design

This.

If I was still on Twitter I'd link to this article by Joel Spolsky with the text, "This." Instead, I'll say that Joel describes the Twitter and Facebook addiction problem better than I've been able to: Birdcage liners.

For a look at the mechanics behind intermittent reinforcement that Joel describes there's a book called Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products. It's as gross as it sounds. However, it does help you look at the products you use in a new, harsher light. I'd use the book as a digital literacy exercise rather than a how-to manual as it's intended.


Andy Baio redesigned his weblog and has some thoughts on why blogging is ok.
  • Frank Chimero's Webstock talk about the edgeless, collapsing, and rearranging web: "More technology only amplifies the problems created by an abundance of it."
  • oooh, neat. William Wilkinson (who takes great photos) made an iPhone App for taking great photos.
  • Wired's take on the best gadgets. Just in time for gadget season.
  • Application recommendations for iOS and OSX. Just in time for app season.
  • Beautiful giant photo essays. Like Medium for pictures.
  • A game designer lays out his existential frustration. I really like the idea of stepping back and stripping away the 'best practices' around an activity to find its core function. And then asking if that core function is meaningful. Excellent food for thought. [via torrez]
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