Highlights

 

Tripping Into Dumb Luck 🥛

08/24/2021 • #90

Why the viral #CrateChallenge actually turned out to be a motivator to finally push a milk-crate-related project I’ve been developing onto the open internet.

So for weeks, in bits and pieces, I’ve been throwing together a new project of mine, DairyCrates.com, about the evolution of the milk crate. It basically exists as a transparent attempt to see if a valuable domain name… Read More

08/23/2021

Repetitive Stress Injury 🧠 : 

Our solo creators are stressing themselves out trying to keep up with the onslaught of content creation they’ve been tasked with doing. It’s kind of like playing a musical instrument for too long.

#89

08/19/2021

Jeopardizing Conduct 🤔 : 

The decision to make Mike Richards the host of Jeopardy! really shows a lack of understanding about why people care about Jeopardy! They should rescind that decision and fire Richards, stat.

#88

08/17/2021

Contextualizing Bad Aggregation 📰 : 

The saga of Snopes’ co-founder getting nailed on plagiarism charges is a good reminder of the internet era in which it first emerged.

#87

08/16/2021

Narrowing My Attack 🤬 : 

After getting reminded for the billionth time about the emptiness of political debates, I’m going to try something new: less complaining about politics. After all, I don’t even write about politics.

#86

08/12/2021

Medium Complexity ✍️ : 

The writer-centric platform, which I’ve written for on many occasions, is changing its model again. The word “whiplash” comes to mind.

#85

08/10/2021

Gridlock 📏 : 

Looks like chatter is rising in the web design space about dropping the traditional grid format. And even though I’m a fan of grids, perhaps it’s not totally heresy.

#84

08/09/2021

It Could Be Anyone 😶 : 

Considering the strangeness of the most generic notification I’ve ever received—an anonymous internet businessman who read my LinkedIn profile.

#83

08/05/2021

Art Direct the Web 🎨 : 

Not enough websites change or adapt the design based on individual pieces of content anymore. Maybe there’s room to change that.

#82

08/03/2021

Two Visions of the Future 💻 : 

Between Microsoft and a buzzy laptop manufacturer, two separate visions are floating around out there of more sustainable computer upgrade paths for consumers. Maybe we should just be glad that folks are thinking long-term.

#81

08/02/2021

S-E-Seriously?!?! 🏈 : 

News that the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma are ending their relationship with the Big XII to move to the SEC has prompted accusations of greed that will destroy college football. The reality is far worse—and dumber—than most realize.

#80

07/29/2021

The Pitch is the Product 📺 : 

Ron Popeil’s legacy is fascinating to think about in the present day, because he probably wouldn’t have needed the kitchen appliance to sell if he was just coming up today.

#79

07/27/2021

Valuable Keys ⌨️ : 

It turns out the keyboard I used when I was 11 years old is now seen as desirable among keyboard enthusiasts. Because I miss the old keyboard, I’m now part of the fad.

#78

07/26/2021

Criticism Deflector 🤬 : 

Instead of paying lots of money to get people to stop criticizing him on the internet, Elon Musk should pay lots of money to fight cyberbullying. It solves the same goal of burnishing his reputation, but it benefits a lot more people. Just saying.

#77

07/22/2021

Did Tumblr Miss Its Shot? 🏒 : 

Tumblr has all the elements to be a successful social network, including (now, at least) a monetization strategy that could make sense for both creators and the network itself. But they may have waited too long—and its community may not be as flexible as its owners are.

#76

07/20/2021

Pure Digital Fantasy 📄 : 

Considering the provocative nature of a PDF-only publication that takes the stance that HTML is the problem with the internet.

#75

07/19/2021

It’s The Ecosystem, Stupid 💳 : 

A Twitter user frustrated about Apple Pay highlights an excellent point about technology support: If companies go out of their way to resist standardization, consumers get none of the benefits of that technology.

#74

07/15/2021

Twitter, Be Twitter 🐣 : 

Twitter’s Fleets feature didn’t work because the problem it was trying to solve with Fleets might actually be unsolvable. And that’s OK.

#73

07/13/2021

Tactical Freedom 😷 : 

The past year-plus of pandemic has been a constant reminder of how we often favor personal convenience at the cost of the greater good. As a culture, we need to figure out why that is … and consider how (or whether) we can even resolve it.

#72

07/12/2021

It’s Redesign Time 🎨 : 

Explaining the thing that drives me to build a full redesign of my site every once in a while—and what I won’t give up in the process.

#71