design – Page 2 – JAMES MICHIE

iPhone Apps (2)

Since my previous post I have added a few more apps and settled on an arrangement for my home screen.

Alongside Tweetbot, Instapaper, Reeder, Kindle and Notesy which I added almost immediately, I have now added the following apps:

Evernote – I have been using Evernote to manage and organise my M.Ed studies. It is an invaluable tool. I use the desktop app almost every day and have been making regular use of the Android version. On first look, as I have found with other cross platform apps, both the iPhone’s UI and UX are vastly superior. What’s more the quality of the display on the 4S is crystal clear.

Instacast – Like Tweetbot, this is an app I have wanted to use for some time. It has been well reviewed, with the consensus being that there is no better app for the job. As an avid listener to podcasts, I am very pleased with my experience so far. What this app offers over the built in music app is the ability to stream shows, download on the fly and access show notes within the app itself. This makes for a far richer listening experience.

Agenda – The built in iPhone calendar has a very poor UI. Agenda, is clean and minimal, utilising sound principals of typographic design.

Pop – I’m a huge believer in ubiquitous capture and even with Notesy installed, sometimes all you need is a piece of paper. That is exactly what Pop offers: a piece of paper on to which you can write stuff down and return to later. The only other options are: select, select all, copy all and paste. This adds what I would call ‘useful friction’ in that when I decide to act on the information I have captured in Pop I will have to make an effort to move each piece around. This means I will be forced to decide if what I noted down is really valuable or not.

Taking photographs with a mobile phone is an activity I have never really been interested in. I think this is due to the poor quality of cameras I have encountered in previous phones. With the iPhone 4S’ 8MP camera, I am planning to take this as an opportunity to capture images on a more regular basis. I looked to my PLN on Twitter to help me get started and they didn’t disappoint. I chose to begin with the following two apps:

Camera+ – I decided to get this app as it offered some interesting improvements on the built in camera app: Improved zoom capabilities and a stabiliser (perfect for a novice photographer)

Snapseed – Nearly everyone who replied to my initial tweet recommended this app, and I have already had loads of fun playing with it. It offers a wide range of features, from basic editing features such as cropping and rotating to more stylistic effects such as manipulating depth of field.

In terms of arranging the apps, my choices are based on frequency and tactility. Apps towards the bottom of the home screen are the ones that I use most often. As such I want them positioned where I can access them quickly when holding the phone in one hand. Beyond that the apps are loosely grouped: Photography, Sound & Video, Reading, Notes/Writing, Interruptions.

iPhone Apps

I have had a shiny new iPhone 4S (32GB) for less than 24 hours. I am installing apps as I feel that I need them, here is what I have installed so far, with a few thoughts:

TweetBot – This was the first app I downloaded and installed. Partly because Twitter is number one reason I use a smartphone but mainly due to the fact that I have been coveting this app since it was first released. As an Android user, I have had to read/listen to others talk about how good it is, while being stuck with only mediocre choices. And, my first impression is a significantly positive one. Both the UI and UX are superb. The only feature it lacks is ‘keyword block’ which I enjoy with Hibari on Mac.

Instapaper – This is another favourite, regularly used app that has been poorly served on Android. Marco has done a wonderful job with version 4.1.1; the attention to detail is meticulous. I can already tell that I will be opting to catch up with my unread items on my iPhone rather than on my MacBook Air.

Reeder – I have been using the Mac-based equivalent since I bought my MacBook Air last year. The iOS version does not disappoint, attractive UI and friction free UX.

Kindle – Most of the time I read on a Kindle Keyboard but I tend to use my phone when I am travelling to and from work. The iOS app is identical to the Android version and was a natural choice for inclusion at this early stage.

Notesy – This was the most difficult choice. I considered Byword, Writing Kit and Plain Text before deciding to try Notesy. Plain Text does not include Markdown support, making it easy to remove that from the selection process. Writing Kit was a little too feature rich and I was concerned that it would not fit into the minimal mindset that I have with regard to text editors. Based on some thorough reading and a helpful chart, I settled on Notesy due to the fact that I could customise the UI more than in Byword.

I’ll follow this up as I continue to add apps and use the phone.

Cultivating a brand (caring for your digital self)

Since part way through last year, I have been working on leveraging control over both my digital identity and digital self. This has included closing a number of accounts, redesigning my home page, this blog, and leaving Facebook again. It has entailed making some tough decisions about which social networks I will invest time into; which apps and services I am prepared to share my data with.

