This is not a post-election think piece. Lord knows we have enough of those already. It is not a To-Do List for the Brokenhearted. It’s not an assessment of blame, a hope-in-a-dark-place mantra, or a rallying cry. This is just a statement of fact — a fact I believe sits at the heart of Tuesday’s election outcome — followed […]
In late March, I presented to about 150 attendees of the HighEdWeb New England conference at Mt. Holyoke College. My topic: how to plan and run an effective livestream fundraising event. This is something we’ve had a chance to do at Bates for the last two years, and it’s been very successful for us. It […]
A couple weeks ago, Bates College was on The Simpsons. I found out on a Sunday evening via Facebook, where a friend mentioned he had just seen the show poking fun at Bates. Next, I checked Yik Yak, where some of our students were talking about seeing it as well. Because Simpsons episodes and clips […]
My daughter is two and a half years old. Whenever she passes gas, she absolutely busts up laughing. Despite occasional sidelong glances from family and strangers alike, she just thinks farts are the funniest things that have ever happened. And you know what? She’s right. Flatulence is objectively hilarious. It is also an important indicator […]
Fascinating interview with telecommunications expert Susan Crawford on Bill Moyers’s show. The gist: public access to ubiquitous high-speed internet is being strangled by a lack of competition and oversight. A petition to support the appointment by the president of Susan Crawford as chair of the FCC is circulating now. After watching this video, you better […]
For the last year or so, my efforts at work have been focused primarily on trying to improve the user experience for visitors to GAO.gov. We’ve undertaken a usability testing process and incorporated new, sound analytics into our decisionmaking. On every web project, we are in the room to ask what each new proposed element […]
This is the only known video footage of Mark Twain, filmed by Thomas Edison in 1909 one year before Twain’s death. In it, he walks around his house, puffs a cigar, and has tea with his daughters. Living the dream, basically.
Rose’s teachers at day care shared this little gem — video of her dancing during “circle time” yesterday. Relieved she seems to have gotten her dad’s sense of rhythm.
Data: It’s for Yuppies and Hipsters. That’s the message I’m hearing lately from more than a few companies that deal in data. It seems like more often than not, the messaging around data is, frankly, elitist — based on an assumption that data is something for people of means. Because I’m a sucker for a good […]
…or, since it’s NYC, Subway Symphony? Either way, a very cool representation of a public transit system through color, motion, and music. Conductor: www.mta.me from Alexander Chen on Vimeo. Conductor (2011) by Alexander Chen. Video capture. View live at: mta.me Conductor turns the New York subway system into an interactive string instrument. Using the MTA’s […]