Sam Ladner: On the emotional bonds we build with Software, Hardware and each other

Sam Ladner holds a PhD in sociology and has studied work, technology, and organizations in both academic and applied settings. She worked as a Senior UX Researcher at Microsoft and a Principal UX Researcher at Amazon, and has wrote extensively about applying ethnographic research methods in the business sector and she is currently an Adjunct Professor at Ontario College of Art and Design University.

In this episode she will be talking to us about the type of functional and emotional relationships people build with software and devices from Excel to Apple to storage solutions like the Cloud.

We will also talk to the changing relationship of the technological product to both the user and the product team as the life cycle moves from launch to growth. Lastly we will be talking about emotional expression at work, grieving and how/when to kill products and what it is like to work in the technology sector alongside business specialists as a social scientist.

Mentioned in Podcast:
Ladner, S. (2014). Practical Ethnography: A Guide to Doing Ethnography in The Private Sector. Leftcoast Press: Thousand Oaks, California. ttp://www.practicalethnography.com/

Sam’s work:
You can visit her profile on https://www.mendeley.com/ which has links to publications. This site also includes many blog posts on productivity, mobile technology, and the design implications of today’s workplace. Ladner, S. (2015). “Managing The Private Sector Research Project.” in Dingwall, R. (ed.). Sage Handbook of Research Management. Sage: London.

Follow her work at:
Website – https://www.samladner.com
https://twitter.com/sladner