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From the April #DesignInTech Briefing
Four Things That Iâm Thinking About Design In Tech
* With the 2019 Design in Tech Report now out and available in short-form and long-form on YouTube, Iâve started collecting material for 2020 from all the interesting (and interested) feedback that Iâve received online.
* My biggest âa-haâ has been a strong reminder that creativity is like Gordon MacKenzie would say, something that takes time. Or as Wieden+Kennedy dogma puts it, âItâs the idea buried ten feet under the ground.â
* Tony Ruthâs exquisite four-frame illustrated take on inequality, equality, equity, and justice emerged in the final minutes before the report went live. It literally came from nowhere, and not a moment too late.
* Iâm in love with long-form blogging again after remembering how itâs so easy for a 2nd- or 3rd-partyâs clickbait-y article title, or even a tweet, to be interpreted just as if it were a complete summary of all your thoughts.
Three Things Iâve Noticed In The Last 30 Days
* Accentureâs acquisition of Droga5 made me look deeper into what pundits say about consultancy versus agency. Conclusion: AI and data science look to be pit against humans and creativityâââit doesnât have to be that way.
* The Google People (HR) team released their new study on âdistributed workâ acknowledging that a third of their meetings involve folks in more than two time zones. Expect more tools for increasing timezone inclusivity on teams.
* Nieman Lab reported that Facebookâs News Feed algorithm change last year to increase user engagement has succeeded by as much as 50%. Divisive topics are more easily pushed up by peer networks in priority over publishersâ content. Yay?
Two Unsolicited Non-Tech Products That I â¤
* B.LeekS luggage suitcase wheels make my roll-about bag glide better than when I first got it. Pro-tip: The first size spec pertains to the actual diameter of the wheel.
* Twelve South has discontinued their Surfacepad for Macbook leather wristpads, but you can fight with me on eBay for them. Use an X-Acto blade to cut and fit for your laptop.
One Special Link
* Iâm a bit behind on this monthâs briefing because I needed to re-draft my upcoming book. Pushing out the 2019 Design in Tech Report changed a lot of my thinking, so the book needed some refactoring. https://howtospeakmachine.com
One Final Point
* AI is a topic that is moving from âoh no!â to âwhat is it?ââââwhich means we have the opportunity to move from crisis to curiosity if the invisible forces of computation are eventually understood instead of summarily feared.
