I’ve been thinking recently that our democracy has been showing signs of wear and tear. It’s easy to think, “Oh everything is going to be OK” or “OMG! We are going to turn into Mad Max!” Historically, there are plenty of examples of democracies which have fallen into dictatorship. Usually, people didn’t see it coming…
I just finished my first trip to Tokyo, Japan. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I am a terrible traveller. I have a rotten sense of direction and hate planes. Plus, I am a creature of routine. Traveling is the exact opposite of routine for me. With that said, I had a wonderful…
How can a show fuck up so badly? They started off so strong with a tapestry of characters following their adventures in this rich world of Westeros. But now? Now, I don’t give a shit about any of it. I am not even going to watch the prequels over this. Here are a few reasons:…
You know that one person who picks on all the little inconsistencies or details? Yeah, that’s me. For years we have been hearing “Winter is coming! Winter is coming!” like some Chicken Little story. We kept hearing about the magic and the origins of the night king. All that build up. I am imagining the…
Note: This post is fairly technical, using (without explaining) many marketing concepts. It has a big impact, but may be complex for many people, especially designers. Many people in the world would prefer that everything online be free AND that their privacy is ironclad. The problem is that this ignores the economics of how everything…
I try hard to avoid Twitter. I use it (and LinkedIn) to publicize my blog posts. I click publish and voila! Insta-tweet. Sometimes, I will tweet a little joke or pun, but I hardly ever participate in the normal Twitterverse. The main reason is that every time I get into a conversation on Twitter, I…
I heard a new band on the radio named after the singer Billie Eilish. It’s a cool mix of jazz, dubstep, and dance. The singer’s voice has an interesting tenor, similar to Mazzy Star or maybe Billie Holiday. The song Bad Guy has a nice hook to it. It was released on YouTube a week…
We all have context. Every product you design, every job you do, every email you write all have something that came before it. None of us live and create in a vacuum. All too often, the things we design, do, and write are basically copies of things that have done in the past. We don’t…
April Fools. Got you. UX Rule #91: Everything cool eventually becomes lame.
Poorly drawn and animated, but great narration and storytelling. I enjoyed it and learned a little something about group psychology. Also, Im testing out my new WordPress theme to see how embedded videos work.
The story starts with a chain of serendipity. Here is a quick summary of how I was invited to Indiana University. I interviewed a woman named Jin (a terrific person) for a PM role at Engagio 4 years ago. We hit it off, but didn’t end up working together. Jin asked me to guest lecture…
The more I work on my mobile app idea ToldYouSo, the harder it becomes. It’s like I am trying to figure out how people who disagree can resolve their differences. It’s daunting. I think it would be useful for me to write down the use cases. Initial Version (MLP) Solo Prediction A single person makes a…
I am recruiting new product designers these days and one candidate put her personality tests on her About page. I saw the test and (on a whim) decided to fill out the form. It just takes 5 minutes or so. Here are my results: The Architect INTJ, -A/-T The text is generally accurate. Some highlights…
Hollywood sells drama. They do not give it away and they are not a charity. They sell a product in the form of movies and TV shows that can either get direct payment in a theater or indirect payment through advertising or subscription. They are a business, plain and simple. So to maximize their profit,…