When I first drafted this edition - a month ago - it was just going to be a long screed about albums of the decade. (After all, I’ve been telling y’all this newsletter is about music.) But I’ve got some other things on the brain.
If you just want the playlists, here they are. At least count, it was 14+ hours of music, best played on shuffle. Will keep you busy.
I can’t decide if Twitter is over for me.
Whenever I’m at a conference or a meetup, I will get asked by someone younger how this all happened. I laugh because I remember looking at people who were +/- a decade older than me and wondering why they felt way more grown up than I did. Looking back, so much of this stuff is about access to information and knowing how to apply it to your life tangibly. The problem with most advice is people don’t really know enough about your situation to help you apply things for the time you’re in.
Maybe you’re at a conference, so people assume you’re doing okay. The reality is, maybe you ended up there because someone else paid for you to attend, or you’re borrowing money in the hopes that this event will be the break that changes your trajectory. Nobody is really going to admit that, so it makes it hard to apply lessons that might not be relevant your immediate circumstances.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking a lot about Twitter and wondering whether I ought to deactivate and go away. I don’t really have the social mechanisms to feel like that’s a good idea — isolation isn’t the best life strategy — but I still think the idea of being more present has been meaningful on the whole.
Musical interlude
Jamila Woods - Legacy (LP) is one of the best things released this year hands down. I heard it earlier in the year and for whatever reason, it didn’t connect. But a few weeks ago, I heard it again and I can’t stop listening to it all the way through.
Should I write?
I’ve been talking about anti-patterns in UX for the past year, so I thought the natural next step was to write something longer about it. I’ve always been more interested in the intersection where tech, policy, and its impact on everyday lives meet. Local government had its perils, but I enjoyed how close you are to the source of solving problems and finding solutions that impact people. That feedback is critical and it gets harder as you go higher up the food chain — both in position & areas of responsibility.
As I contemplate my next side project — in addition, to a bevy of volunteer pursuits, per usual — I’m thinking a lot about how to advance the narrative in the areas where I don’t think enough people are talking. This probably means a lot less talking at conferences, where I’m struggling to see the value of preaching (at best) to a choir of folks who are usually pretty monochromatic.
There are no shortage of problems that need exploring and people doing work that need support. I’m curious what stories I’d be able to tell in a year, if I spend 2020 involved in activities that impact real people instead of talking ad nauseum about users.
OKAY GREAT! MOAR MUSIC PLEASE!
2019 has been all about darkwave and retro-inspired synthpop, which probably owes a bit to the Portland weather and my adjustment to it.
Sextile has been one of my favorite finds.
My favorite rap album of 2019 is Chicago rapper Femdot’s 94 Camry Music. It’s got a throwback feel to it, but doesn’t feel dated at all.
Thanks for reading, per usual. I’m going to be late for brunch if I write anymore. I have a bunch of music gems that I’ve heard this year that aren’t on my playlists that I need to share, so stay tuned for that episode sooner than later.
-Ron
P.S. Feel free to reply with a song you’ve been jamming to, I’m always in the mood for new (or old) stuff.