Social Media is not Plug & Play

published by Alfonso
on Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
under Popular Culture, Rumination

That we can simply plug one publishing tool into another (thus turning the second into a mindless, impersonable drone) does not mean we should. When individuals and organizations turn Twitter into little more than yet another syndication vehicle, it’s everybody’s loss.

Of Relevance As of Late

Edward Tufte is to Information Design what Gene Simmons is to Rock & Roll.

If there ever was a rockstar equivalent in the field of information design, Edward Tufte would certainly be it. It would seem, though, that he shares more than just a metaphorical resemblance to one of rock’s most notorious and legendary gods of its own: Mr. Gene Simmons. Enjoy.

On Phony Compassion

Paul Saffo tells it like he sees it. I agree. [Via Design Observer]

The History of the Internet

Excellent production on the birth and development of that ubiquitous, living thing: The Internet.

Google goes for the Cosby look…

Brand New just reviewed Google’s recent favicon change, and the comments are an entertaining read, indeed. My favorite is Eric Price’s observation: “All I can think of whenever I see it is ‘Cosby sweater.’” Funny. (read more)

This is not your parents’ family trip slideshow.

A fun and inspiring home movie by Eric Testroete consisting of a few thousand pictures shot on a recent trip to Japan. Check it out:

Perspective: Israeli / Palestinian Coffin Counter

The coverage on this conflict is sad, enfuriating and most of the time very confusing. So here’s some perspective. [Via InfoSthetics]

Previous Posts

Discouraging Design

I find it rather ironic that so many well-established designers are so adamant in saying there should be less designers in the industry (particularly one Mr. Michael Peters, who complains about there being too many designers doing mediocre work) because I don’t think we can expect any industry to grow without an increase in mediocrity.

To rule by culture…

Status quo is rarely a vehicle for significant progress in any community. Stepping away from it and shaking things around in creative ways to call people’s attention to the issues at hand can only bring about the kind of change that lasts: change in the idiosyncrasy of a people.

Everything is a Design Problem

It is one of those all-encompassing statements that sound great in the heat of the moment, in a very gung-ho kind of way, but that the slightest attempt at studying it makes it look shaky, at best. Surely everything can’t be a design problem, can it? One can’t possibly live inside such a tight self-imposed bubble as to blind oneself and see life and all the issues the world presents to us as little more than tasks to be dealt with strictly in terms of one’s chosen profession, or even vocation. Right?

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SUb is a product of the writing efforts and link curation of Alfonso Gómez Arzola, a graphic designer working out of Madison, Alabama, with the occasional intervention by a friend or colleague. Read more here.

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