Thoughts.

I write about the messy place where technology and humanity smash into each other – and how we can make both better.
Here are some my favorite pieces:

Mind the hype cycle

I’ve been finding myself making the same hand gesture on a lot of Zoom calls recently. I flick my finger up, wiggle it up and down, and trail off to the right in a straight line.I draw this oscillating line when I talk about AI. Or crypto. Or the “metaverse.” Or even Taylor Swift tickets. It’s the hype cycle.

March 15, 2023

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The psychology of color meanings and associations

Color's a tricky thing. You can ask two people can be looking at the same object, and depending on who they are (and more importantly, when they are), you can get two different answers. But while it can be a tough nut to crack, color can completely change the way your brand looks and feels.

March 6, 2023

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Be so good you can be bad

In physics, our understanding of the universe “breaks down” at extreme scales. The equations and models we learn in high school don’t hold up when we look at massive black holes and at the infinitely small quantum scale – the math has a pesky habit of going haywire. The same phenomenon happens when we look at how some people and organizations communicate.

March 1, 2023

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Don’t name things “my-“ or “your-“

Log on to your utility company’s website. What’s the section for your account called? Probably something like “My Account” “Your Account.” Ever since MySpace launched in 2003, this naming convention has sneakily stuck around in digital products. Twenty years later, it’s probably time for it to go.

February 23, 2023

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Samuel Morse and the power of thinking smaller

For most of human history, the speed limit on long-distance communication wasn’t a matter of 5G bandwidth or even how fast an operator could connect your phone call. It was how fast a horse could gallop. Samuel Morse changed that by thinking small.

February 9, 2023

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