective concepts, and organizing information.

With the economy now going down and advertising budgets always being one of the first things to get cut, digital employees are also affected, but I think that the talk about digital, with the phenomenon of social media, being in stronger position now than when the bubble burst, and in general compared to mass media, is definitely true. Mass budgets were already getting cut or transformed even when the economy was strong, and now the economic slowdown can only speed up the shift from traditional media to digital. Marketers who are starting to get the hang of building social networks and advocates around their brands will move to efficient interactive media that can better support the kind of long-term relationships needed in today's world.

As much as it sucks that the world economy is now headed towards tougher times, I think the downturn can also present a great opportunity for innovation, solid new concepts and efficient work processes. Infoarchitecture, usability and experience design play a key role in all that, and more and more clients and people in the industry understand that now.