Curating SXSW, that small conference in Austin
This week, I’ll head to Austin for my sixth South by Southwest Interactive. I love the experience of it all: the collision of ideas in conference halls and backyard bars, the loud music and intimate dinners, and late night karaoke that concludes days that started over breakfast meetings on sunny patios. The contrasts and productivity […]
The spark and the arc
Codes of Conduct don’t do enough to prevent bad behavior, or at least that’s the latest argument against them. So is the problem with the social contract they impose, or with the behavior? When we argue the problem is the code, and not the conduct, we cast out a red herring that distracts our limited […]
An exercise in restraint
It’s my birthday, so I’ll write fiction if I want to. Find more fact-adjacent information and hand-crafted, artisanal truth about animals at World Wild Webb. Todd and Felicity stood at the edge of the competitors yard. This wasn’t their first show. Todd stretched his neck to the right and yawned, releasing the tension of […]
Short words: imbalance and catch
I read a short, personal post from a colleague recently about his feelings of unsettled ennui. He was advancing professionally, but wasn’t sure of the direction, having uprooted many of the elements that grounded him in personal cartography. His post closed by prompting a response, more than just a “like” or plus or any of […]
Communication foundation: what’s the future of web design?
Excerpted from “Communication Foundation,” the Interaction column in the June 2014 issue of Print magazine. Find out why content strategy isn’t the future of web design—and how to avoid the detour of The Next Big Thing. The future beams from billboards, flashing distraction from the car in front of you. Your job is to keep your […]