From Mashable. The IFTTT app is surprisingly great.
Month: July 2013
I really agree with this article from ReadWrite. Hackathons are great, and fun, and sometimes silly. Fantastic for hands on learning, motivation, and brainstorming to solve problems. And once in a while, I see something great created. This article tells a few stories about successes.
I like to see these updated charts, displaying internet useage on various sites and what happens in a short period of time This is from MakeUseOf.com. But the biggest surprise here to me – Walmart? 17,000 transactions on the web every 60 seconds? None of the other names were surprising (some numbers were.) But I had no idea Walmart had such an active e-presence. Wow.
MIT Tech Review – still some of the most thoughtful articles around. This one is on wearable tech – Google Glass in particular but can apply to any. “When used mindfully, wearable technology can enhance our abilities significantly.” And I agree, there will definitely be uses, as augmented reality has not been easily accessible before now. But also, “it’s a great myth that people can multi-task without any loss in quality.” It will be an ongoing argument – this is an insightful piece discussing both the pros and cons.
Article on The Next Web interviewing WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg. Obvious the hold WordPress has on the web and that more and more people are using it (vs. Blogger, Tumblr, or platforms that used to be more popular) – new versions, powering 18.9% of the web, it’s impressive. Not surprising, it is still a platform used primarily on the web. I’m not sure how many are left that make that claim. Article at TNW.
“If you look at almost any industry on the planet, you’ll be able to see the effects of social media.” There are infographics on the site that have some statistics that aren’t surprising, but it’s interesting to see them together. On Bit Rebels.
Always love the “best of” articles, especially when it isn’t New Year’s. This is Engadget’s list of their all time favorite gadgets.
Google Translate is amazing, but it only works with text. Imagine if it worked for real time conversation – translating “simple conversation across language barriers.” Allowing a single, universal language via technology. Incredible. Article on TechCrunch.
I don’t think that “semantic web” is a recent buzzphrase but agree that it is permeating much more than search these days. Article from Forbes.
Traditionally, UX and design thinking have always worked hand in hand, but this was the first time I’ve seen reference to “persuasive design.” Here, in UX Magazine, the author describes the framework for changing behavior of the user with “the use of psychology in design to influence behavior.” Interesting article.
Workplace Learning in the Digital Age 