Published inUX Collective·May 8, 2019Work together to make the words workUse The Microcopy Canvas to collaborate, not design by committee — “A camel is a horse designed by committee.” Allegedly, Sir Alec Issigonis, designer of the iconic Mini car, made this comment, referring to what results when teams lose sight of their vision. Maybe he didn’t like working in teams at all, or maybe he was someone who had a tyrannical…UX7 min readUX7 min read
Apr 11, 2018A hammer is not a solutionStructural violence in, structural violence out — Like most of the tech world this week, I’ve been committing the low-level self harm of watching Mark Zuckerberg testifying to Congress, looking like he got caught stuffing the ballot box in the 8th-grade class election, getting softball questions because the rich boys in school never actually have to serve…Facebook9 min readFacebook9 min read
Jul 7, 2017Archaeology for cyborgsWhere does the person stop and the personal data begin? — One of the most important lessons I learned as an archaeologist was this: if you are in possession of a human skull, do not put a cigarette in its mouth and a hat on its head and definitely don’t take pictures. …Privacy11 min readPrivacy11 min read
Jun 22, 2017Data brokers and the new panopticonIn the main building of University College London, there’s an embalmed corpse in a glass box, dressed in a black suit with an on-trend ruffle down his front. This is Jeremy Bentham, now known as the ‘auto-icon’, and when he died in 1832, he left his body, along with his…Privacy8 min readPrivacy8 min read
May 4, 2017The content team of zeroIt’s never too soon to build content maturity on your team — If your company is like most companies, you never have enough time or money, and something always gets shoved to the side. For a lot of teams, especially in developer-driven companies, that thing is content. You might not be sure what actually counts as “content”. Is content words? Is it…Startup10 min readStartup10 min read
May 3, 2017Domestic violence is not a crimeOne weird trick to get domestic violence data for Ireland — In Ireland, domestic violence is not considered a specific offense, which means there is no law against it. The rationale is that the acts that comprise domestic violence are already criminal, and therefore we don’t need it, and besides, it’s too complex to actually prosecute. …Domestic Violence7 min readDomestic Violence7 min read
Mar 13, 2017Nothing will just come out in the washFor technology to be a revolution, it needs to include all bodies — Last week, I attended a women-in-tech event, the kind for a general audience that is supposed to inspire and fill the audience with self-empowerment. It was, as these things almost always are, fine in the kind of way that confirms to me that I am not the target audience. It’s…Women In Tech10 min readWomen In Tech10 min read
Mar 10, 2017Fearless girls shouldn’t have to save usBravery doesn’t make the bull less dangerous — When the statue of the Fearless Girl appeared in front of the Wall Street bull on International Women’s Day, it was a nice, if a little saccharine thing to wake up to. I’ve always loved imagery and stories about little girls saving the world, and that will never change. …Feminism6 min readFeminism6 min read
May 2, 2016What if your government was more like a lean startup?If you fully understood that headline, you’re probably a little sick in your mouth right now. If you’re lucky enough to have missed the trend in ‘lean’ thinking, the aim is to use short product development cycles and ‘fail fast’, to reach what’s called ‘minimum viable product’, which is the…Startup6 min readStartup6 min read
Nov 3, 2014Where is technology’s critical culture?The industry, the media, and the ‘five little questions’. A few weeks ago, a startup founder for a pretty mundane app called Need tried to get the attention of a tech journalist at the San Francisco Chronicle by sending her a swag basket. In it, there were oysters, tequila, a…7 min read7 min read
