Links

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  1. Guide to Internal Communication, the Basecamp Way

    The how, where, why, and when we communicate. Long form asynchronous? Real-time chat? In-person? Video? Verbal? Written? Via email? In Basecamp? How do we keep everyone in the loop without everyone getting tangled in everyone else’s business? It’s all in here.

    An unsurprisingly blunt, plain language set of guidelines from the Basecamp team. Useful as a guide for other teams looking to build or improve upon their internal communication habits.

  2. Reacji Channeler

    Add a reacji (emoji reaction) to a message to send it zipping through the microscopic pipelines inside Slack, popping out into another channel—where the right people can see and act upon it.

    Found this useful Slack integration via Mina Markham’s tweet:

    Protip: I have a channel in my work Slack (or Slack’s Slack, if you will) that catalogs anything with my custom :mina: reacji.

    Definitely came in handy during promo cycle :thumbsup:

  3. BBC GEL Technical Guides

    The BBC Global Experience Language (GEL) Technical Guides are a series of framework-agnostic, code-centric recommendations and examples for building GEL design patterns in websites. They illustrate how to create websites that comply with all BBC guidelines and industry best practice, giving special emphasis to accessibility.

    This technical companion to the BBC’s Global Experience Language serves as a reference for developers implementing GEL’s user experience recommendations.

  4. Don’t Demonize Employees Who Raise Problems

    Jordan shared this Harvard Business Review article on Twitter recently. There’s a lot of great advice that leaders within organizations should take to heart.

    This particular passage hit really close to home:

    Problem spotters don’t especially enjoy bearing bad news, but they do it to advance the organization. To help you, the leader. Maybe it’s because they have a different perspective, or a fresh take based on that spot in the world where only they stand. Maybe it’s that they are better at expressing the issue, where others struggle. Stop making it so hard on them to help you.

    Address the message not the messenger.

  5. Request Map Generator

    Submit a URL to generate a node map of all of the requests on the page. Rapidly identify what third-parties are on your site, where your transmitted bytes are coming from and how slow your domains are!

    I can’t believe I haven’t saved this useful website before, but it made its way back into my timeline via Jeffrey’s notes from An Event Apart Chicago. Learn more about Request Map Generator by reading Simon Hearne’s introductory blog post.

  6. Progressively Enhancing CSS Layout: From Floats To Flexbox To Grid — Smashing Magazine

    “When can I start using CSS grid layout?” “Too bad that it’ll take some more years before we can use grid in production.” “Do I need Modernizr in order to make websites with CSS grid layout?” “If I wanted to use grid today, I’d have to build two to three versions of my website.” The CSS grid layout module is one of the most exciting developments since responsive design. We should try to get the best out of it as soon as possible, if it makes sense for us and our projects.

    This 2017 article from Manuel Matuzović goes deep on how to creatively use CSS Grid Layout in a progressively-enhanced manner. Naturally, the baseline techniques we use will change over time, but Manuel’s demo illustrates how you might think about design and layout as experience layers.

  7. The 1619 Project - The New York Times

    The 1619 Project is a major initiative from The New York Times observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding 1619 as our true founding, and placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of the story we tell ourselves about who we are.

    This new project from The New York times is a critical piece of journalism and history that couldn’t have arrived at a more important moment in time. Quoting from the announcement on Twitter:

    It’s not just democracy, American capitalism, health care, and music that were shaped by America’s history with slavery. Everything from traffic to the wage gap were affected by the institution as well.

    We’re surrounded every single day by the fallout from our forebears’ barbaric treatment of Africans and Native populations. The 1619 Project is a step toward fully acknowledging slavery’s role in our modern world.

  8. US Flags [dot] Design

    A design guide for the flags of the United States.

    Lynn Fisher put together this love letter to state flag design. She writes:

    I’ve always loved the Arizona flag and consider it one of the best designed. After a visit to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia and seeing all of the state and territory flags hung together in a row, I was eager to learn more about their designs and histories.

    Personal favorites include Colorado, New Mexico, and—like Lynn—Arizona.

  9. I Used The Web For A Day On A 50 MB Budget — Smashing Magazine

    The latest in Chris Ashton’s series of “I Used the Web for a Day…” articles is a doozy of a read chock-full of facts, figures, tips, and tricks.

    The cost (in dollars) of mobile and broadband data plans globally varies wildly and Chris’ post goes deep on how the cost (in page weight and in dollars) of our work building for the Web impacts users around the world. Chris concludes:

    We don’t have the power to change the global cost of data inequality. But we do have the power to lessen its impact, improving the experience for everyone in the process.

  10. Where Are All the Bob Ross Paintings? We Found Them.

    Bob Ross painted more than 1,000 landscapes for his television show—so why are they so hard to find? We solve one of the internet’s favorite little mysteries.

    The short film accompanying this New York Times piece is so very delightful. I grew up watching The Joy of Painting with my grandfather (himself a painter in the Ross-ian style), so this one brought back a lot of fond memories.

    When you’re done watching the video, consider supporting your local public television station.

  11. Don’t ask forgiveness, radiate intent – Elizabeth Ayer – Medium

    I really dig this twist on the existing maxim from Elizabeth Ayer:

    Here are 4 reasons that radiating intent is better than begging forgiveness:

    • Radiating intent gives a chance for someone to stop you before you do a thing, in case it’s truly harmful
    • Radiating intent gives people who have information, or want to help, an opening to participate
    • Radiating intent leaves better evidence of your good will
    • Radiating intent shows others that adventurous behavior is acceptable in the org.

    Her note on inclusivity is a good reminder for anyone dispensing advice to others:

    I also don’t believe that “ask forgiveness” is inclusive advice. If you are from a group who has historically not been granted forgiveness, how is that going to land? Or if you’re in a group with cultural baggage around subversive behavior?

    I was pleasantly surprised-not-surprised to see that Elizabeth works at 18F where they continue doing really important work building inclusive government services.

  12. W3C TAG Ethical Web Principles

    The web should be a platform that helps people and provides a net positive social benefit. As we continue to evolve the web platform, we must therefore consider the ethical consequences of our work. The following document sets out ethical principles that will drive the TAG’s continuing work in this direction.

    The W3C’s Technical Architecture Group lays out their set of ethical design principles as applied to the Web and—surprise—they’re solid:

    • There is one web
    • The web should not cause harm to society
    • The web must support healthy community and debate
    • The web is for all people
    • Security and privacy are essential
    • The web must enable freedom of expression
    • The web must make it possible for people to verify the information they see
    • The web must enhance individuals’ control and power
    • The web must be an environmentally sustainable platform
    • The web is transparent
    • The web is multi-browser, multi-OS and multi-device
    • People should be able to render web content as they want

Looking for more great links organized by year? Browse the archives.