Sep 24
How to Make Sense of Any Mess —
Reading Notes on Abby Covert's How to Make Sense of Any Mess
[https://bookshop.org/books/how-to-make-sense-of-any-mess-information-architecture-for-everybody/9781500615994]
The Book in a Nutshell: The human race is creating more information than ever
before, in the form of signs, articles, websites, apps, and much more — and the
world would
Sep 24
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead —
Disclaimer: as a man writing about gender inequality, I acknowledge my
privileged (and biased) viewpoint in this discussion. I’ve run this post by
several smart, awesome women and incorporated their feedback, but I know I still
run the risk of getting things wrong. Still, this topic is so important
Sep 05
You Had One Job —
A list of all the jobs I've ever had
May 26
28 —
Photo by Jagoda Kondratiuk
[https://unsplash.com/@jagodakondratiuk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText]
on Unsplash
[https://unsplash.com/search/photos/28?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText]
A few years ago, I started a birthday tradition on this blog,
Apr 04
The Year Without Pants —
One of the few people who can match Paul Graham [http://paulgraham.com/] as
writer is Scott Berkun [http://scottberkun.com/]. They have both succeeded as
technologists, Graham in Viaweb + YC, and Berkun in Microsoft and Automattic.
They both write thoughtful essays on a wide range of topics, like the
Mar 22
How a Potluck Brunch Led to My New Job at Percolate —
I actually hadn’t heard much about Percolate before I moved to New York, but like many great opportunities, it emerged out of serendipity.
Mar 15
The Minimum Viable Transaction —
In 2009, an entrepreneur named Eric Ries coined at term that would move the
field of product development forward. The minimum viable product (MVP) making
something that could “collect the maximum amount of validated learning about
customers with the least effort
[https://www.jasonshen.com/%22http://www.startuplessonslearned.com/2009/
Mar 03
Training Makes it Possible —
Have you ever looked at someone who was really good at what they did and felt a
little daunted?
Maybe it’s how they seem to easily make connections with new people, or design
an amazing-looking web page over a weekend, or how they casually mention the 6
miles they
Feb 20
Product Design for the Web: Principles of Designing and Releasing Products for the Web (+ Author Interview) —
While on my Peru trip earlier this year, I read a great book calledProduct
Design for the Web: Principles of Designing and Releasing Products for the Web
[https://web.archive.org/web/20180929085121/http://tinyurl.com/productdesignftw]
.
As one of two interaction designers who joinedEtsy
[https://web.archive.org/web/
Feb 19
Product Design for the Web: Principles of Designing and Releasing Products for the Web —
No Silver Bullets: An Interview with Author Randy Hunt
While on my Peru trip earlier this year, I read a great book called Product
Design for the Web: Principles of Designing and Releasing Products for the Web
[https://www.amazon.com/Product-Design-Web-Principles-Designing/dp/0321929039].
As one of two interaction designers
Jan 10
One Woman’s Incredible Startup Journey in Peru —
The other night, while wandering the bustling streets of Barranco, my adopted
neighborhood in Lima, Peru, I walked into a Chinese restaurant called Chifa Hong
Fu. [1]
I was struggling with the Spanish-only menu and was attempting to ask the
waitress what was in the various dishes, when this woman
Dec 07
17 Essential Best Practices for Making Things Happen —
I previously wrote about
[https://jasonshen.com/sarah-allens-little-rules-for-working-life/] my PIF
coworker Sarah Allen’s little rules of working life
[http://www.ultrasaurus.com/sarahblog/2013/09/little-rules-for-working-life/],
which I thought was pretty awesome. I decided to think through some of my own
rules, or as I’m calling them, “Best
Nov 24
Becoming a Free Agent —
On December 16, 2013 I will complete my Presidential Innovation Fellowship at the Smithsonian. And as I don’t have another gig lined up, it means I’ll be a free agent starting on 12/17.
I’ll be a bit of a moving target for a month: packing up
Oct 01
Training to Dunk —
Brandon Todd is 5’5″ and can dunk a basketball. At that height, you need a 42+
inches vertical leap to have a chance of putting the ball in the hoop
[http://dunkcalculator.com/]. This is pretty insane. Todd trained for three
years, putting on 85 lbs of muscle to
Sep 24
The Elements of Content Strategy —
Today, we're looking at a fantastic book on creating, organizing, and managing
the words, images, and media of our world. It’s called The Elements of Content
Strategy [http://www.abookapart.com/products/the-elements-of-content-strategy].
The Book in a Nutshell: Content strategy is a discipline that stems from a
Sep 13
Sarah Allen’s Little Rules For Working Life —
I’ve learned a lot of stuff working with the fellows in my program, particularly
Sarah Allen [https://web.archive.org/web/20160505230149/http://ultrasaurus.com/]
, who’s paired with me on the Smithsonian Transcription Center
[https://web.archive.org/web/20160505230149/http://transcription.si.edu/]. I
noticed that she’
Aug 12
My Experience with Toastmasters —
I always thought Toastmasters [http://toastmasters.org/] was like one of those
quaint support-group esque membership organizations, in the same category as
Boy Scouts, Rotary clubs, and Alcoholics Anonymous. And indeed, some quick
Googling reveals they were all founded in the early 1900’s
[http://www.toastmasters.org/Members/MembersFunctionalCategories/
Jul 04
A New Adventure: Working at the Smithsonian as a Presidential Innovation Fellow —
A little over two years ago, I wrote about taking the leap to start a company. Starting and building Ridejoy has one of the most thrilling, challenging, humbling and educational experiences of my life. That chapter of my life is coming to a close and I am embarking on a
Jun 04
27 —
So I turned 27 about a week ago.
Last year, for my 26th birthday,
[https://web.archive.org/web/20170722134846/http://www.jasonshen.com/2012/a-giveaway-for-my-twenty-sixth-birthday/]
I had a giveaway where I asked you, readers, to share your biggest lesson you
wish you learned when you turned 26 — or who
May 27
Why Practice Actually Makes Perfect —
How to rewire your brain for better performance
Growing up, we all heard the expression “practice makes perfect” from our high
school coach/music teacher. Then Malcolm Gladwell went on to popularize the
research that expertise developed over “10,000 hours” of deliberate practice.
But how does that really work?