Today was a busy day full of presentations. First thing in the morning, I introduced Dr. BJ Fogg's talk to a group from our Office of Social Impact. BJ presented (1) a version of his introductory talk on persuasive technologies. An hour into BJ's talk, I ran downstairs to catch our all-staff meeting in progress (2) just as our building architects began their presentation of the initial designs (3) of our new office space. Then, after the all-staff, I was back up to the first room to situate BJ for a Lunch 'n Learn talk to some of our web team and other guests (4). BJ did a shorter primer on persuasive technologies where he showed examples of persuasive web sites and products such as the SportBrain pedometer (5). To demonstrate the theory of operant conditioning, he used a clicker to direct a volunteer from the audience who had left the room so that the group could pick a goal. The volunteer came back in the room, and reacting to well-timed positive reinforcement cues in the form of sounds from the clicker, eventually figured out the secret goal, which was to hug a stuffed animal. A fuller version of the clicker technique, which is used for training dogs, is described in the bestselling book Don't Shoot The Dog. After Lunch 'n Learn, a small group re-convened (6) for a workshop on using impact analysis (7) to prioritize the building of web site functionality against business goals. BJ's technique involves, among other things, card sorting, and the use of a feature prioritization matrix. After sending BJ back to his hotel room for a rest, Amy and I met him at Legal Seafoods to discuss the day over dinner. I must say, this is the most intensive involvement I've had from a visiting speaker ever. Bravo Dr. BJ Fogg!

- mike lee - washington, dc