Areas of Expertise:
- project management
- product design
- usability
- creative thinking
- user experience
- speaking
- training
- writing
Biography
Books
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Blog
Scott's blog posts are hosted at:
http://www.scottberkun.com
http://www.scottberkun.com
May 15 2008
How to pick a new cell phone. Looking for a new verizon phone and this is the first useful website I’ve found. The inventor of my favorite phone. I love the old, solid, you can kill a person with it AT&T corded phones. This is the guy who designed them.… read moreMay 14 2008
A recent New Yorker had another excellent piece by Malcolm Gladwell, this time about simultaneous invention, the core topic of chapter 5 of The Myths of Innovation. Much of his coverage is spot on - we underestimate how many inventions and discoveries were achieved independently, despite how specific and isolated… read moreMay 07 2008
PBS miniseries: Carrier. Fascinating 10 hour show that explores what life is like on the U.S.S. Nimitz. A carrier off the Persian gulf in 2005. Hits on management, morale, morals, work, design, you name it. Interview with Vint Cerf, a father of the Internet. Note his dispelling of an innovation… read moreTeaching kids creative thinking
May 05 2008
The more I learn about creative thinking and about teaching, two subjects of great interest, the more depressing organized education in the U.S. becomes. I’m familiar with Montessori, Waldorf and various other well known private school brands, as well as public school programs here and there, but it’s all vaguely… read moreFresh thoughts on the Microsoft/Yahoo merger
April 08 2008
This is exactly the kind of topic I avoid here, but since the deal hasn’t been shot dead (at least not yet) as I’d expected, it’s time to throw an opinion on the pile. The first thing that comes to mind is the 1995 attempt by Microsoft to buy Intuit.… read moreThe pointless technology competition
April 07 2008
Rube Goldberg was an engineering student who quickly realized he preferred making fun of engineers more than engineering things himself. His legendary cartoons of bizarre, over-engineered devices for trivial tasks have lived on well past his own lifetime. So what do we make of people who actually t read moreUnderstanding Apple (Apple now the #1 Music retailer)
April 04 2008
According to Apple, over January and February of this year they surpassed Wal-Mart as the largest music retailer in the U.S. Here’s why this is amazing: The itunes store is only 5 years old. FIVE YEARS. According to Apple, they account for 70% of all digital music sales. The ipod is… read moreUnderstanding Apple (Apple now the #1 Music retailer)
April 04 2008
According to Apple, over January and February of this year they surpassed Wal-Mart as the largest music retailer in the U.S. Here’s why this is amazing: The itunes store is only 5 years old. FIVE YEARS. According to Apple, they account for 70% of all digital music sales. The ipod is… read moreApril 03 2008
Interesting article in the NYT on the way willpower works (Found at kottke). I can’t say the article itself is good, but the questions it raises are. Check this out: In one pioneering study, some people were asked to eat radishes while others received freshly baked chocolate chip cookies before trying… read moreApril 03 2008
Interesting thread about Google’s origins. It’s not the best source, notes from a 2003 talk, but it mentions a few facts I hadn’t heard before of annotations being the goal of Pagerank, not search. (From Googlesystem) Transclusion. This was one of the coolest ideas from Nelson’s books Literary Machines. Saw… read moreApril 02 2008
Thanks to John Przyborski and Carrie Chisholm at CMU, last week’s lecture was videotaped and is now online at youtube. This version of the talk is quite different from the version I did at Google almost a year ago, so it might be worth a spin even if you’ve seen that… read moreLessons from 4 independent years
April 01 2008
In 2003 I quit my management job at Microsoft to try to live by writing books, teaching and public speaking. It was the scariest decision I’d made in my life and here on the other side, about 4 years later, is what I’ve learned. If you believe life is to… read moreHow to write songs and the creative process
April 01 2008
Before the good, the bad. Over on wikihow, the entry on How to write a song has this as the first entry. 1. Learn Music Theory. No Way! Learn music theory. Never would have imagined that. Wow. So - What does the entry for how to cook say? Go to cooking school?… read moreA magic day in Pittsburgh: MAYA Design & CMU
March 31 2008
I had a secret. Back as an undergraduate at CMU, I’d see authors visit and lecture in the Adamson wing, this cool auditorium style room in Baker Hall. When bored, I’d imagine what I’d have to do in my future to earn an invite and speak to students in that… read moreThe worst keyboard in the world
March 31 2008
Ok, I confess, I have seen worse keyboards in the world. But this is definitely the worst space bar I’ve ever seen. I found this gem at an Internet kiosk in the Minneapolis airport, on my way back from Pittsburgh last week. My complaints: Do not SPLIT my space bar.… read more
