Perry

Hewitt

Tag: reddit

  • Friday 5 — 9.16.2016

    Friday 5 — 9.16.2016

    1. Rather than say, “I think users want this feature,” a product manager should ask, “What outcome do you predict this feature will have?” Read more insights from co-VPs of Product (!) at Reddit. There’s a lot of information elegantly packed into the mobile screenshot above: this approach provides an outcome-focused frame for feature decisions.
    2. Instagram will soon allow users to reduce abusive comments by offering the ability to disable comments and block particular keywords. Celebs will get the feature first, and then the rest of us.
    3. How does news creep into your day? 55% of people consume news while they are doing something else online, while only 44% actively seek it out. Pew reported on 10 facts about the changing digital news landscape.
    4. Junk. Trash. Crap. These are a few of the labels I’ve seen people call the folder where they stash all the apps iOS won’t let them delete. Here’s how you can ditch those apps, and do a lot more with iOS 10.
    5. Kristina Halvorson explains how to sell your content strategy project in your organization. She suggests starting with a story and describing specific pain points you intend to solve, instead of a lecture on what amounts to content excavation.

    Weekend fun: There are few things I love more than seltzer water and creative internet for marketing purposes, so this is pure magic. And take note: in this case it wasn’t even LaCroix who came up with this.

    Every Friday, find five, highly subjective pointers to compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally. Try out the Friday 5 archive, or sign up for a weekly email.

  • Friday 5 — 4.8.2016

    Friday 5 — 4.8.2016

     

    facebook live map

    1. Live video is becoming more popular from breaking news coverage to ordinary, slice-of-life broadcasts. Try this new Facebook Live map to see real-time videos now playing worldwide.
    2. Reddit has launched its first official apps for iOS and Android. Popular subreddit communities like /r/science already drive a fair amount of traffic to news and edu sites; reliable native mobile apps can only increase those numbers. And Reddit may soon be a safer place, too, with its new blocking tool to prevent harassment.
    3. Scott Brinker identifies five themes emerging in marketing tech this year. Coming up more quickly than we think is the rise of cognitive computing in marketing through technologies like chat bots, real-time sentiment analysis, and buyer journey visualization.
    4. One of the ways bots are entering the mainstream is via virtual assistants like Amy, a conversational bot who schedules your meetings. Amy integrates with gmail to interact with others on your behalf, and can handle even complex, back-and-forth scheduling. Aside: Am I the only one who thinks it odd that the default voice for every virtual assistant is female?
    5. New York Magazine’s Instagram account, @nymag, has grown from 190,000 followers to more than 475,000 over the past year. Here’s how they got there.

    Weekend fun: Two words: Rogue One.

    Every Friday, find five, highly subjective pointers to compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally. Try out the Friday 5 archive, or sign up for a weekly email.

  • Friday 5 — 2.12.2016

    Friday 5 — 2.12.2016

    reddit aliens

    1. How does content make it to the front page of Reddit? The Datastories team analyzed 4 million data points to find out. This article gives a number of practical pointers, including the value of posting images, and timing your posts for 9:00 am PST.
    2. I’m a little obsessed with my new Amazon Echo, an internet-connected speaker that lets me access news briefing, play music from Spotify, and even order an Uber without a cumbersome tap on an app. According to Quartz, the rest of the country is about to join me in this obsession.  If you buy one, be sure to read this list of known Easter eggs compiled by Reddit users.
    3. While the immersive experience of virtual reality (VR) often gets the press, 2016 may be the year augmented reality (AR) takes the spotlight. Applications around makeup and home furnishing are already in production, and products like Microsoft HoloLens and the hyper-funded Magic Leap are sure to continue the trend.
    4. Organizations embracing new digital norms undergo a great deal of change. This McKinsey article draws from current research to suggest ways small shifts in leadership — like modeling ways to contain the multitasking endemic to a digital environment — can transform a team dynamic for the better.
    5. How do you evolve the user experience of your digital product when you have an engaged and passionate customer base? Steven Sinofsky’s excellent piece on product design explains some of the challenges (see in particular: ‘Everyone’s a critic’) as well as five ways to prepare.

    Weekend fun: Either fun or just terrifying: a NYC-based art project lets you sign up for a follower. Not a Twitter follower, but an actual, physical follower “within your consciousness but just beyond your sight.” Looking for something more romantic and less stalkerish? Spotify’s Love Notes feature can help you send a playlist with a secret message.

    Every Friday, find five, highly subjective pointers to compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally. Try out the Friday 5 archive, or sign up for a weekly email.

