Cameron Moll's Blog, page 43

Quiet, Redux

Things have been, and will continue to be, quiet around here this week and part of next. I'll be speaking at Future of Web Design in just a few days, so amidst travel and content preparation, the post button may be left untouched. (I may not be as quiet on Twitter or even Instagram.)

But, I shall leave you with a pile of linkage while I'm away. Here goes.

Khoi Vinh wrote a book. I pre-ordered.
Not sure which side of the door it's meant to protect, but how about a labyrinth door chain?
Remember the post I made about converting Canon 7D footage to 1000 fps with Twixtor ? Well, Rickard Bengtsson converted footage shot with a Canon 550D (T2i) to 1000 fps, and it's soaked with awesomeness.
Need tiled backgrounds that aren't full of fail? Try Tileabl.es.
How can you avoid reading an article with a title like this? The Day The Internet Threw A Righteous Hissyfit About Copyright And Pie.
The Glif iPhone 4 Tripod mount closed $137,417 in grassroots-esque funding. What a brilliant success story, having asked for only $10,000 originally. Glad I was able to contribute.

Rob Walling on why it's easy to be great but hard to be consistent: "It's easy to come up with great ideas, and it's a breeze to start coding them. It's only slightly harder to turn them into a functioning product. But it's extremely hard to consistently focus on an idea over months or years. Very few people have the discipline to do it." A good read about making it to the finish line with our ideas.
I finally had the pleasure of meeting Liz Danzico at Brooklyn Beta. For all of two minutes. Thankfully, The Setup interviewed her. I feel closer now, at a hardware/software level, of course.
Speaking of Brooklyn Beta, couple of wrap-ups from the event about the topics presented, one from audience member Sam Brown and another from fellow speaker Kevin Cheng.

See you a bit.

Following Up on Instagram, Flickr

My thoughts regarding Instagram as Flickr's likely successor have proven to be somewhat controversial. I suspected they might be. I'm okay with that.

What I'm not okay with, however, is my apparent negativity towards Flickr. In trying to be brief with my remarks, it's clear I edited some vital information that was included in the original draft: I remain a fan of Flickr.

I've applauded Flickr's overhaul of the photo page as a terrific example of visual hierarchy. In conference presentations I've raved about their mobile website as one of the best on the web. I plan to renew my Pro subscription when it comes due next summer.

More importantly, I have a good relationship with some individuals at the company, specifically Dunstan Orchard and Ross Harmes. The caliber of these individuals is off the charts. It was unfair to state that Flickr's culture today is not what it was yesteryear, having spoken to only a couple individuals on the matter (none of which were named in the previous article). For that, I apologize.

However, what I hope remains clear in my previous article is this: On the web, there tends to be a natural progression — or succession — of things, as the digital lifestyle is constantly evolving. Just as tweeting wasn't a replacement to blogging, I bet we'd all agree it has been the successor to it. The need to post news, express opinions (like this one), and document the extraordinary remains in full force today. But the tools used to do it and the context in which we do it has evolved. Twitter has been a perfect complement to this evolution.

So it is with capturing the world around us. As many of us have increasingly shifted our attention to shorter, more transient means of composing prose, it's possible many of us will shift to more lightweight, portable means of composing images. Instagram (and the phone in your pocket) has the potential to perfectly complement this evolution.

I'm excited to see what that world looks like.

Instagram, Flickr's Likely Successor

In yesterday's post about Flickr solving the wrong problem, I mentioned Instagram as the likely successor to Flickr.

Stephen Coles called me out on Twitter:

Instagram "the likely successor to Flickr"? Really? I don't think they have any intention on replacing Flickr. 2 concepts.

Stephen's point is valid, and I'm sure he's not the only one questioning my logic. I don't know that Instagram has any intention of replacing Flickr, either. But if Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger play their cards wisely, I think the outcome may be inevitable.

I've been a Flickr Pro user for several years, joining the site back in February 2005. At the time, Flickr had been around for less than a year. The notion of an online locale for posting and sharing photos was not certainly not a new one by then. Instead, what made Flickr popular was its ability to capture the attention and interest of skilled photographers around the world, as well as lay ones like myself, because of its ease of use and playful UI, the extensibility of its API data, and most importantly, a vibrant community.

Five years ago the world didn't need another photo sharing site; it needed a photo community. Flickr fit in perfectly.

Fast-forward to 2010. Look around you. Everyone you know carries a mobile phone in their pocket with a camera somewhat comparable to the average point-and-shoot. They spare no expense sharing what they're doing, seeing, and enjoying. Attention is even more fleeting now than it was five years ago, and 'Like' is cool with even the uncool kids. Community is now Social.

