The Filter Bubble (2011)

THEN:

Trapped in our own little bubble without challenging viewpoints or people who disagree with us is certainly no way to behave in a democracy. Eli Pariser’s TED Talk on the filter bubble lays out the negative effects of Internet personalization based only on the things we like.

NOW:

The negative effects of filter bubbles, both yours and mine, have come to pass in more ways than one. The Internet is in crisis. The echo chamber is keeping us walled off in our own little corners of belief. The algorithms are winning. And the things we like are showing their ugly side.

The Sprinter (2003)

THEN:

A story of living in an age of mass media, data smog, and oversupply of information, yet finding sanctuary from the channels of high gloss with the solemn rituals that lose themselves in the shuffle and are reclaimed for an instance.

NOW:

A story of living in an age of social media, data manipulation, and the bombardment of information, yet finding relief from the algorithms of infinite feeds with the awakening rituals that lose themselves in the simulation and are reset for an nanosecond.

The Recharging Robot

– My latest on Medium –

In the last few months I’ve found myself saying I just need to recharge. The battery needs to get above 50% for a good amount of time. The power has been draining and it needs to be filled back up. As if I were a robot. But I’m not a robot, I’m a human. With inefficiencies, forgetfulness, and randomness. Full of flawed thinking and irrational behavior. (Shocker to the free-market economists out there.)

Read on Medium »

15 Years A Designer, Now Working 10–4

New year, new goals. Milestones reached, proclamations announced. Changes afoot, changes made. All this points to an update to the hours I’ll be working. In an effort to cut down on my average of 54 hours per week, I’m changing the hours I’m expecting myself to work. JKDC, now working 10–4 PM CST.

This is the time in my day I’m setting aside for work to happen, Monday thru Friday. Not 8–6, or 9–5, but 10–4. The new standard operating procedure. Of course, special circumstances will arise and some projects will call for work outside of this new range. But as a general rule, this is when you can expect me to be around. 

And what will happen to that time I’m no longer working? More reading, writing, experimenting, and making statements. Something along those lines, I suspect. But more importantly, setting aside extra time for not working will help protect against burnout and allow me to focus on the projects I’m most excited about. At the end of the day, being extra selective has always led me to doing better work.

We’re not put on this Earth to work. While I love the job I’m able to do, I’m much more interested these days in the life outside of it. After 15 years of being a designer, I’m very excited to cut back on the common trope of “Oh man I am SO busy with work! Just busy busy busy!” You know the one. It’s always been lame, and now I’m just over it.