     

  • Friday 5 — 10.31.2014

    Friday 5 — 10.31.2014

    comms mobile chart

    1. Benedict Evans demonstrates how mobile is eating the world. It’s worth reading for the astonishing growth metrics, like 80% of all adults in the world owning smartphones by 2020. One larger point is that tech is rapidly moving beyond the tech sector to transform all industries. And for now, that starts mobile first.
    2. Product managers are critical in the software industry — and this discipline is spreading as every company develops a software capability. We need more ways to educate people into becoming product managers, as well as to provide ongoing professional development opportunities.
    3. Reddit added a crowdfunding capability to allow community members to raise money and support causes they care about. Already an early adopter of cryptocurrencies, Redddit is expanding the suite of services that keep community members happy and engaged on the site.
    4. Google now surfaces a sitelinks search box to branded search results — a box that allows you to search a website directly from the Google results page. Here’s how you can disable it.
    5. MOOC 1.0 has emerged from its first hype cycle a little worse for wear. How can we ensure that next generation MOOCs will deliver effective and compelling online learning? Here’s a great roundup of lessons to be learned from other online experiences from commerce to social networking.

    Weekend fun: Dancing with drones? Someone’s gotta do it, I guess.

     

    Every Friday, find five, highly subjective pointers to compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally. Try out the Friday 5 archive, or sign up for a weekly email.

  • Friday 5 — 10.3.2014

    Friday 5 — 10.3.2014

    active_exposure

    1. Pageviews and clicks provide some insight into your content’s performance, but understanding if and where your users are paying attention is far more valuable for content producers and advertisers alike. Chartbeat announced that it’s been certified by the Media Ratings Council for a new way of measuring reader attention: active exposure time.
    2. Are we actually reading the articles we share on social networks? Buzzfeed’s new data blog has some encouraging news: on average, users who share spend 68% more time on page than users who don’t.
    3. Google Ventures shared these five rules for creating great interface copy. The rules offer designers and developers a useful reminder of the importance of well-crafted microcopy, and how all those little, big details add up in interface design.
    4. Reddit received $50 million in funding, to be used in part for product development, community management, and mobile tools (maybe an app, finally?). Reddit also announced plans to share back 10% of equity with the site’s users via crypto-currency.
    5. Overwhelmed by your inbox? Try Eric Schmidt’s 9 rules for email. I’ve been rescued by the LIFO strategy more times than I can count.

    Weekend fun: Anyone else remember using an SE/30 for wordprocessing or playing Dark Castle? A team working at the Harvard Innovation Lab has visualized the evolution of the desk (see the original video created by bestreviews.com) from an old-school Mac with accessories to your laptop today. Spoiler alert: there’s an app for that.

    desk evolution

    Every Friday, find five, highly subjective pointers to compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally. Try out the Friday 5 archive, or sign up for a weekly email.

  • Friday 5 — 7.25.2014

    Friday 5 — 7.25.2014

    1. New Yorker mobile storyThe New Yorker has updated its web presence to take advantage of the internet’s love affair with quality, longform reads. The mobile design gets it right, with smooth interactive elements like a fly-in hamburger menu. This Guardian review credits the re-design for avoiding looking “like a middle-aged man dropping the ends of his words in an attempt to be down with the kids.” One quibble: given that their goal was to increase readership, I’m surprised they buried their email signup at the bottom of the page. But the best news of all? The archives since 2007 are free for three months, so dig in.
    2. The most important product design work is usually the ugliest, according to this Intercom post on The Dribblisation of Design that kicked up a kerfuffle online a while ago. It’s still a good summary of why the most interesting part of design is not the PSD, but the problem-solving.
    3. Remember back when Facebook was going to die because they were too old and uncool to get mobile? Yeah, me neither. Now they’re making money, handheld over fist.
    4. Reddit launched a new Live feature for unfolding news to better serve and reflect the high activity on the site when news breaks. The updated format makes the story easier to follow, and allows users to add content without starting a new thread and fragmenting the conversation.
    5. Should you buy an Amazon Fire phone? Unless you’re an Amazon-loving, domestic-only-traveling, early-adopter type who adores AT&T, Engadget suggests you hold off.

    Weekend fun: Emoji karaoke is a thing, and the folks who came up with the one below are undisputed masters. Read more via Nate Matias, and try it yourself.

    emoji karaoke

    Every Friday, find five, highly subjective pointers to compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally.

     

  • Friday 5 — 1.3.2014

    Friday 5 — 1.3.2014

    1. pew social engagement 73% of online adults now use social networking sites, per this year-end report from Pew. And more adults are diversifying their online social networking — 42% report using more than one service. Facebook and Instagram boast particularly strong daily engagement. 63% of Facebook users using the site daily, and 40% say they log in multiple times per day.
    2. Facebook itself has released a comprehensive (and highly visual) report for partners with aggregated international and mobile data. After its early bad bet on HTML5, Facebook’s 2012 pivot to mobile has been effective: roughly a third of German, Spanish, French, and Italian mobile phone users using Facebook.
    3. Reddit released its own 2013 year-end numbers — 56 billion pageviews is impressive, and nearly 16 minutes per visit is staggering. From the top ten threads it’s clear that laughter sells and that Reddit was, for good and for ill, a go-to source in the murkiness around the Boston bombings. One question: With 21% of Canadians on Reddit, why isn’t it a nicer place?
    4. In the U.S. and frustrated with your internet service? It’s likely you’re paying more and that your internet speed is lagging behind the rest of the developed world. The impact of faster speeds on productivity, the article points out, is the “the difference between thriving and surviving.”
    5. Wondering how to make sense of all this digital, social, and mobile activity? See this roundup of 2013 digital media scholarship from John Wihbey. One article examines gender and language use on Twitter, and finds that women use higher levels of first person plural and first person singular pronouns, intensifiers, and emoticons in their speech.

