A Trend I’d Like To See
Titling movies and teevee shows with simple expository sentences reflecting the content. See:
Snakes on a Plane
Skating with Celebrities
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World
Why my participation on this site, and mailing lists, and other places, is currently light
I have my fingers in many pies.
For Adaptive Path
Leading a Big Client project (strategy, research, design)
Separately, managing a team of 5 practitioners
Adjunct role on an internal redesign team
Adjunct role on an internal brand team
Planner of weekly brownbags
Attend management meetings
Putting together plans for a book
Advising on our [...]
Genres drive web users “blink”
The jounral Nature reports on research that shows that web site users make snap decisions about the quality of a web page. While such early research requires being taken with a grain of salt, it’s definitely clear the first impressions are crucial.
My guess is that these first impressions are very much a product of what [...]
Does anyone *like* renting a car?
This article on Hertz’ change in insurance policies to have drivers responsible for acts of god just adds yet another log to the “rental cars hate their customers” fire.
My experience with Budget after my accident is seemingly typical — even though I was not at fault, Budget was still hostile toward me, sending terse threatening [...]
Anthropological thought pointing the way
Last night I attended an exceedingly enjoyable dinner brought together by local members of the anthrodesign mailing list. About 15 of us crowded around the table(s). To my left and right were folks from Yahoo, and across from me was an account planner at Grey Advertising, an anthropologist working for the architectural firm MKThink, and [...]
I resolve to do what they all resolve to do
Adaptive Path has published its yearly set of resolutions. It’s a remarkable piece of commentary, and makes me exceedingly proud of the people I work with.
Extending the metaphor (to the point of breaking)
A long time ago, David Weinberger wrote that, in our practice of categorization, we’re moving from trees to leaves — this was a way to distinguish monolithic singular hierarchies from what’s happening with tagging and folksonomies.
David cites Peter’s response, which can be found in his new book Ambient Findability. Peter originally shared this [...]
Pricking the insular tech bubble
Structured blogging – this strikes me as a solution in desperate need of a problem. Well, I know *who* has the problems — blog search engines, rss aggregators, and the like who are hoping to be able to better define the blog reading experience. But the users definitely don’t have the problem — neither the [...]
Adaptive Path Workshops in L.A. Miami, and Seattle
Just a little beginning-of-the-year plugging for some workshops we’re doing around the country.
You can receive a 15% discount to any of these workshops by using the promotional code FOPM when you register.
Los Angeles
The two L.A. workshops take place on campus at UCLA. I then encourage attendees to get gutbusting donuts at Stan’s in Westwood. [...]
Linkblog
- And the angel said unto him, stop hitting yourself!
March 4, 2010 | 8:34 amFunny.
- A new global visual language for the BBC’s digital services
February 22, 2010 | 2:24 pmTruly impressive work, and an impressive post detailing it!
- Talking Heads in Rome 1980
February 21, 2010 | 8:26 pmA series of 11 videos on YouTube of a 1980 concert. Sweet.
- Hot Pockets Ingredients
February 21, 2010 | 8:22 pmUm. An elegant poster of a disgustingly over-ingrediented “food”.
- The Birth of Cheap Communication (and Junk Mail)
February 21, 2010 | 12:07 pmFun, breezy take on the original “Victorian internet” – the British Postal System.
- Roger Ebert: The Essential Man
February 16, 2010 | 8:06 amHe might have no jaw, but Ebert has been as eloquent as ever of late (and quite the liberal activist!)
- Bing Maps Explore is pretty sweet
February 11, 2010 | 6:21 pmSadly, it requires Silverlight, but the functionality is fly. Check out the “Map Apps” (bottom of the screen). The Streetside Photos app draws geotagged photos from Flickr and applies them into the Street View. Pretty awesome.
- Ravens Coach Brian Billick Tackles Super Bowl XLIV : NPR
February 6, 2010 | 10:03 amAs we approach the Super Bowl, I found this interview about what a coach really does surprisingly informative.
- Henrietta Lacks: A Donor’s Immortal Legacy
February 6, 2010 | 10:02 amThis is utterly fascinating. Henrietta Lacks’ cervical cells are the world’s first immortal cells. I had never heard of HeLa cells before this interview with author Rebecca Skloot. Now I want to read the book.
- The Incredible San Fancisco Artists’ Soapbox Derby, 1975
February 4, 2010 | 8:00 am24 minute film about a truly delightful community endeavor. I don’t think SF has this kind of artist mojo any longer, but I’d love to see something like this Oakland, careening down Joaquin Miller Road.
- Paywalls, Blogs, Comments, Editing and Magazines: A Conversation with Paul Ford, Web Editor of Harper’s Magazine | The Awl
February 4, 2010 | 7:37 amIf you’ve followed ftrain for the past 10+ years, you already know that Paul Ford is among the smartest people on the internet. This conversation with The Awl about pay models for publishing and his experience at Harpers is a little precious at times, but worth a read.
- Interview with Bloom County creator Berkeley Breathed
February 2, 2010 | 8:12 amBloom County was among those key influences informing my sense of humor, including Monty Python, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Edward Gorey. This interview looks back to its creation.
- Axe Cop
January 31, 2010 | 9:52 pmSo awesome. And funny. The best comic ever written by a 5-year-old and drawn by his 29-year-old brother. I wanna Avocado Soldier t-shirt.
- Lost Landscapes of San Francisco 3 and 4
January 31, 2010 | 7:28 pmRick Prelinger collects archival, industrial, and found footage of San Francisco, and presents them as clips in front of live audiences. Delightful look at the city’s past.
- Roger Ebert’s best films of the decade
January 31, 2010 | 7:23 pmI’m a little late on linking to this. Historically, I’ve found Ebert to be far too forgiving a critic (he just loves movies too much and gives poor ones a pass), so I was surprised at how close his list is to mine (if I bothered to make one). Synecdoche, Me And You and Everyone We Know, even Juno.
- Taking Directions from Slime Mold
January 25, 2010 | 7:54 pmIf my colleague Kate Rutter were to have a spirit organism, it would be slime mold. Slime mold are bizarre, neither plant nor animal nor fungi, and they’ve become the poster species for self-organizing systems. Anyway, they can also design subway systems. Scroll down to listen to the piece about them.
- Where has all the popcorn gone?
January 24, 2010 | 4:20 pmThe folks on Chowhound have the same question I did the last time I went to the supermarket. Popcorn could become the next artisanal fetish.
- S.F.s Market Street changes as city evolves
January 23, 2010 | 8:07 amCarl Nolte does it again with an exploration of Market Street’s multiple personalities. The stretch between 6th and 9th is among the most depressing urban blights in the US.
- Online Dating: The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures
January 21, 2010 | 8:13 pmOKCupid.com is a dating site. OkTrends is where the people behind the site reveal insights discovered through statistical analysis of site behavior. It’s awesome.
- How to be a superstar bartender
January 18, 2010 | 8:39 pmExcellent set of explicit instructions for the basics of mixing drinks (measuring, shaking, stirring, twists, etc.)
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