Before we dive in, I should let you know that I’m a designer. I have no business hacking firmware to make devices perform jobs they were never intended for, but I do love tinkering with physical hardware. A few years ago, I wrote about building an Arduino LED strip game and followed that post up with another about a Simon clone built with arcade buttons and a 3D printed case. I’ve also taken on some Raspberry Pi projects, a few simpler Arduino builds, and some home automation. All of those were based on existing code and project plans—no compiled binaries or firmware modifications. So, yes, I was way outside my skill set and comfort zone on this project, but that’s how we learn new things, right?
Stay Curious, Friends
As I kick off into the new year, I’ve been thinking about a panel discussion we hosted recently at Downtown Orlando UX with our friends from ProductTank Orlando. The conversation was a deep dive into how AI is redefining product and user experience roles and had an energy that made me optimistic about where our industry is headed.
My 2024 Running Review
Does anyone remember the little Nike+iPod sensor that you could clip to your shoe? I’ve always enjoyed running but first started tracking my running data after getting one of those sensors for Christmas in 2009. It was laughably inaccurate, and within a few months, I ditched the chip and started using the RunKeeper app on my iPhone 3GS.
More Guiding, Less Righting
That’s it. That’s the takeaway I’ve been trying to distill from my trip to Chicago last week. I was there for a Q4 onsite, working with and meeting new teammates from an additional product zone I’m now leading design for at Sprout Social.
Following Threads on Mastodon
Do you want separate chronological feeds for specific sets of profiles on Threads? You’re not alone! If you have a Mastodon account and follow Threads users who have Fediverse sharing turned on, you can use the lists feature on Mastodon to achieve this. Back in April, I imported my Threads follows into Mastodon and posted a video showing my list columns there.