I’m headed for Ann Arbor, MI, this weekend, to attend one of the 14 locations hosting an event for World IA Day. The event, organized by the Information Architecture Institute [disclosure: I'm on the board of directors], is a fabulous, world-wide opportunity for people to celebrate and learn more about the field of information architecture.

What is information architecture?
Information architecture is a discipline and practice that focuses on making information usable. Information architects organize information and figure out how to best share it to help others find and use the information they need. Day to day, that means we do things like create wireframes, website navigation, develop metadata and taxonomy, and evaluate user’s needs and their responses to our work.

Let me know if you’ll be in Ann Arbor for World IA Day, as well. If you can’t make it in person to any of the events on Saturday, watch #wiad on Twitter to follow along!

Website smackdown, that is.

On Thursday, Feb. 16, the Nashville Chapter of the American Marketing Association is hosting NAMA’s eSIG Website Smackdown at eSpaces. Experts in several web-related fields such as website design, user experience and and development — including our own Laura Creekmore — will give no-holds-barred feedback on 10 different websites the night of the main event. Thirty additional websites will receive written feedback from one member of the panel.

You can enter your website for the Smackdown or register through NAMA’s website. The deadline is Friday, February 10, at 5 p.m. for your website to be included.