Nerd Alert Issue 23: Join our band?

nerdalertfinal

I for one like Roman numerals.


Hot Links

What we're reading this week

  Adam:Time is the raw material of creation.” A great reminder to sometimes say no to things to protect your time and stay focused on the work you are best suited for. (one of the reasons we fight so hard to avoid unnecessary meetings)

  Ben: Ever wondered why computers handle images differently than your eyes do? Scott Sievert explains how computers store colors and how they blend.

  Dani: As a machine learning and social experiment, Microsoft released how-old, an age-detecting web app. The company assumed, in the age of privacy infringement fears, that people wouldn't want to put their own images up. But, at least half of the people who used the app - including some members of the INN nerds team - uploaded their images to see how old an algorithm thinks they are. Social media burst with tweets and posts regarding the inaccuracy of the algorithm, calling it (and Microsoft) a jerk! But an algorithm is only a mathematical model with as much power as we grant it.

  David: What is your brand's animation identity? As I jump in on style guide discussions at INN, I've been curious about the role of animation in guiding users through news products and establishing identity. This post oncreating easing curves for user interfaces is a good primer.

  Kaeti: This Dear Design Student column makes the point that working hard is better than talent, and I agree wholeheartedly. Design is a learned skill. It's about practice and solving problems and, most importantly, communication.

  Meredith: Thoughtful user feedback can help  guide the development of news apps. An NYU student researched the NYT Now App, became a regular user and wrote this review.

 Nick: On the cusp of becoming a parent, I have been thinking a lot about embodying the spirit of new beginnings and childishness. I especially like the concept of Beginner’s Mind in the context of Zen.

  Ryan: From Jon Peterson, an interesting post on roleplaying games, fantasy fiction and their part in the history of the internet. Read how the emergence of RPG's and fantasy fiction mislead the FBI and ultimately contributed to a more open web.

  Will: A fellow student of mine at the University of Wisconsin was recently interviewed by Poynter about his experiences as “a (formerly) pissed off journalism student.” He’s got a lot to say — both good and bad — about being a student in the ever changing field of journalism.

  Bert: Out of office on a road trip.


We made a thing

Our projects, manifest

Busy week!

First of all, a reminder that we’re hiring! Looking for someone obsessed with documentation and customer support to join the team and help us improve the way we support our members, clients and users of the products we build.

In other news, we’re excited to see Twin Cities Public TV piloting the WordPress plugin we built for the Public Media Platform.

We also spent some time this week doing some spring cleaning in our team docs repo, and added new sections on using Git, how to write a great pull request and how our team approaches giving (and getting) constructive feedback.

Finally, we have two team members moving into new (larger) roles this week: Ryan Nagle is our new Director of Technology and Ben Keith, who joined us about a year ago as an intern, is now joining the team full-time. Coincidentally, Ryan and Ben will also be attending the OpenNews Code Convening and Write The Docs Conference next week to work on improving our Largo developer documentation.


Some other stuff

Gather ye rosebuds

LISTEN: How 'bout some Bychkov?

COOK: Tacos for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

WATCH: Have you seen The Blues Brother's (this week?). It's on Netflix.

GIF: "Who did this to me?"