Season 4, Issue 6: šš¦ So many links
Curating our web, one link at a time.
Good afternoon, friends and new subscribers! We have a lot to cover today, so letās get into itā¦
1. Studio Update
Our shared inbox software is now alpha ready! This means that imminently, inevitably, indubitably, the software will be used by Other Peopleā¢. Excite!
If you have a team thatās looking for a shared inbox (and donāt care to pay the insane price tag of those bloated help desk software), get in touch, yeah?
Two weeks ago we launched Pikaās new Guestbook feature, and itās gratifying to see the many cool drawings and messages on different peopleās guestbooks.
Some recent updates to our beloved lilā Pika:
And weāve made some fixes to the RSS feed (hereās a TIL for those of you Rails folks)
Lastly, Barry wrote a thoughtful blog post about web curation thatās been getting some attention lately. A quote:
We are the human beings that are meant to curate the web. We should continue to spread the word about how we use the web, which is very personal and as active participants. We should make clear our desire for technologies that are accessible for non-technical people to be able to join us in controlling their own web presence. We build our websites and share our thoughts and link our links. Over time the web becomes surfable to more and more people.
Hear, hear!
2. Some People are Good Enough: Fei of Village One
We are interviewing people who have drawn on our Guestbook, started a blog on Pika, or made a list on Album Whale. If youāre one of them and would like to be featured in this newsletterāwrite us! Now letās meet Fei!
1. Who are you?
Hi, Iām Fei, a backend engineer and co-owner of Village One, a cooperative studio for ethical design and technology based in Berlin, Germany. Village One was founded in 2022 by a small multidisciplinary group of people with the goal of democratising work and supporting projects that have positive impacts on our society and environment.
2. How do you avoid the pitfalls of design by committee while staying true to the democratic values of a co-op?
I think we rarely design anything by committee. When a task arises, one or two people usually take ownership of it quickly, and everyone else trusts that they will execute it well or to ask for support/feedback if needed.
This trust comes from our shared values, therefore we are not afraid to give everyone the same autonomy to make decisions and represent us. The cooperative structure allows us to formalise this trust and autonomy.
Establishing these shared values, though, has been a process that has required time and discussions. However, being a team of six rather pragmatic individuals with minimal egos has helped keep these discussions short and productive. Personally, I am very curious about what kind of processes we will introduce in the future as we grow larger.
3. Do you have a good recipe to share with our readers? :)
I've recently learned about fermentation and have been fermenting all kinds of things. It's such an easy way to preserve food. So here's a simple recipe for fermenting radishes:
Place radishes (cut into chunks or slices) into a jar, add 1 bay leaf and 4-5 juniper berries. Dissolve 30g of salt in 1 litre of water and pour it into the jar until everything is fully immersed (you might need to use a weight or toothpicks to keep the radishes submerged).
Close the jar and leave it at room temperature for four to seven days. Afterwards, you can enjoy it right away or move the jar to the fridge where the fermented radishes will stay good for at least a month.
Thanks, Fei! You can learn more about Fei on her website!
3. Sharing Is Caring
Bebop is a lightweight, super fast iPhone app that lets you quickly jot down notes. This wonderful app was made by our friend and world-famous author, Jack Cheng. Jack also wrote a fantastic blog post about how he designed and built the app all on his own.
Fig is a drawing app where each pixel has a lifespan. Yes, you read that right, and youāll have to try it to understand it. This beautiful, poetic app was built by our super-talented friend, RafaÅ. Be sure to read his blog post on the inspiration, design process, and technical details behind Fig.
Adam Fuhrer has been making some beautiful pen plots. I have one of his prints here on my desk and itās mesmerizing. Each print is 5x7ā and costs $40 CAD.
Pouch magazine is ready for pre-order. Iāve been following Victoriaās (aka vrk) journey of starting a magazine, which she chronicles in her fascinating newsletter. Vrk used to be a programmer at Google and Arc, and it seems sheās decided to make a career switch to follow her love for paper and stationery. Respect!
And here are some great, recent blog posts on Pika:
Why do you blog? Robert wants to know.
Our very first font analysis blog post on Pika. Thank you, Ben.
Did you know that Kindle has a large version that you can write on? Richard shares his thoughts on the Kindle Scribe.
Jon wants you to make an /interests page. Interested?
Hereās an interesting blog of reviews on non-alcoholic beverages.
4. In Conclusion
If what Kendrick said were true, shouldnāt there be a lawsuit or two against your favorite Canadian hip hop artist?
A very short Lettini Screeni review of Bird Box: it was fine.
If the new Billie Eilish album isnāt moving you, maybe look for your next favorite album on Album Whale.
Have a wonderful weekend, you beautiful people, whoever and wherever you are. Did you know that octopuses have three hearts? Neither did I and I didnāt verify that fact. You canāt go home but you canāt stay here. šāš¼