January 2012
8 posts
I didn't sign up for your _______.
“I didn’t sign up for these updates!”
Users must think, say, or subconsciously be frustrated by the type of updates they see on their favorite social networks.
In the photo above, my Path friend may be making a joke (or may actually be annoyed) that I’ve recently been checking-in on Foursquare via Path. To me, it’s a nice way to update Path friends, while letting...
Obama Administration Against SOPA
barackobama:
“While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.”
- The White House, responding this morning to a petition on SOPA and online piracy
3 tags
A Short Intro to Notabli
I’m excited to share a bit about a project I’ve been working on for quite some time with Jory and Mike.
It’s somewhat against my DNA to share something that is not 100% ready for you to rock today, but this web app/service, called Notabli, has somewhat taken on a life of its own and it is time to share it with the people I care about.
Notabli allows parents to capture,...
December 2011
6 posts
"Facebook's 'frictionless' sharing doesn't enhance... →
kylefox:
The quote above from The end of social totally sums up how I feel about Facebook’s new frictionless sharing: automatically posting read news, watched movies, or listened-to songs. Facebook’s real value comes from Likes. When a friend shares something, it means they’ve put their seal of…
“Design brings content into focus; design makes function visible”
– Jennifer Morla (via gregmelander)
1 tag
November 2011
17 posts
Watch“You can’t ask for a gift. Sometimes we do buy things and there is a gift in there. It’s because we paid a certain amount, but what we got back was larger than what we paid. It’s that gap in between the two that becomes the gift.”
Do Things the Long, Hard, Stupid Way
2 tags
Thanks, Facebook...
This is an example of Facebook caring more about their own interests—growing the “social graph”— than what is in the best interest of their users.
The tricky part is that this Smart List explanation message only displays when you attempt to add someone to a Smart List from your News Feed, not from elsewhere within Facebook. My apologies to anyone who received a...
2 tags
“Pretend for a moment that you’re working as a front-end developer. (If you’re...”
– Ethan Marcotte in Responsive Web Design
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26...”
– Michael Jordan (via igrigorik)
2 tags
Never listen to music alone again.
Drinkify is a clever idea. It was also made in 24hrs.
What APIs, tools or kit did you use?
The Echo Nest (http://the.echonest.com)
List of terms/genres that describe an artist
Audio summaries of top tracks (are their songs slow or fast, etc)
Last.fm (http://last.fm/api)
Artist and album images
Artist name spelling corrections
List of most-played tracks per artist
Proprietary Drinkify...
Steve Jobs’s Real Genius : The New Yorker →
gregmelander:
Malcolm Gladwell reviews Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs. It suggests that Jobs was much more of a tweaker than an originator. He suggests that Jobs’ genius was making something better, not necessarily new.
1 tag
The Startup Identity (Crisis)
Why do so many startups feel the need to call themselves the “(established company x)” of “(new market y)”? For example, the “Netflix for nachos” or “Pinterest for ping pong players” - don’t even think about stealing those two ideas.
This relationship may aid in creating an initial understanding, but ultimately could serve as a mental crutch...
1 tag
WatchKhoi Vihn “on the grid”
The Midnight Oil
Getting a good chunk of work/design/reading/web exploring done between 9/10pm and 12am used to be a major part of my daily routine. My 20% time, as I tell my wife. It is the time of day when I can really focus, almost as if I need my mind and body to be running a half-speed in order to get in a good zone.
After I finished my year-long daily photo project, which often had me up editing images and...
2 tags
Two Cameras Saved and Lessons Learned
I thought my two favorite cameras, the Canon 5d Mark II (the big one) and the iPhone 4 (the connected one) were both broken and in need of repair. I was bummed - no more shots of our 17 month old (even on Halloween) or Instagrams until they were fixed, which I assumed would be costly.
Last night I was able to fix both. At risk of totally outing myself as a novice at life, here is how I did it:
...
October 2011
8 posts
bijan sabet: Believers vs non-believers →
bijan:
“I’d shut down Apple” - Michael Dell, 1997.
That line is from one of the most memorable quotes ever.
Today Michael Dell said it was a misunderstood quote. Maybe, but my gut says it wasn’t. Why clarify it 14 years later. It doesn’t make any sense to me.
Here’s the way I look at it.
You have…
I want to make an app called "Passive Aggressive...
marsbot:
It would use passive notifications to ping you with things nearby:
“Hey you just passed New York Sports Club. I’d ask you to check-in but you’re probably going to the bar instead. Whatever.”
Good Design on Your Platform
I couldn’t agree more with Marco on this:
How to bring good design to a platform
1. Demonstrate from the top that high quality and attention to detail are prioritized and appreciated above everything else, including being the first to market, having the most features, or having the most aggressive prices. If you can get those as well, that’s great, but quality will not be sacrificed to...
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever...”
– Steve Jobs
(He, for good reason, is being quoted all over the internet now, but I am putting this one here for myself.)
September 2011
3 posts
bijan sabet: Some thoughts about Sonos →
bijan:
Sonos has hit a major milestone - they are now serving 1M rooms.
I’ve been a Sonos user for years. We are building a new home and we are going to stick with Sonos in that home too. The ability to have a simple, easy whole home audio system that is controllable from the ipad and iphone is just…
“Usability is the bones of the product, not the skin”
August 2011
4 posts
4 tags
July 2011
9 posts
Varsity Bookmarking: Dear Graphic and Web... →
pieratt:
You have an inherent need to solve problems, visually and conceptually. There is enormous value in this, but you may be misplacing your talents. The internet, at this time in history, is the greatest client assignment of all time. The Western world is porting itself over to the web in mind and…