Reverse wireframe any website: wirify

If you've ever wanted to see a website in it's raw wireframe form, the folks at Volkside have created a tool that does just that!

Here's a Slate Article page and the Wirify version:

What's extra cool is you can simply add the bookmarklet to your bookmarks to do this instantly.

The downsides are few:

• It would be nice to have the option to see Greeked or even the original copy. 
• Since some sites are huge on graphics, some of the translation gets a bit lost.

Overall great job, Volkside. Wish I thought of, designed, and implemented it, myself!

Google, I really love your ... style

Check out the PS on this adsense letter. 

This has got to be one of the coolest PS's ever (found on Reddit).

Women leading

I haven't yet seen a TED lecture this relevant or important.

A very librel definition of "unsubscribe"

Things Real People Don't Say about Advertising

Here's a funny post from Things Real People Don't Say about Advertising. It's actually not nearly the most funny example of the hilarious language web folks use.

End-User!

It's really rare for me to hear the term "end-user" anymore.

But when I do I giggle.

It sounds like a call to arms, and I can picture angry folks getting together to put an end to this user experience. If you can't picture this, I've provided the image to the left to help.

User Testing

Anyone who's done user testing knows this feeling all too well. I usually try to focus on the upper left corner of the screen when it gets really bad.

In case you thought I was totally heartless, read my post on empathy too. :)

Drawing! Lynda Barry!

Lynda Barry creates worlds in her comic books and is certainly on my shortlist of heros. She's hilarious, a little crazy, and her comics are honestly touching. Here's her encouraging you to draw today!

Get more Lynda Here and scroll to the bottom to see her most awesome book!

Lynda Barry's most recent book is all about you drawing!

Cute

The Mesh & Linchpin

Collaborating is taking on new meanings as we get cozy with the digital age and The Mesh by Lisa Gansky is particularly relevant given the democratization of content distribution.

The Gregory Brothers come to mind, best known for lifting clips of the news (usually political), auto-tuning them until they acquire the perfect nice hook, add instrumentation, and their own vocals. They achieved fame on YouTube and now their stardom is undeniable underscored by their recent collaboration with Weezer. Lisa Gansky's observations are truly provocative as "The Mesh" seems only to be on the brink.

Linchpin is particularly relevant given the huge growth of freelancers.  According to this article one third of US workers are contractors. It's an interesting question: "Are you the critical person?" either that someone needs to hire or within the context you're living in? More philosophy, maybe even self-help for some, this certainly reminds me of many situations in which I've been the linchpin or the third wheel.