Voice Content and Usability
In this excerpt from Voice Content and Usability, author Preston So talks about the messy, primordial nature of human speech and challenges with programming computers to deal with these complexities.
Author
Preston So
Preston So (he/they) is a product executive with 20 years in software and 9 years leading product, design, engineering, and developer relations functions at organizations such as Oracle, Acquia, dotCMS, Time Inc., and Gatsby. He is Vice President, Product at dotCMS and the author of Immersive Content and Usability (A Book Apart, 2023), Gatsby: The Definitive Guide (O'Reilly, 2021), Voice Content and Usability (A Book Apart, 2021), and Decoupled Drupal in Practice (Apress, 2018).
Named “the smartest guy in the field” by Content Strategy for Mobile author Karen McGrane in 2024 and “probably the smartest person working in this industry right now” by Web Content Management author Deane Barker in 2020, Preston is a globally recognized authority on the intersections of content, design, and code. He is an editor at A List Apart and former top-read columnist at CMSWire. Preston is a frequent presenter with 17 years of speaking engagements spanning over 50 conferences, including SXSW Interactive (2017, 2017 encore, 2018) and An Event Apart (2020–22) and keynotes in three languages. He is based in New York City, where he can often be found immersing himself in languages that are endangered or underserved.
Also from this author
Immersive Content Strategy
Those immersive experiences are so hot right now, as new tools and frameworks help our designs and code transcend the web. But fresh tech doesn’t mean our content is ready for extended and mixed-reality prime time. Preston So shows us how to recast our fixed web content in more immersive ways—to create exciting new experiences and prepare our sites for an unpredictable future.
Usability Testing for Voice Content
It's an important time to be in voice design, but it's not without its own challenges. Content in voice-driven interfaces can vary wildly from that of traditional websites, which might leave many of us wondering about our existing approaches to usability testing. Preston So not only shows us how to reframe these challenges into opportunities, but as advantages for the medium itself.