Another ‘Web 2.0 isn’t what you think it is’ post

I really don’t want to add to the web3 debate (not least because I have skin in the game, advising a PR agency that works with DeFi firms), except to make some observations about its predecessor. I feel on safer ground here because was there, I know what I saw: Web 2.0 wasn’t what most … Read more

Why Won’t Computers Do What We Want Them To?

(Post updated 2020-07-15 07:37 to include postscript on JK Rowling’s planning technique.)  Computers and the software that runs them have long denied us the basic right of dictating to them — not letters and grocery lists, but of what they should actually do for us – most importantly in the first step of thinking: the … Read more

Grab’s Promotion Problems

(updated to include Grab’s response, edits) Grab, Uber’s rival in Southeast Asia, is putting up an impressive fight against the ridesharing company. Both have deep pockets, and offer incentives to both drivers and riders. But Grab is either struggling to phrase its promos correctly or something more sinister afoot. Today riders were in uproar when … Read more

Ripe for Disruption: Bank Authentication

One thing that still drives me crazy, and doesn’t seem to have changed with banks, is they way they handle fraud detection with the customer. Their sophisticated algorithms detect fraudulent activity, they flag it, suspend the card, and give you a call, leaving a message identifying themselves as your bank and asking you to call … Read more

LinkedIn’s Blinkers

LinkedIn comes across as quite tone deaf when it comes to their UX, makes me wonder if anyone there eats their own dogfood. This annoying popup every time you try to download a deck from SlideShare drives me nuts. How can it not figure out that no, you don’t want to clip it and remember … Read more