Weeknotes 20 December 2019

By solle on 22/12/2019 — 2 mins read

I have a resolution to start writing again. This format is a good kickstarter. I remember my year-end notes. I liked the one in 2011. My principles for notes: keep it very simple, don’t try to be clever and avoid it being a list of things from social media/

In a search for writing inspiration, I trawl through old notebooks and note apps and find random sentences and paragraphs with few references. Did I write that? If they are mine, time has created a sense of higher quality. I realise that a great deal of what I have previously written I cannot remember writing/

Writing not coming easy is one thing, sharing what you might write only makes it more difficult/

The growing move towards representing yourself on the web in the simplest, clearest and most accessible way possible. I feel I made the first step a while back. But WordPress/

Reading books. Trying to read through books as though everything on my bookshelves (and floors and surfaces) is just one book. Not getting too hung up on end-to-end or back-to-front. Just trying to get better at reading/

When designers talk about service design and interaction design they need to start with examples. It makes it easier and prevents the digging of holes to climb into/

Listening to King Midas Sound and Moor Mother. Sensible companions in the present climate/

This is a good short story. Found via shopping at one of my favourite places Aesop. A calming influence every time/

I want to read something by Julia Kristeva and buy the following books Black Mountain College: Experiment in Art and House of Bondage/

Bought some new pencils. Writing out things longhand is like exercise as well as an exercise in improving mental memory. There is more joy to be found in physically forming letters and words than there ever will be in typing. My fountain pen is a year old and hasn’t been used enough/

Digital responsibility rather than digital transformation. An increasing sense after having worked for over six years in what others refer to (and label) ‘digital transformation’, that what is actually going on needs to develop principles of ‘digital responsibility’.

Does it actually make sense to make this thing digital?

Do the costs outweigh the benefits and are the benefits justified in the face of the impact of the continuing growth of internet infrastructure in the climate crisis?

Digital responsibility over digital transformation (or do we just need to make it clear that transformation comes with responsibilities)?

For example, at what point of digitising the long tail of UK government paper forms do we have a worse impact on the environment supporting the growth of data centres rather than just supporting more sustainable paper sources?/

I reckon Mark is King of Weeknotes at the moment. Since he started there is a real sense of him developing it like a craft (10,000 hours of practice etc). The best example of this craft of writing is of course Craig Mod. He just gets better. I like Mark’s Weeknotes too./

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I am a user centred design leader working across senior design leadership teams and user centred design operations. I work across a wide range of digital services within the public, private and not for profit sectors.