hyalineskies

Things haven’t changed in the mainstream; well, at least since 1967. Teenagers, trendwhores, and other conspicuous consumers elevate the overall user experience of an item to iconic status, entirely against the expectations of its original designers, and in doing so can create what are essentially viral products. There is a way to topple the tyrant, however, and it’s using the method you’d least expect.

My little 2007 Scion has been really annoying me as of late: its lacklustre handling and high centre-of-gravity finds me wrestling to keep it pointed around high-speed sharp turns and linear in poor weather conditions. For some reason, though, the little car has been inspiring my actions in some of the weirdest of ways.

The RIAA isn’t clueless. They’re just playing refusenik, bucking the online music trend because it’s profitable. In the meantime, they’re missing out on capturing a whole ton of consumer surplus that independents, always fast to adapt, are missing out on. It’s time to learn something from the little guy.

A fan of my original Flash-based RSS reader for MySpace decides to build a more advanced, beautiful RSS reader for his own site, releasing the code to everyone under a Creative Commons licence.

While my GTD Moleskine grew popular, I spent some time re-thinking my own productivity and organisation just in time for New Year’s. With resolutions being the usual January craze, I’ve got my three resolutions for the year; what are you doing to improve yourself, and how are you going to really accomplish your goals this time?