I am a Bricoleur! Writings and Explorations (and a new web site)
The cover photo for my summer writing was taken in Marseille, France. A commonplace hardware or junk store, but to me it had a deeper meaning.
I first encountered the term bricolage in my graduate studies in human computer interaction. Bricolage is making use of objects around you to create something. It’s an important concept in technology: the workarounds people do to use software, or objects, the habits they form in doing what they want with what they have, often reveals new insights, and helps us understand how people are using technology, and how it affects their lives.
In another sense, anyone working in technology is a bricoleur…we use knowledge of programming languages we learned in the past to learn new ones; we use research and design methods to adapt to new organizational contexts; we get deep into the problems and opportunities of a domain that is new to us, using the resources at hand to piece together processes.
This is a new web site for me. I am saying farewell to Wordpress, my slow, cumbersome friend. I learned Jekyll and how to create static web sites, and the new experience is like a breath of fresh air.
It also gives me a chance to create a platform for writing; I’ve always loved writing, and I am a constant reader and learner. Sharing what I am reading about has become a mild obsession, as my Goodreads account can attest. I wanted a place to write about what I am learning, and doing; and so, this is an experiment.
The design of the site will be perfected over time, the writing will be perfected over time, but the idea is this: every season, a theme, and writings that are generally on that theme.
This summer I am starting a new side contract with Barbershop Books, thinking about how technology can be used to promote literacy. I am also learning R for data science, and reading about economics. Articles about these topics will surely come up.
Enjoy the experiment, excuse any mess that comes from doing something new, and if you have any feedback, drop me a line at creative -at- michaelcabus.com. I don’t do social media that much, but I do conversation and collaboration.
‘Til autumn, my fellow bricoleurs!
Michael