Angry Robot

Keepin' the Blog Hot

Here are two posts from old-school bloggers declaring their intent to resume old-school blogging operations: Andy Baio and Gina Trapani.

“Sorry for the lack of updates” blog posts are a classic of the genre, and these are exemplary examples – I’m not being sarcastic. I particularly like Trapani’s list of personal rules, which made me think what mine would be. Sometimes I wonder why I do this! It doesn’t really make much sense. But essentially this is how I roll:

• Blogging is therapy foremost. I write to organize thoughts. If they get organized, I post them. If they don’t, I often don’t post them. I have probably ten drafts to every post.
• Post interesting links. If there’s a lot more of this than there used to be, it’s because sometimes that’s all I have time for. That’s ok.
• It doesn’t matter who reads it. I don’t check anymore. I only know when someone tells me in person. That’s all good, I do this for me.
• No bitterness. There’s no shortage of snark on the internet, so try and post constructive, thoughtful, silly, or beautiful things instead.
• Keep it stripped down. No tags, no “read more”, no comments. Not adding enough to be worth the hassle.
• No guilt. It’s not work. No need to maintain a posting schedule or anything. Do it when you feel like it. If it stops being fun, stop doing it. Or try something new.

Some of these rules are harder to follow than others – it’s especially hard to value something posted publicly without thinking about its reception, audience, etc. And sometimes you have to. Here are my problem areas, things I want to get better at, or find better solutions for:

• Posting personal stuff. This is an age-old problem with writing. Sometimes I want to but don’t for fears that someone else might get hurt, I might look like an idiot, etc.
• Keeping the blog reflecting my life. It feels like it should, but it doesn’t really. I don’t post at all about my daughter, home renovations, work.
• I’d like to post pictures more but for mostly technical reasons I don’t.
• Get better at ending posts. Better to cut it short and take it up in a follow-up post than to not post at all. Drop the mic, walk away.

Bikergate?

Here’s Leigh Alexander’s vitriolic, already-seminal piece on Gamergate. She argues that Gamergate is the death spasm of “gamer”, the identity based around games, which is becoming obsolete in an era when everybody plays games.

“Gamer” isn’t just a dated demographic label that most people increasingly prefer not to use. Gamers are over. That’s why they’re so mad.

And here is an interview with Mikael Colville-Andersen, head of Copenhagenize, a bike-related urban design company and associated weblog. This passage is interesting:

The cycling sub-cultures are a hurdle to mainstreaming bicycle culture, even though that may sound counter-intuitive. The nature of sub-cultures is insular. They are not often keen to see their beloved hobby/activity become mainstream. Much bicycle advocacy in North America is done by the “avid” cyclists. They have a sense of ownership over all things bicycle. They don’t, however, realize that the 99% doesn’t want what they want. They don’t want over-complication with gear and fancy bicycles. People – Citizen Cyclists I call them – just want to be able to ride a bicycle safely and conveniently.

Having avid cyclists doing the talking about bicycles is like having race walkers doing the talking about pedestrian-friendly cities. It doesn’t work. It’s two different things.

The parallel is striking, and weird.

Ultimately, if you think about telling hobbyist cyclists that they “drank the kool aid” and are “angry young men” who should “grow up” because “traditional [biking] is sloughing off, culturally and economically, like the carapace of a bug,” it seems waaaay over-the-top. These are just a bunch of dudes who enjoy riding around with their friends, really fast! You would want to say something much less threatening, like “you guys are right, biking is awesome! While we value your advocacy, we also need to hear from other bikers, people who may not share your point of view exactly, and in fact those people already outnumber you. But this doesn’t mean you have to have to change anything – keep doing what you’re doing!”

It’s a shame that the Gamergate thing has already gotten so out of hand that such dialogue seems impossible. I guess that’s what happens when the death treats start.

The Shifting Middle

Ben Thompson writes –

At the first iPad presentation, Steve Jobs was at pains to explain that the iPad would only work as a product if it found a spot between the iPhone and Mac where it did some number of things much better than either. […] Over time, though, that middle has shrunk.

Phones have gotten bigger and Macs have gotten smaller and get better battery life.

Last year I bought an iPad mini for the first time. Initially I loved it, and was thrilled that I could carry it everywhere I brought my bag. But increasingly I realize that I don’t use it that much. I mostly use it at home, where it might as well be the bigger iPad Air.

There are very few things the iPad can do that the iPhone can’t, and that’s why – when you’re out and about – you’re almost always going to reach for your phone. The iPhone Plus may well be just as good for reading, which is one of the main things I use the iPad for.

Thompson notes that “the downside of a bigger phone is reduced convenience and portability, opening up room for a device that is even more portable and always with you – the Apple Watch.” If you’re carrying a big phone that may not be usable one-handed, you can see why you’d want a smartwatch. A lot of my iPhone uses are relatively brief interactions that require a minimum of data presented: weather, figuring out when the next streetcar is coming, seeing a notification, fast forwarding a track. You can see how this could be taken over by something on your wrist.

Tablets are far from useless, however. I prefer a touch interface to a mouse or trackpad for many computer-y tasks (web browsing, feed reading, photo editing, music creation, games). Also, the sheer size of a tablet makes it better than a phone at other things (games, reading, video).

But it strikes me that a) I want the biggest size since it will only get used at home, b) I don’t need the newest, fanciest model, and c) maybe don’t even need it to be iOS. The video apps I use are all on Android as well – it’s really just games that would make me stick with iOS.

That is something Thompson notes: there was an opportunity for the iPad to define itself through killer apps, and Apple has mostly blown it. When you see a good iPad app, it’s impressive: all the fun and usability of a phone app, most of the power and real estate of a desktop app. The iPad is more of a computer alternative (and eventual replacement) than it is a phone. The middle hasn’t vanished, but it has moved, and may be swallowing one of its neighbours.

I realize these are dull first world problems for people who have more than one fancy gadget. Still, it’s interesting to see how computing changes over the years based on both tech and how people actually use the things.