Hi, I'm George.

Be a Team Player

I read this article from 37signals on their Signal v. Noise blog. They make a good point. Too often do we get into the train of thought that we specialize in too specific a skill that makes us exempt from doing anything outside of that “realm.” Well, it’s time to get real and understand that as a part of a team, any work you can do to benefit the whole is in the best interest of yourself and the company. Of course, that doesn’t mean the engineers should spend all their time taking customer calls - but you get the idea.

Making shit work is everyone’s job, Apr 17

“Oh, that’s not my job,” is the sound of doom. Maybe not imminent doom, but doom indeed. It’s the magic inflection point when a company becomes too big (even if only psychologically) for any single employee to give a rat’s ass about job numero uno: Making shit work.

No profession is immune. You can have designers who oh-thats-not-my-job to get the JavaScript they wrote to work, programmers who cry for operations to make their slow code run on time, operations people who refuse to answer customer complaints from their network outage, and on and on. Once the mentality cements, everything is eventually someone else’s job, and they’re being a toad for inconveniencing you with it.

And besides, it’s easy to put it on somebody else, right? Everybody else’s job is easy!

Departmental hedges grow fast and tall if not trimmed with vigor. It’s the natural path unless you take steps to fight it.

That’s why, at 37signals, we all chip in when lots of customers have questions after a new product launch and customer support is overwhelmed. It’s why programmers will wake up in the middle of the night if a sql query tipped over and needs an urgent rewrite until faster servers can arrive.

Don’t let your company culture become one where certain people are too good to do the jobs that need doing. Making shit work is everyone’s job.

Next Generation iPhone App Design

I’m sure a fair share of you iPhone users have seen Clear, a task management application that has received accolades and a boat load of press. It appeared on TechCrunch, Mashable, VentureBeat, the works, but why?

Because it’s the first in a new paradigm of iPhone app design. No longer relying on visually distinguishable buttons and making a strong move towards an almost gesture-only approach. Yeah, and they’ve done it well, but I guess something as simple as a task manager was the best application type to test this new metaphor with.

Here is why Clear has made a splash:

1. Simple instructions on interface gestures and app functionality

2. Clearly defined levels of navigation and a focus on what can(t) be done with the app

3. Incredibly intuitive (visual and audio) interface with a sample task list to guide the user through the interface once more before you’re set on your own

The app also introduces positive reinforcement through 8-bit audio sounds - clear indications of a successful action in your application. But it comes down to the fact that this app defines it’s focus. Remove the superfluous design and emphasize the core:

1. Create lists
2. Create tasks
3. Interact with your tasks visually

Saving Design Inspiration with Sparkbox

Been spending some time trying to identify major elements of common “Web 2.0” landing page designs. In trying to figure out an equation for the “perfect” Web 2.0 landing page, I’ve found a great companion in Sparkbox. Although it can get buggy at times in capturing screenshots from websites with sites that are vertically oriented, it’s a great way to save whole websites or shots of websites you like and Sparkbox orients by your own classifications or by dominant colors.

It saves me the trouble of having to bookmark sites or organizing screenshots on my own. Sure wish they finished their Chrome extension soon, though.