What Screens Want

Right before bed last night I pulled up this transcription from Frank Chimero's Build 2013 talk, What Screens Want, thinking that I'd just skim it and read it more in depth in the morning. However, the further along I got, the more engaged I became. If you're a designer, it's an absolute Must Read; Chimero is obviously an eloquent mind in the world of design and this piece campaigns for smarter, interactive designs.

If you're a user of the web, which I can only assume you are if you're reading this, it's a phenomenal piece because it's a huge reminder that the Web is Ours. It's not a corporate run entity, it really does belong the Users. This particular quote starts off the real rallying cry for everyone - a kind reminder that we don't have to let things slip away from an Internet that we'd all wish for:

We used to have a map of a frontier that could be anything. The web isn't young anymore, though. It's settled. It's been prospected and picked through. Increasingly, it feels like we decided to pave the wilderness, turn it into a suburb, and build a mall. And I hate this map of the web, because it only describes a fraction of what it is and what's possible. We've taken an opportunity for connection and distorted it to commodify attention. That's one of the sleaziest things you can do.

It is, obviously, somewhat of a lengthy read but I think it's necessary for everyone to sit with it for a bit. Maybe even read it twice. I'm going to take myself a bit of a break over the next week and think about how these lessons can apply to my own undertakings.. I'm inspired and excited to do, and make, better things. Hopefully it will do the same for you.