Do I offend?

When I was a boy, I read a short story that made a big impression on me. The details are fuzzy (I’ve tried Googling it, but haven’t found it), but the gist of it was that the main character — a young person — was constantly feeling slighted by others. One day, while riding on the bus, s/he looked up and saw an advertisement with the headline “DO YOU OFFEND?” This sparked the realization that s/he too may be causing the very thing s/he was railing against. The dawning of self-awareness.

Every once in a while, I’ll post on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter telling folks about this newsletter and inviting them to sign up. In my latest such call, I positioned the newsletter as help for meeting the challenge of being productive and present in a world of digital distractions. A friend rightfully called me out on this. Couldn’t the newsletter itself be a distraction, albeit a worthy one? Good point. DO YOU OFFEND?

You have enough distractions. Why should you give me your attention? Am I helping by sending out this newsletter, or am I adding to the problem?

When I compile these emails, I try to include a mix of things that will inform and entertain you. My aim is to help you be more aware of your use of information environments, so you can be more effective. Of course, I’d also like for you to check out my book and my workshops. Like everybody else, I too have something to sell. What’s the right mix?

I see this as a system — one I’d like to optimize. There's only value in it for me if it generates value for you. My feedback mechanisms are limited: I can tell how many people have signed up and how many have unsubscribed; I can see if you’ve opened the email and if you’ve clicked on any of the links, but that’s about it — not a very rich source of information. What I really want is to know if this is serving you — if it’s worth your (and my!) time.

How could I improve this newsletter? What would you like to see? Is it too long? Not long enough? Too frequent? Too infrequent? What could I do to help you use information environments more productively? Please let me know. (You can reply to this email.)

Digital Minimalism

And on the subject of being more productive with your information environents... Cal Newport’s new book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World, is out.

As with his earlier book, Deep Work, here he argues that we need to lay off digital distractions if we are to do our best work. However, Digital Minimalism presents a more nuanced (and IMO more feasible) approach. It’s become my new go-to recommendation for people looking to be more effective amidst digital distractions. Read my book notes or buy it on Amazon.com.
 

Making controlled vocabularies easier to use

One of the most memorable talks at WIAD Switzerland 2019 was delivered by experience designer Memi Beltrame. In a hilarious presentation, Memi laid out a problem we all encounter sooner or later: we invest time and effort in building a controlled vocabulary that then goes unused.

The primary problem is the distance between the system where the vocabulary is managed (often some variant of a wiki) and the point where content authors need it (usually text fields in a content management system.)

Working with a client, Memi developed a solution: a Chrome extension that brings the content from the controlled vocabulary to place where it’s most needed: input forms. Now he’s turned this extension into a service call Lexical that anyone can sign up for.

I haven’t tried it myself, but Memi showed videos of the system during his presentation and it seemed compelling. Does this seem like something you could use? I’d be curious to hear from folks who’ve tried it.

The Informed Life with Andrea Kates

Episode 4 of The Informed Life podcast features an interview with innovation consultant, author, and speaker Andrea Kates. Andrea has worked with a broad range of large organizations around the world to help them discover new lines of business by seeing things differently:

I perceive anomalies. Whereas within the four walls of a company, they don't see these different pieces of information as anomalies, they just listen to information and put it all into the same sets of categories. Whereas a lot of times it's the outsider or the guide of a growth process… I see anomalies. And it allows them to have a fresh set of eyes, quite frankly, and move in new directions.

Andrea trained as a choreographer, and brings to her consulting practice a kinesthetic/visual approach to information management that breaks norms — to the benefit of her clients. I had a blast talking with Andrea; I hope you enjoy our conversation too!

The Informed Life Episode 4: Andrea Kates

Other things I’ve been thinking about…

• I’m blown away by Stephen Wolfram’s personal information ecosystem.
• Mark Zuckerberg vision for the future of Facebook: moving from today’s “digital equivalent of a town square” to “the digital equivalent of the living room.”
• There are at least two approaches to structuring a digital information environment: top-down or bottom-up.
• Philosophical musings triggered by an old Pink Floyd song.
• More meta: insights on how I put together this newsletter.

Elsewhere…

• Renee DiResta writing in Ribbonfarm: “ultimately the information war is about territory — just not the geographic kind… In a warm information war, the human mind is the territory.”
• Sjors Timmer writing in UX Collective: “Can we re-introduce our body and the space around us in our work, while still keeping the benefits of digitisation? Could we work with information as a carpenter works with wood?”
• Tips from Howard Rheingold on how to cultivate a personal learning network.
• A simulation of the first web browser (and the NeXT environment that hosted it) that runs in your web browser.
• I’m intrigued by object-oriented UX. (How is this different from conceptual modeling?)
• Emergent language: What should we call space tourists?
• If you want to be serious about design, you should look for inspiration in the past.
• What happens to democracy when AIs write the news?
• Early adopters are opting out of new tech. (Medium membership required.)
• Facebook filed a patent titled "Providing digital forums to enhance civic engagement." 🤔
• Has the attention economy peaked? Not in Fortnite.
• Expensive Chat, a web-based chat serviced where you’re charged for every character you type.
• Interviews with folks whose job entails moderating online speech.
• “People don't scroll" — but make sure to scroll through this comprehensive list of UX clichés.
• Markov chains explained visually.
• SMMRY, a clever algorithm that summarizes texts.
• STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE as a giant infographic.

About Living in Information

The book's description and table of contents are on its web page. If you want a succinct overview, my presentation at UX Week 2018 is a good introduction. You can buy the book from... 

• Rosenfeld Media
• Amazon US
• Amazon UK