mssv

  • Apple Rules*, Flat vs. Threaded Discussions

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    6–8 minutes

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    1 comment on Apple Rules*, Flat vs. Threaded Discussions

    I spotted this ad on the tube recently, and it made me think about Apple’s unappreciated dominance over the lives of hundreds of millions of people: 600 free prints a year – what a deal! Clearly there must be a catch, and sure enough, there is a tiny asterisk next to “App!” I wasn’t able…

  • The Beatles, Unanticipated Uses of AR

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    5–7 minutes

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    No comments on The Beatles, Unanticipated Uses of AR

    Despite growing up near Liverpool, I never visited any Beatles attractions other than popping into the Cavern a couple of times. It’s like living in London and never visiting The Tower: there’s always something more exciting going on. I broke the habit of a lifetime by finally going to The Beatles Story, a museum on…

  • Reading More = Reading Better

    Reading More = Reading Better

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    5–7 minutes

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    No comments on Reading More = Reading Better

    Issue 8 of my newsletter – subscribe here It’s hard to shake the feeling you’re having the same thoughts and ideas as everyone else if you just watch and read and listen to the same content – which these days tend to be the most upvoted or retweeted. This is a problem if your job involves…

  • 90s Hagiography and Half Marathons

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    5–8 minutes

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    No comments on 90s Hagiography and Half Marathons

    Issue 4 of my newsletter – subscribe here Now that millennials are ageing into their status as Prime Consumers of culture, it’s no surprise that our childhood era of the 90s is being mined for nostalgia. Not all of this is cynical – I’m as charmed by games like Hypnospace Outlaw that harken back to the early…

  • How to Read The New Yorker, my new TV, and the Playdate

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    6–8 minutes

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    No comments on How to Read The New Yorker, my new TV, and the Playdate

    Issue 3 of my newsletter – subscribe here The New Yorker is the most consistently well-written longform magazine I’ve read, and it’s been the source of so many of my ideas over the years. It’s also the one of the most unread magazines out there, gracing coffee tables across the world in artistic tsundokus. For the…

  • Technology and the Virtues: Change Yourself, Change the Future

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    3–5 minutes

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    2 comments on Technology and the Virtues: Change Yourself, Change the Future

    Why write about the future? I’ve never seriously tried to predict the future, a fool’s game if there ever was one. Most science fiction writers are perfectly aware of the contingent nature of the future, and prefer to think about how new technology, and the new abilities it affords us, might alter our lives and…

  • Reassessing Persuasive Games

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    1–2 minutes

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      https://twitter.com/ibogost/status/994361277169524736 Sadly, I’ve always thought persuasive/serious games were more about generating good PR than actually persuading anyone – at least from the funders’ perspective, who were usually charities and non-profits. I say that as someone who (IMO) made some pretty good “serious games”. The wildly overblown claims from certain corners that “games will save the…

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    1–2 minutes

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    1 comment on

    “Hey [Google], Haven’t [given you more control over my emails, memories, and livelihood in a while.] Why [don’t you assume my voice and entire digital identity to complete the job?] I’ve [attached all my banking details passwords to make it easier for you]. Love, [everyone]”

  • Are Subscriptions Fair?

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    4–6 minutes

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    2 comments on Are Subscriptions Fair?

    Subscription pricing, once the domain of newspapers, magazines, and cable bundles, is lately becoming much more common in everything from online video and movie tickets to razors and meal kits. One newish area that has been causing a lot of anguish has been subscription pricing for apps, as summarised on Metafilter. I was inspired to…

  • Guardian comments are destroying civilisation, Part II

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    3–4 minutes

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    No comments on Guardian comments are destroying civilisation, Part II

    Becky Gardiner just published a fascinating and damning study on the endemic hostility towards women and minorities in Guardian comments: By using blocked comments as a proxy for abusive or dismissive comments, I found that articles written by women attracted a significantly higher percentage of com- ments that were subsequently blocked than those written by…