Custom, personal tools for computers are precisely why iOS is so scary (depressing?) ā it's almost impossible to build a tool like Monocle for iOS, and yet building a tool like this (independently, self-driven) is *fundamental* to computing itself:
Surprising absolutely no one: ā94% of the Largest E-Commerce Sites Are Not Accessibility Compliantā Kinda like the site reporting it (I mean, fill out those blank `alt` attributes and maybe throw a `lang` on the page at least).
I mean, if you want a click-bait headline that focuses on a specific issue that not everyone can guess: āAn HTML Element Potentially Worth $18M to Indiegogo Campaignsā And the site (mine) hosting that article is mostly accessible.
Pretty good rule: "If you need to do something once, use a GUI (Excel). If you need to do something ten times, use hotkeys and shortcuts. If you need to do something a hundred times, write a script (R)."
Reading the NIST proposal for identifying and mitigating bias in AI, and having *thoughts*. First, there is a lot to like here, and I'll definitely come back to that. But in this thread, I just want to vent a bit. #AIethics #ethNLP
Pssst! @halvorson is writing a new book! She's exploring the role of content leadership in orgs that excel at #CX. We talk about that and much more, including #ContentDesign, @ConfabEvents, @ButtonConf, and diversity and inclusion in #ContentStrategy.
Oh hallelujah ā it looks like someone redesigned the weather underground weather viz (which is bar-none the best weather viz around) and made it more beautiful and uncoupled from IBM ownership:
@johncutlefish I recently splurged on a set of three of these and am glad I did. They are very solid, hold magnets nicely, and are useful both vertically and laying down.
I am selling my houseboat on its mooring in central London - just a couple of minutes from Tower Bridge & Tower Hill station. If you want a small place in the city, you'll go a long way to find a less expensive and more relaxing spot than this:
I am like BAM! and BAM! with these new podcast episodesāso excited about these conversations, and canāt release them fast enough. Next up is @jrc_collins, who has A+ insights about the various content specialities and how they fit together.
Luggage nerds rejoice! @SFBags just released a travel backpack that rivals the @tombihn Aeronaut 30. Designers of all stripes should enjoy watching the explainer video.
If you were looking for a clear, well-cited essay on the problems with accessiBeās product ā and the frightful tactics the companyās used to silence critics ā here you go:
I had dismissed this bag before, much as I love my Everyday Backpack from @peakdesignltd, because I donāt want to go all the way up to 45L, but a look at the explainer video on the product page is seductive.
Lots of good advice on technology and managing change from @mulegirl. Starting with the simplest system that works for people: the conversation. Focusing on value and whatās in it for people. Building relationships. Telling stories.
In new Chromium 92, PWAs can register themselves as handlers of custom URL protocols/ schemes using their installation manifest, making them all the more appy.
Somehow, some way, is a year old today. Our members ā all 10,500 of you ā have made this @19thnews journey possible. Will you join or renew today? Every $19 makes an enormous difference.
I have seen sentence, narrative, or fill-in-the-blank forms (not Mad Libs) making an unneeded comeback. If you must build one, I gathered WCAG considerations and made a sample to show usability pitfalls: These require a lot of human testing, so budget.
Over 25 states & federal agencies hired consulting firms McKinsey, BCG & Deloitte to manage the coronavirus vaccination effort. Many of those states have vaccinated fewer people than states that spend more on public health & that did not hire consultants.
Hey friends! If youāre hiring, Iām looking for my next full-time gig. Iām a designer, CSS developer, and illustrator, with strengths in creative leadership and cross-discipline collaboration. Hereās a bit about what Iām looking for and what Iām good at:
I wrote about five of the most valuable superpowers that diagrams and diagramming hold (and reveal what the acronym at the center of my new book's title stands for)
New blog post: Creative and Strategic Leadership in Design OrgsāSuper-Senior ICs and the Shadow Strategy Team (3rd in a series on Emerging Shape of Design Orgs)
Deep focus on contentā good content, and the way it is manifested is a surefire way to better your chances of succeeding in whatever market you serve.
How Tech Companies Manipulate the Media @Mrwhosetheboss ft @MKBHD // This is an _excellent_ video on how reviews work. Correction, how reviews have *always* worked, everywhere. It just isnāt a video about how companies āmanipulateā reviews.
Notes are conversations across time. Seeing tools for thought through the cybernetic lens of Paskās Conversation Theory. Featuring provocations from @startuployalist, @tobyshorin, and @wolkenmachine.
āPeople keep framing burnout as an individual problem. If youāre really going to try and make a dent in the problem and get to a better place, youāre going to have to not just focus on the people and fix them, you have to focus on the job conditions.ā
working on lessons for a workshop on content design and structured content specifications for a CMS. Came across this excellent guide to data types. Essential to a successful CMS implementation.
NEW REPORT: We are calling for an outright ban on the use of AI & automated systems in criminal justice to āpredictā criminal behaviour & profile people. Our report demonstrates why, detailing the damaging impact of these systems on people across Europeā”ļø
Hannover Messe Graphic System Cool color patterns for the branding of the biggest industrial fair in the world! Perfect execution of the abstract shapes and patterns. Have a look, but also read so you don't miss info about the whole concept.
I am happy to let overlay vendors spend money eating each other, but I am not happy when they use my name or my work to do so. Last week I found #UserWay did just that, so I wrote a grumpy: #UserWay just removed the page. I leave you to speculate why.
Psst. Underline your links in body content. After all, underlines are beautiful. Because form ever follows function. It is weird to see people fight this so fervently.
The UK Gov accessibility team got a sense that revealing fields inline on forms based on user selections was causing some issues. So they tested it. And yup. Slides: Partly due to code, partly user expectations.
The UK Gov accessibility team got a sense that revealing fields inline on forms based on user selections was causing some issues. So they tested it. And yup. Slides: Partly due to code, partly user expectations.
Web users are task oriented; they arenāt thinking about who they are. In audience-based navigation, people must ask themselves who the site thinks they are and what type of content that type of person wants. All these questions increase usersā cognitive effort, and people havenāt even made it past the navigation yet. Users feel anxious that the information they see might be incomplete or incorrect. When users feel
"A new study adds up the external costs that ride-hailing trips generate and finds them to be higher than those taken in a private vehicle" (Remember how these services were initially 'sold'? Car-based solutions are no answer to problem of cars.)
@somefinetweets Fav resource so far is Preethi Kasireddyās free email course: It starts with a foundational intro to the history of money and builds from there. No sensationalism, just good insights
Good piece by @TonyByrne at the @realstorygroup on the challenges Acquia faces turning a suite of acquired products into a coherent platform. It's a problem many vendors have, but it's relevant RE their @Widen acquisition.
Introducing Accessibility Whiteboarding with Stark for FigJam! āļø šļø š Check accessibility tasks off your lists to track cross-discipline progress, leave sticky notes to discuss action items, expand your knowledge on specific a11y topics & more.