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While she was out here in Australia to run some workshops and keynote at our Respond conference, Karen McGrane generously gave us some of her time to chat about the past present and future of content, the Web and much more.

About Karen McGrane

If the internet is more awesome than it was in 1995, Karen would like to claim a very tiny piece of the credit. For nearly 20 years Karen has helped businesses create better digital products through the power of user experience design and content strategy. She is Managing Partner at Bond Art + Science, a UX consultancy she founded in 2006, and formerly VP and National Lead for User Experience at Razorfish.

She’s led projects for dozens of publishing clients, including The New York Times, Condé Nast, The Atlantic, and Hearst. Karen teaches Design Management in the MFA in Interaction Design program at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, which educates students on how to run successful projects, teams, and businesses. Her book, Content Strategy for Mobile, was published in 2012 by A Book Apart, and she is the co-host of A Responsive Web Design Podcast with Ethan Marcotte.

We interviewed Karen for Scroll Magazine, and that appears at our website

Part I

Part II

Part III

Conversation Notes

All tomorrows jetpacks

An article I first wrote back in 2012, when Google Glass was first launched, where I used the term “jetpack futurism” and identified some of the staples of this way of looking at the future, like voice activation and video calls.

The Jetsons

The Hannah Barbera cartoon of the 1960s, with flying cars, food pills, and robot maids

Google Glass Video

The video that showcased the awesome future of Google Glass. Possibly the most annoying product video ever. You were warned.

Luddites

The much maligned followers of Captain Ludd, the Luddites reacted to a dramatically changing world where many lost their place, their livelihoods and their lives.

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