Ch-ch-ch-changes, part n

As always, INFORMA(C)TION is a work in progress. I aim to create value for you — and to have fun doing it. Alas, lately, writing the newsletter has started to feel like a chore. Time to shake things up!

Starting this week, I'm making a few changes:

• Shorter, more personal intros. When I first started the newsletter, I aimed to make these intros short personal notes. They've evolved into long articles, and I've struggled to decide whether (and when) to post them on my blog or here. From now on, I'll share short personal notes here, and will post longer articles to the blog.
• Highlighting blog posts. That said, I don't want you to miss out on the articles. So, I've started a new section of the newsletter to showcase what's new in the blog. (I'd already been sharing links to my posts alongside other things of interest; I'm just making the distinction clearer.)
• Moving to a weekly schedule. Frankly, this one's a bit scary. The bi-weekly schedule has allowed me to alternate between publishing the podcast (which is also bi-weekly) and the newsletter. But I want to experiment with shorter yet more frequent emails. We'll see how this goes; I can revert to bi-weekly if needed.

These aren't the only changes on my radar. I've just finished two big work projects and plan to devote time over the next couple of weeks to a much-needed refresh of my website. I'm also developing a self-guided version of the IA Essentials workshop. I'll share progress on both projects as they evolve.

For now, I'd love to hear what you think about the changes to the newsletter. I'm especially keen to know if you prefer the bi-weekly schedule. (I don't want to hog your inbox.) Please reply to this email to let me know. Thanks!

From my blog

Managing Tags When Integrating Obsidian and DEVONthink
More details on the core of my “second brain” — in particular, how I'm bringing IA thinking to the process of managing tags in both applications.

An Idea from Computer Science That Can Change Your Life
On the robustness principle in computing, which can improve your relationships with other people.

How to Find Older Files in Figma (and Other SaaS Apps)
A hybrid approach for making information more findable when using SaaS apps.

Can Twitter Communities Prevent Context Collapse?
Reflections on a new feature that aims to improve the levels of conversation in the social network.

Two Things to Keep in Mind When Evaluating Note-taking Apps
Choosing a new personal knowledge management system can be intimidating. Here are two things you should keep in mind.

Also worth your attention

Cybernetics and note-taking
Gordon Brander: “Cybernetics shifts our focus away from objects, and toward the flow of information between objects. Design through the lens of Conversation Theory is not about features and screens. Design is the making and breaking of cybernetic feedback loops.” (H/t Patrick Tanguay)

Principles for executive engagement
From Marty Cagan and Jon Moore, a list of principles that can “help guide constructive and effective interactions between the senior leaders, and the product leaders and product teams.” (But IMO they apply beyond the executive suite.)

Eno's design principles for the street
Dan Hill shares a list of ten city design principles from Brian Eno. Many could apply as well to the design of information environments. (If you've read Living in Information, you'll recognize my favorite among these principles.)

Designing small
Laura Klein on the power of designing small things. “If designers want to work agilely and still design great, user-centered products, we need to stop designing faster and learn how to start designing less.” I'm torn. While I agree that we shouldn't try to boil the ocean, I see many designers thinking too small — at the expense of system-wide coherence. Surely there's a balance to be struck here.

Blue hyperlinks
Tracing the history of hypertext UIs, from project Xanadu to the present, to find the origin of this once-pervasive UI element.

The Informed Life with Karl Fast — Part 2

Episode 70 of The Informed Life podcast features the second part of my conversation with Karl Fast about embodiment and interaction. (If you haven't done so already, also check out part one.)

These two episodes serve as a good primer on key issues about our understanding of how we make sense of (and interact with) the world, and the limits of our current framing as design practitioners. I hope you get as much value from hearing from Karl about this subject as I did.

The Informed Life episode 70: Karl Fast on Interactionism, part 2

Parting thought

He who has not first laid his foundations may be able with great ability to lay them afterwards, but they will be laid with trouble to the architect and danger to the building.

– Machiavelli, The Prince (1513)