    Weekend fun: Have 23 minutes to avoid your in-laws if you’re at home or avoid your work if you’re stuck in the office? Try this compilation of ridiculous/hilarious/profane Vine videos.

    Every Friday, find five, highly subjective links about compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas that affect how we live and work digitally.

  • Tale of a social media meme

    It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of a social media account will eventually have a regrettable public post. Certainly, that’s the assumption of 59% of teen social media users who have deleted or edited something they posted in the past. Adults are not immune to social media remorse: 74% of 18-34 year olds claim to have removed social media posts for fear of career detriment. Privacy settings may mitigate the risk, but don’t eradicate it entirely.

    In the spirit of the Roving Typist’s I Am An Object of Internet Ridicule, Ask Me Anything, I offer up a personal story of a Facebook post gone viral.

    Nearly a year ago, my then-18-year-old son went on a three-month backpacking trip with NOLS. Upon his return to Wyoming, he shared this unfortunate selfie of his newly hirsute self on Facebook:

    beard reddit

    I couldn’t resist commenting, “Shave, or we’re changing the locks. Love, Mom.” A friend of his quickly shared both the photo and the exchange to Reddit. Sure, the names were lightly redacted, but the profile photo matches mine on Twitter. Within a couple of hours, an enterprising Harvard College junior — let’s call him Zach, because that’s his name — posted this:

    beard tweet

    So, less than a day for a theoretically private comment to travel from Facebook to Reddit to Twitter. I posted quickly on Reddit to implore the Redditors with pitchforks not to show up at the door, and assumed it would be an amusing anecdote about social media and the futility of privacy settings for a couple of weeks.

    unconditional loveTen months later, it’s a minor meme that wouldn’t die. Cheezburger. Fark. Failbook. Runt of the Web. New captions emerge: “Positive Family Interaction,” “On Facebook, Sometimes You Win and Sometimes You Lose,” or, my personal favorite, “A Mom’s Unconditional Love.” The beard meme surfaces often enough that in the past month it’s surfaced at a staff meeting and a nonprofit event in D.C.

    So, what lessons can we learn from all this? Like the recent New York Times article on mugshot extortion and editorial on revenge porn, it’s a vivid reminder that images uploaded in any context can persist on the web, and take on nefarious or amusing lives of their own. Secondly, nothing you post to a social network is truly private whatever your settings, so always presume a scenario where your post turns up on your boss’ desk. And finally, parenting is all about compromise:

    goatee

     

  • Friday 5 — 07.12.2013

    Every Friday, find five quick links about compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas. Source: the internet.

    1. What would reddit be without GIFs? Buzzfeed asks if imgur is not-so-stealthily taking over reddit from the inside.
    2. Coursera brought in $43 million in an allegedly oversubscribed round — raising their total VC funding to $66 million. Goals are to grow team, expand into mobile, and improve third party integration.
    3. The Washington Post reports on new research on women leaders and the Goldilocks syndrome. Still a double bind between being assertive and acquiescent, but some progress in perception of the assertive.
    4. For those of you obsessed with productivity hacks, IFTTT goes mobile with an iPhone app. Who knew back in sixth grade math that if-then statements would be an important part of daily life?
    5. Hard to believe that it was only five years ago that Apple’s app store opened its virtual doors. Here’s a recap of some of the significant advances during that half-decade, like the creation of a $10 billion new industry, and impact of a mobile workforce on enterprise IT practices.

  • Friday 5 — 07.05.2013

    Every Friday, find five quick links about compelling technologies, emerging trends, and interesting ideas. Source: the internet.

    1. Coverage of RSS technology that had largely faded from conversation reached a fever pitch this week with the July 1 shuttering of Google Reader. Digg Reader launched; Flipboard experienced some transition pain; and Anil Dash tries to direct attention to what matters.
    2. An undertold story on July 1 was the new COPPA regulations affecting data collection from people under 13 years old. If you’re developing an app for K-12, watch this space.
    3. Pew Internet confirms it: 6% of online adults are reddit users. Males 18-29 lead the category, and a casual glance at the headlines will confirm that many journalists are spending time sourcing stories on the site.
    4. I’ve long been an advocate for devil-in-the-details digital as a greater determiner of online experience than the direction indicated by mood boards. Here’s an interesting argument for the value of “micro-moments” in ux design.
    5. And the Harvard Gazette gets its first major refresh since 2009. Approach is mobile-first, analytics-informed, and media-rich. Baked in WordPress, measured by Google Analytics and Chartbeat, and hooked into social, the site reflects  a create-once-publish-everywhere (COPE) approach. Check it out for yourself.