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Last week, I went to a conference here in Melbourne. (Thanks to Kate & team for a lovely day!) Invariably, I get asked the same question about Offscreen and Dense Discovery: ‘How did you build up your audience?’
I always feel like my answer to this question is insufficient: ‘Be consistent. Be patient. Have an opinion, but be kind. The word will spread eventually.’ It’s all pretty vague, boring, non-actionable stuff that certainly does not make for a compelling growth hacking listicle. In fact, I probably miss out on a lot of ‘growth opportunities’ by not even following the digital marketing 101. Heck, there is not even an analytics tool on my website, so I know nothing about my visitors.
Read into that what you will. Perhaps respecting your visitors’ privacy and attention, and not engaging in any pushy marketing techniques simply pays off over time? Or I just got lucky. Either way, thanks for sticking around!
– Kai, Degrowth Hacker
PS: This is the ideal time to tell you to subscribe to Offscreen to be part of the first shipment of issue #21, due in late July. 😅
Dense Discovery is currently read by over 36,000 subscribers. Support us by (1) Sponsoring an issue, (2) Booking a classified ad, or (3) Sharing this issue with friends and colleagues.
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A Message from Ueno
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Ueno is a creative agency that uses ideas to solve complex problems. We are looking for good people like you to join us in various disciplines, like design, strategy, production, partnerships, web development, and more. Our offices are in San Francisco, New York and Reykjavík, and if you think we must be one of Ad Age’s ‘Best Places to Work in 2019’, you would be right. Go to ueno.careers to find out more, and see all our open positions.
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Apps & Sites
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Browser for responsive web dev
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Do you find yourself constantly resizing windows during responsive web development? Sizzy is a browser specifically made for people creating responsive web experiences, showing your choice of device previews.
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Bumpr, the app that lets you open links in your choice of browser, just got an update with a few interesting features. One of them lets you define custom rules for your favourite domains so that they always open up in specific browsers by default.
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Make your Touch Bar useful
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I use a BetterTouchTool to customise my MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, but it can be a bit fiddly to set up (and it still crashes from time to time). Pock seems like a simplified version of this. Choose from a bunch of useful widgets that make you actually want to use your Touch Bar.
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Does what it says on the tin: easily create beautiful flowcharts in a clutter-free environment through an intuitive interface.
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The Internet is Beautiful
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Weird and wonderful discoveries down the information superhighway
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What did Earth look like then? Play with an interactive globe and go back in time 20 million to 750 million years.
Generate and share a ‘warming stripe’ graphic for your location that shows how the temperature changed over the past 100+ years. (Here are Australia’s stripes.)
Explore new reading material through this weekly newsletter of single sentences from articles read by Darcie Wilder.
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Goods & Accessories
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USB-C hub/docking station
This vertical hub expands your available ports to 13 so you can attach your USB-C powered laptop or tablet to two HD monitors and a wide variety of peripherals and devices simultaneously, while delivering up to 70 watts of power to your machine.
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Exploring migration in all its forms
One of my favourite recent indie publishing projects is Migrant Journal, a magazine exploring the circulation of people, goods, information, fauna and flora around the world. Migrant just released their sixth and final issue which means you can now own the whole boxset of this timely relevant and beautiful publication.
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Overheard on Twitter
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We have a technology problem and we need a societal solution.
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Food For Thought
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This is why I believe a movement like Extinction Rebellion is extremely powerful, and perhaps the only hope left to initiate profound system change: “Looking at hundreds of campaigns over the last century, Chenoweth found that nonviolent campaigns are twice as likely to achieve their goals as violent campaigns. And although the exact dynamics will depend on many factors, she has shown it takes around 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure serious political change.”
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Last week, Tristan Harris from The Center of Humane Technology gave testimony before the US Senate on persuasive technology and the impact on society. This is the summary (and some further research) they presented. If you can’t spare 16 minutes, even just the first 5 min are definitely worth it. I’m so grateful for the work he and his colleagues are doing to inform policy makers at the highest level.
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One of my favourite creative thinkers/writers Frank Chimero in a new interview: “Take a look at the increase in discussion about burnout – a natural response from trying to thrive in an achievement culture. Fatigue happens to your body, but burnout exhausts your soul. Long hours of wasteful drudgery rub up against the belief that anything is possible. What can you do with that other than collapse?”
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Aesthetically Pleasing
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Casa Stencil is a beautiful, elegant stencil font that features soft curves and a sense of erosion.
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Love this gradient-based poster/brand exploration for Gradiente.
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Classifieds
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HeyDesigner – Daily curated newsletter for product people, UXers, PMs and frontend developers. Subscribe here.
Caveday helps remote workers around the world focus and connect through facilitated deep work sessions. Drop into the cave or become a member for $35/month.
Working as a freelancer can be a frustrating experience. Mastering Freelance shows you how to find motivation, get clients, and have long-term success. Use DENSE to get 20% off.
Mixkit Art is a curated gallery of beautiful art and illustration, made by some of the world’s most talented creators, and it’s all completely free to use commercially.
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Classifieds are paid ads that support DD and are seen by 36,000 subscribers each week.
Book yours →
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The Week in a GIF
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Email us the URL to your favourite GIF and we might feature it here in a future issue.
[email protected]
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