Instagram fits in perfectly.

Instagram has captured the same attention Flickr once captured, precisely because it addresses the now, the today, the relevant. And it does so in ways that are emotional, spontaneous, lightweight, and unique. (Try following danrubin, mikekus, simplebits, or splorp and see if you agree.)

Once upon a time, Flickr did that. But many of the individuals who lovingly crafted Flickr and fostered its community — Heather Champ, Cal Henderson, even Authentic Jobs contractor Myles Grant — have all moved on. Speaking with a few individuals in recent weeks confirms that what remains of Flickr's culture today is not what existed in the beginning. It's not unreasonable to believe Flickr's days are numbered as the premiere photo community on the web. (Update: By tying the individuals mentioned here with my remarks about Flickr's culture, I've insinuated that these individuals think poorly of Flickr. That was not my intent nor does it accurately express their feelings on the matter, as far as I'm aware.)

My opinions here may be premature, as Instagram has been publicly available not even 30 days already. But if Kevin and Mike add support for other devices, expand the content and options available on the desktop web, and continue to garner astounding numbers of users, I don't believe I'll be issuing a recall of this article anytime soon.

For related reading, see The Addictive Allure of Instagram by Faruk Ateş.

Dribbble: What State Do You Live In?

Dribbble: What State Do You Live In?:

This has been going on for a few days now, and it's fascinating. A wonderful roundup of 400 x 300 designs (rebounds) from around the globe, all initiated by Geof Crowl's inaugural shot.

Modernizr on the Server-Side

Modernizr on the Server-Side:

James Pearce:

The current vogue seems to be to do as much [adjusting web content] as possible on the client-side: media queries, progressive enhancement, adding CSS body classes, and so on….

In my opinion, this approach won't always cut it. I've already pointed out that the users of radically different devices might want downright different things. Sometimes the differences between browsers are just too great to be able to deal with once the page has reached the client. And dealing with structural changes to a site's information architecture based on browser capabilities gets messy, fast.

The "already pointed out" part James refers to is an article he wrote previously: Not a mobile web, merely a 320px-wide one. Also worth reading.

Coquette

Coquette:

If you're a Typekit user looking for a typeface with lots of playful flair, this is it.

/via Yesenia Perez-Cruz

Know Your Type: Baskerville

Know Your Type: Baskerville:

Part of a series of posts on idsgn, this one guest authored by Cheryl Yau. Previous posts cover Cheltenham, Gill Sans, Clarendon, Gotham, Futura, Verlag, and DIN.

To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish

To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish:

I seem to be on a kick today quoting myself and others, so bear with me. Eric Karjaluoto's thoughts about self-publishing echo many of mine, but his article seems much more fascinating. I'll quote his remarks in similar fashion to Khoi's.

On focus:

Many have told me that they have a book in them. And yes, you probably have one in you too, but, no, you probably won't ever write one. This isn't because you don't have a good story to tell, or a great writing style. Yours may be one of the best. The entire issue comes down to whether you have the diligence to peck away at a typewriter while episodes of Mad Men and Weeds beckon from the television in the adjacent room.

On estimating your time and your returns:

Figure out what you want from your book, in terms of returns (be they awareness, financial gain, or what have you) and then lower your expectations. Following that, I encourage you to work out how long you expect it will take you to get all of your thoughts down. My suggestion is that you multiply this figure by 10, and double it to afford sufficient time for editing.

On the real costs of self-publishing:

While a traditional publisher will take on editing, printing, and marketing costs, as well as the many hours involved in administering all of these things, the self-publisher bears the brunt of such expenses alone. This may sound inconsequential, but just consider the cost of shipping out review copies. We've worked out that the cost per review copy of Speak Human (factoring in time for making contact, following up, writing notes, as well as postage and the wholesale cost of the book) is somewhere around $40/unit.

20 Tips for Better Conference Speaking

20 Tips for Better Conference Speaking:

Speaking of tweets and quoting myself, here's one from the archives. Matthew Solle kindly brought it to my attention.

"Flickr is Solving the Wrong Problem for Me"

"Flickr is Solving the Wrong Problem for Me":

Something about this tweet by Garrett Coakley reminded me of the principle I've espoused repeatedly in my "Good vs. Great Design" presentations: focus first on problems, then on solutions. Having been a Flickr Pro user almost since its inception, and now enjoying Instagram as the likely successor to Flickr, I mostly agree with Garrett. Discovering interesting photographers is as appealing or more to me than porting over friends — or friends of friends — from other social circles.

Porting over friends is low-hanging fruit. Helping me discover new and interesting things? That's a problem worth solving.