Issue 33
Geocities-izer will make *most websites look as it they were created using GeoCities. Refresh is a browser project created by a coupla clever students. 🔮
🥊 WE SHADOW BOX AND DOUBLE CROSS ❎❎
Doctors prove that pixelation can bring you a lovelier complexion, or a rougher one if you want.
A whole new bunch of links for you this week. Including a few tricks to stop people from spying on you, or to help them depending on which way you perform the steps. We've got gross design mistakes and grosser web ethics.
We'll end with a good question...What do satellites see when they watch over us?
🕸️ The Cool Side of the Web
Geocities-izer will make *most websites look as it they were created using GeoCities.
The Horror
Take your favorite site back to the era before web design had "rules", "standards", "quality".
wonder-tonic.com
Refresh is a browser project created by a coupla clever students. 🔮
Look into the Future
Much love for this project. Take a quick peek and you will see why. There's a bunch of great ideas for improving the browser experience. My personal favorite is the browsing history as a timeline.
Chef Kiss Amazing.
refresh.study
Here's how America uses its land. 🗺️
Very Pretty
A very nice map with an awesome scroll thing happening. It also has some pretty nice data if that's your thang.
But mostly I'm in love with the changing map/dataset in a single page without clutter.
bloomberg.com
A VR ball pit. 🔴🔵⚪
A Great Way to Celebrate Maturity
At a certain age, you can't enter ball pits anymore. Prejudicial and unfair? Sure.
And, that's why we needed a VR ball pit.
Who's the loser now Judge?
glitch.me
What happens when you donate your image to stock?
True Story
You see yourself everywhere endorsing some crazy stuff. This is a good story which could have been much, much worse.
bbc.co.uk
📰 Newsletter of the Week
Startup Watching is my latest newsletter find. 🔍
Educational
I'm spreading my reading wings to newsletters with a business focus, and this is pretty good one. It was recommended by a colleague who's into the entrepreneurial thing. This one has some pretty good stories, insights, and tips about living the dream.
Free Tip Check out the raw look at life as an entrepreneur. Big ups for this one.
startupwatching.com
⚒️ Tools and Resources
A bunch of posters made with CSS grid. 📮
Possibilities
I'm contractually and spiritually obliged to share anything that references or is inspired by Boba Fett.
codepen.io
Epic Spinners are better than anything you've ever known.
Spinners with just one language and the world against them.
Epic Spinners.
epicmax.co
Hello, animation! 🦍
Tutorial as Game
Finally, you can experiment with both cavepeople and CSS animation. Learn the basics of object animation and, eventually, launch your cavey into space.
css-animations.io
How to make sure no one is spying on your computer. 🕵️
Free AV Tools
A review of the most popular free AV tools on the market.
popsci.com
🕷️ Design & Development Arena
Common webpage design mistakes. 🎨
For Beginners
Technically, I guess this is a great article for beginners or non-design professionals. Buuuuuttt I see #4: Avoid low contrast for text copy on an image...this is a rule for the ages.
tilda.cc
Codepen simulator game.
Classic 80s Simulator
Use your typing skills to release pens, level up skills, and get more followers.
codepen.io
😱 Slightly Terrifying
Evolution possibilities for water world, or off-world humans.
Next Level Donald Ducking
One of the imagined evolutions is the retention of baby fat for insulation which means I am officially highly evolved. Today is a good day.
telegraph.co.uk
You want instant likes on Instagram? Get yo' chicken some diapers. 🐓
All Kinds of Weird
There's a chicken farming culture out there which will blow your mind. The biggest revelation for me was that housebreaking a chicken is possible, if difficult. Chicken diapers = Instant likes on Instagram.
theoutline.com
👹 No need to ask, they're dark operators
The questionable ethics of Dark Pattern Design.
Web Ethics
There's a lot of questionable stuff online, since the days of the pop-up we have been suspicious of the internets. This is a great article with a few of the most common dark web tricks. Also, check out how Amazon uses dark patterns in their review system to minimize the noise.
If you're wondering why it's so noisy over there, then ReplyAll will tell you all about how Amazon reviews are being gamed by sellers.
If you're still feeling good about the internet, then check out this guide to manipulating users with psychology.
uxplanet.org
The rise of the algortihm and the death of Don Draper. 🖱️
Make 'em Click
This article argues that advertising is now less about creativity and more about taking a blunt-force approach.
newstatesman.com
🔖 Nice work if you can get it
Let’s all calm down about professional Fortnite coaching. 🎮
MAD Memories
Like it matters anyway. Not only can AI get 180 years experience in a couple of days, they now trash talk better than us.
This, this is the end.
polygon.com
These modeling agencies don't hire real people. 📷
Thunderbirds Are Go
Maybe they're born with it, maybe it's pixelation. Either way, they have a very Playstationy feel to me.
cnn.com
👩🚀 Space
All the things satellites can see from space: #6 will shock you!
Interesting
With the commercial space race getting hotter every second this is a good time to see what all those satellites are doing up there. This article covers what they see and why they, or someone, wants them to see it. Pretty cool.
bloomberg.com
Outro
I love nothing more than AI trash talk: the probability of victory is higher than 99%.
Those kids.
This week's unethical sign-off written with dodgy tactics.
Join us on Twitter and we'll give you 100,000 points.
Today only all forwards are 75% off, so forward away, my friend. 💓
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Until next week, here's my face in an email: ಠ_ಠ
Chris