This process has, and continues to be motivated by two values:

First, it is important to own as much of your own data as possible. Too many of us invest time in various apps, networks and other online tools, without considering whether or not we will be able to get that data out, should we decide to stop using them.

Second, it is important to give mindful consideration to the information that you publish online, as this is how many people will form their opinion of you. For all intents and purposes, your digital self is like a brand. It needs to be cultivated and cared for. It is therefore, my intention to ensure that brand ‘James Michie’ is well cultivated.

It was with these principals in mind that I decided to move my ‘other’ blog ‘Et cetera’ from Posterous and integrate it with my main blog.

Twitter’s recent acquisition of Posterous, provided the final push I needed to make this move… one that I had considered doing last year. Do I think that Twitter is going to shut down Posterous? I am not sure but the signs are not great. Recent trends on the web would also suggest that either the service will fall into neglect or eventually close.

In making the move, I decided that it was also an opportunity to do some cleaning up. Before importing the blog, I removed any content which I felt did not fit in effectively with my main blog; this included the remnants of a failed #365 project and a few other posts.

If you were a subscribed to Et cetera, then please consider subscribing to this blog either by RSS or Email.

Owning your data and caring for your digital self is very important. Putting in, what I believe to be a reasonable amount of effort, has allowed me to take (greater) ownership of my data, and to better establish the version of my digital self that I wish for people to engage with. I encourage you to do the same.

Housekeeping: The Value of Less

While my digital-self has been quiet over the last few months, I have not been entirely inactive. Having instigated a cleanup of my web footprint (I shared the initial stages in this post), I have continued this process alongside a number of subtle design/structural changes to jamesmichie.com and jamesmichie.com/blog. Also, I have made some changes to my online workflow – more out of necessity than choice.

Following on from decreasing the number of peripheral accounts that I had. I set about redesigning my second blog. I added a more pleasing theme and retitled it ‘Et cetera’. I felt, that what was my other blog, lacked a clear sense of purpose. As such I’ve added the tag line: ‘…riffs, ramblings, snippets and pics’. These were not extensive changes but add clarity to the role this blog plays in my online presence. I also wanted to draw a bit more attention to ‘Et cetera’, so I added buttons to both jamesmichie.com and jamesmichie.com/blog.

[Update: 27.07.12 Et cetera has been closed and the posts imported to this blog.]

This coincided with the removal of the Facebook page I set up to promote jamesmichie.com/blog. The page added limited value and very few additional readers. This also resulted in the deletion of my Facebook account. The continued uncertainty surrounding Facebook’s inability to take its customers’ privacy seriously, have left me under no illusion that it is better to be out than in.

I have made some minor changes to jamesmichie.com including adding a ‘bookmarks’ feed. Likewise, I have added the same feed in the sidebar of this blog. This change was prompted by Google’s decision to remove the sharing functions within Google Reader. The result? Google Reader continues to be my RSS reader of choice, however I laboriously reviewed the items I had shared (automated to Twitter via ifttt) and added any that I wished to keep to my Delicious bookmarks. I am now using this to both bookmark and share items – again, automated with ifttt. Initially, I was annoyed about Google’s decision but this has actually helped in the slimming down of my web presence – streamlining my sharing/bookmarking workflow.

What’s more, with the reduction of sources from which I am sharing information, I have removed the shared stream that was present on both jamesmichie,com and jamesmichie.com/blog.

Also, I have made some subtle changes to this blog, including the addition of text snippets in the side bar to further encourage people to subscribe to the blog and to also promote conference and events, at which I will be attending/speaking.

As I have taken each step, deleting accounts; cleaning up features; adapting my workflow, I have felt calmer, more in control, more focused. I can see that much of this has come as a result of the reading I have been doing this year – particularly the work of Leo Babauta. His books ‘The Power of Less‘ and ‘Focus‘ have had a profound effect in helping me to channel my energy into projects that matter.

I am not, now, opposed to trying out new tools or apps. However, I think it is important to limit your output – the more outlets that you are having to keep up is a form of distraction in itself.

Here are some of the selections I have made:

Twitter NOT Facebook (sometimes Google+).
Cloud App NOT Posterous, Twitpic, yFrog and Mobypicture.
jamesmichie.com/blog NOT Amplify.

Each of these choices have helped me to streamline my web footprint, reduce friction, and find focus – allowing me to fully appreciate the value of ‘less’.

I leave with this thought:

Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquillity. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?

~ Marcus Aurelius

An edited life…

Less equals more.