callan \ blog
june 12, 2016
musical things
- My band EXH4LER (finally) released the album we spent over a year working on. If you've got the time, we've got the Bandcamp stream.
- I watched High-Rise last night and loved it for many reasons, one of them being the killer soundtrack. Portishead contributed this mindblowing bible-black cover of ABBA's "SOS" for perfect placement in the climactic chaos of the film; it stands quite well on its creepy own, too.
- Really enjoying the stuff Anda Volley's got on her Soundcloud page. She lives in the house where EXH4LER practices. I'm always excited to hear other about the other synth ladies working around Boston.
other stuff
- Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker's 2016 internet trends report
Some tidbits: We're seeing the rise of voice interfaces (20% of searches from voice on Android phones; Amazon Echo sales growing as iPhone sales slow). The US could become the worldwide leader in the auto industry again (both legacy companies and disruptors are here). Global economic growth is slowing (debts high and growing faster than GDP; commodity prices falling). - Gawker’s Bankruptcy Is How a Free Press Dies, One VC at a Time
"The Voxes and Buzzfeeds of the world, the New York Timeses and WIREDs, can’t afford to think that somehow Gawker is a special case. Neither propriety, nor idealism, nor barrel-sized ink purchases protect us from disgruntled oligarchs. Especially at a time when the finances of news organizations are so shaky, we all make easy targets for potentially lethal litigation." - NPR has started using "breaking news disclaimers." They're smart and surprisingly self-effacing.
- Congressman who throttled gun violence studies says he made a mistake
For around two decades, the CDC has been forbidden from studying guns as a health and safety issue: "[The National Rifle Association] leaned on lawmakers [in 1997], saying CDC researchers were advocating for gun control when their results suggested, for instance, that having a gun in the home was more dangerous than not having one." When the White House was, yet again, bargaining to get its budget to pass this past fall, the research ban was renewed as part of the deal. - Designing Better Experiences for People Facing Anxiety
"Research has shown that in actuality, what makes users feel at ease is intuitive navigation and a feeling of 'control and progress toward achieving tasks'... Instead of a 'one size fits all' approach, making a user comfortable in scenarios which may trigger anxiety is key... As designers, we should constantly seek ways to give users a greater sense of ownership and control over the interactions they have with our products." - Why am I doing this to our users?
Oh boy, can I relate to this "case study about the wrong turns taken during a redesign project and the impact of design-by-committee on team morale." It's sad to see developers and librarians at odds like this. User-driven design still seems to be a depressingly hard sell at certain organizations; UX folks have little choice but to stick to their guns for as long as sanity permits, I s'pose. - The redesigned Darien Library website launched this week
...and it's a great example of patron-empowering, community-driven, user-centered design. With a thoughtfully organized mega-menu (complete with icons!), big hero search, and a Bento box of upcoming events, book lists, movie screenings, and highlighted services, there's a ton of ways for just about anybody to get started on finding what they're looking for. For longtime users of the old site and people who are curious about what's new in the revamped version, there's a series of quick video tutorials. And look at that login page - swoon. So happy to see libraries collaging and refitting user experiences that are tried and true throughout the for-profit web for our own purposes.
<
Photo credit: Ryan Breslin for Boston.com
home | top
Hey Cal, why is there no comments section? Comments sections have a tendency to devolve into nasty little spaces, teeming with spam & ad hominem attacks. I also have a fondness for the 1.0 Web (props to Neocities, powerer of this site). If you'd like to share your thoughts, find me on Twitter or fire off an email. Thanks!