I’m fascinated by the stories captured in groups of thumbnails.

What other words are opposites, but just one letter apart?

Here’s a way to put everything in your CTA.

All my sketchnotes of speakers at @TYPOSF http://bit.ly/typosf12jtag @JessiaHische @Lustnl @NevilleBrody & Myerscouch portraits too! #TYPOSF12

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I have mixed feelings about the Kindle. There only 2 benefits that I see with the Kindle. One is the convenience. The convenience to carry multiple books in one small physical space. The convenience of wrapping my arms pretzel-like around and through co-commuters while standing on the Muni and still being able to read the book I’m reading. The other convenience is more fascinating—being able to highlight text and write notes and then have a list of those notes separate from the book, and also the ability to share and, especially, read others’ notes about the same book. Distributed social.

What I don’t like about the Kindle reader is what I have to give up by using it. The ability to insert my finger anywhere in the book and experience it rather than a screen telling me I am 23% complete. I don’t like giving up the ability to generously lend books to friends. I don’t like the idea that who and what and for how long I lend books are mediated by Amazon.com.

I don’t like how library digital books are lent with the same restrictions that paper books have—the model of physical scarcity. I get it. I understand it’s a new frontier and we’re using old forms of reference, so to speak. I wonder what electronic books will be like 5 years from now? 10 years?

I would like to see Kindle’s transmit  what is being read on them to nearby smart-device people as a way to mimic the stalkerish joy of seeing what others are reading around me (on the train, in a cafe, etc)

In the meantime, I own a Kindle. I have a large library of physical books. But moving forward, I’m paralyzed trying to choose between buying a physical book or ordering it on Amazon. I have created a strange amorphous ever-changing hierarchy of how I decide whether to buy the physical or digital manifestation of a book. When I want a simple business book, or a quick read like Tina Fey’s “BossyPants,” I’ll order the digital version. When it’s a book I want to cherish more, or perhaps lend to someone in a very meaningful way, I’ll choose the physical artifact.

Immersed in this glut of connection, you try to gain control by refining lists— who you spend your time connecting with online and in person—while still placing yourself in situations to experience chance connections (by following random people on Twitter, staying that extra half hour at that party you’re bored at—many an evening has changed radically be holding another 30 minutes in discomfort).

And yes, of course good design makes connections easier to discover and more rewarding. What I would add to that, however, is that just by experiencing good design, you have an opportunity to connect with the makers. The design becomes it’s own conduit, reminding us that whoever designed this interface, book, movie, coffeepot and pair of glasses has offered to us, the receiver, a model of their internal creative connections that make this experience a rewarding one.

If only we’re not too connected to notice.

People are vocal about the music they listen to, the food they eat, the objects they use, but not so vocal about the causes they support (except for political causes it seems). Why is this? There are excecptions, but I wonder where “supporting a cause” falls into how we share and learn from friends.

When does a one-off donation turn into a relationship? Why does someone decide stop supporting a cause?

I think as a society we are trained to deal in the currency of consumption much more than the currency of cause. I think this is changing though.

Lean startup methodology in aggregate is absurd. If “everyone” creates a shaky minimum viable product that relies on users to “tell them what they want” people are inundated these days with 100′s of unsatisfying user experiences “that will eventually get better.”  It’s asking too much of people. I understand this methodology on a small scale, but not on a large scale.

What do you think?

“While it’s important for a brand to develop something to say, it’s more important to create something that will be heard.”

— David Brier, Fast Company

Why not share the wealth? How much a year would Facebook or advertising companies be paying ME to allow ads to be visible on my page? $100? $5,000? $10,000. Has this idea been posited before? Could it work? ]]> http://www.taggert.net/wordpress/?feed=rss2&p=225 0 http://www.taggert.net/wordpress/?p=224&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sfcm-impromptu-meetup-this-sunday-926-at-pi-bar http://www.taggert.net/wordpress/?p=224#comments Fri, 23 Sep 2011 22:03:48 +0000 Jesse http://www.taggert.net/wordpress/?p=224 Dear SFCM peeps, 

Sorry, I’m that asshole that arrived this morning right after the talk began (9:05am) and fixed myself a cup of coffee in front of you all. 

And maybe’s it’s because I can’t seem to arrive at SFCM before then (it takes 40 minutes Jess, not 20 to walk from your house—I forget each month), that I leave these mornings pumped up (caffeine being part of it—lets be honest—I did just chug a cup of coffee). But these talks are fantastic and I want to explore these areas more hear what the people sitting around me have to share.

Lisa Congdon touched on a whole universe of reasons of how and why Things Arranged Neatly (TAN) is a formal and semantic approach in both commercial design and art. What do you think of these reasons?

So to that affect I humbly offer the following idea:

Anyone who attends San Francisco Creative Mornings lets meet up for a drink and chit chat. A great way to wind down from the weekend (no matter what you do) and cultivate some deep thoughts before it all starts up again Monday morning.

When?

Sunday Sept 25

8pm (I’ll hang for about an hour)

Pi Bar San Francisco

1432 Valencia Street

http://pibarsf.com/index.html

I’ll be the person carrying a yellow sunflower. (I’m not kidding)

And of course anyone from Mule Design, Typekit, and all past speakers are more than welcome since you are the people making this happen every month.

Cheers,

Jesse

Photo: Lisa Congdon