Industry News

Chris Jones posted a really solid overview of The Product Designer Role that’s very much worth your time:

Your next task is to define the product design role within your company. This is an important one to get right. You don’t want to simply recreate an internal version of the agency model. The way that products are created has changed dramatically in recent years and new models for design are a critical part of this.

He goes over what he believes are the 5 core responsibilities...

There are a couple of interesting articles about Frank Ocean’s new album and how it’s causing a lot of waves in the music industry. The short version is that Ocean found a clever way to get out of his agreement with his label Def Jam, and sign an exclusive deal with Apple Music instead. As Ben Sisario notes in Frank Ocean’s ‘Blonde’ Amplifies Discord in the Music Business, the labels aren’t happy:

“The unprecedented run of exclusives by digital music services has put a tremendous...

The big news from last week was the new Google penalty coming January 10...

What does this acquisition of Flyby Media mean for Apple’s Efforts in developing Augmented Reality Devices and Media?

I noticed this headline in the news this morning: Apple patent details visual-based AR navigation, confirms Flyby Media...

This year at Mozcon, we’re doing something new — featuring some of the most unique, creative, and mind-expanding advertisements of the last few years during the breaks (just before we introduce the next speakers).
e.g. this praise-garnering Deutsche LA Volkswagen ad from 2011

But rather than just editorially select the ads, we’d love to have your contributions and +1s on which ads resonated and which you think marketers should see.

We’d love to have your suggestions via the comments...

Mary Choi’s Wired feature on the social media lives of teens is utterly fascinating. I don’t even know where to begin. Let’s start with this bit from Like. Flirt. Ghost: A Journey Into the Social Media Lives of Teens:

Then there is the rule about likes and comments. According to Lara and Sofia, when your friend posts a selfie on Instagram, there’s a tacit social obligation to like it, and depending on how close you are, you may need to comment. The safest option, especially on a...

Andy Budd asks, Are we moving towards a post-Agile age?

Perhaps we’re moving towards a post-Agile world? A world that is informed by the spirit of Agile, but has much more flexibility and nuance built in.

This post-Agile world draws upon the best elements of Agile, while ditching the dogma. It also draws upon the best elements of Design Thinking and even — God forbid — the dreaded Waterfall process.

People working in a post-Agile way don’t care which canon an idea...

Giff Constable writes about The difference between design and product management and makes this good point about the nature of the PM role:

A big difference is where they spend their time. You’ll hear me call design and engineering “deep dive” roles, while PM is a multi-tasking role, which is why it is relatively easier for PMs to assume more of a leadership role. Even though we work in very collaborative ways (“rough draft culture”) at Axial, both design and engineering require...

This NYT report on the massive political news force Facebook has become is quite something. From John Herrman’s article Inside Facebook’s (Totally Insane, Unintentionally Gigantic, Hyperpartisan) Political-Media Machine:

But truly Facebook-native political pages have begun to create and refine a new approach to political news: cherry-picking and reconstituting the most effective tactics and tropes from activism, advocacy and journalism into a potent new mixture. This strange new class...