At the beginning came the job aid. Now, we incline toward performance support tools (PSTs), sometimes fondly described as “job aids on steroids.” PSTs that support employee performance have been studied, but scant attention has been paid to the PSTs that add to people's everyday lives beyond work. We studied 30 diverse people, voluntary PST users, to gauge their opinions and attitudes about such widely available PSTs as MapQuest, VideoJug, eHow, WebMD, and Turbo Tax.

How will the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) survive and thrive in the future? One way is by recruiting, engaging, and retaining professionals new to the field. In 2009, the Emerging Professionals Committee (EPC) was established. Its first initiative was the NSPI/ISPI Interactive Timeline, because findings from a university analysis indicated that human performance technology (HPT) students lack awareness and knowledge of ISPI's existence and mission. The timeline also aligns with the 50th Anniversary Task Force efforts to recognize the accomplishments in HPT and ISPI over the past 50 years.