Thread by @ashleyruba

This week, some academics have been very critical of my career.

That's okay. As an academic, I had no idea what UX Research was either.

So let's talk about UX! What it is, what it isn't, & why I'm truly thrilled to start my UXR job at @Meta next week.

1/ #AltAcChats

UX (user-experience) research looks at how people use products, in order to improve product design.

The term "UX" was coined @Apple in 1993. Since then, the field has exploded. Turns out, people really like products that are easy/fun to use!

2/

nngroup.com/articles/100-y…

You may have a strong negative reaction to the word "products". But we all use products! Right now, I'm using my computer, headphones, & the @Spotify app: all built with UXR.

UXR is also done on products like medical devices, cars, websites, & tech.

3/

boldinsight.com/case-studies/

My fav products to work on are next-gen technologies. New tech is so cool. And I get to build it!

That's why I'm so excited to be working on AR/VR for Meta. Initially, I'll be working on Project Aria, building the future of AR glasses 😎

4/

"But that will only make Mark Zuckerberg richer!"

This is such a narrow-minded view of tech. AR/VR has huge implications for improving disability accessibility, education, & physical/mental healthcare. This isn't wishful thinking--it's happening now.

5/

My academic research (on infant emotion perception) never had that impact.

Sure, we all write "this research has broader impacts" in our grants, but how many of us have actually created a scaleable intervention, program, or treatment?

This is partly why I changed fields.

6/

In short, UX Research is awesome. And if you have a social science research background, you can transition into UXR with minimal/no additional training.

And if you like academia, by all means, stay!

But... @RealityLabs is pretttty cool 😉



/end