What Is Creative Capital, Anyway?: This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade meet with Jules Ehrhardt , founder of Creative Capitol Studio FKTRY , the author of the term digital product studio, and an advocate for authenticity. On this episode, we talk about the problems with the old-guard agency model, where creatives are going instead, and how creativity is commodified and sold like sausage links. How does authenticity impact design? How are we changing the way we think about creativity by defining ...
Oct 02, 2018•36 min•Ep 137•Transcript available on Metacast Harpal Singh <p>Design is Not an Add-On: Why did it take so long for design to come back into the conversation? This week, <a href="https://medium.com/u/168dab556633" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Ford</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/u/829d19bc636a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rich Ziade</a> talk about Digital Transformation and the marriage between Design and Engineering. We talk about how how...
Sep 25, 2018•30 min•Ep 136•Transcript available on Metacast Making the World a Better Place: This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade discuss how the ingegrity of platforms like Facebook and Twitter has been compromised by their growth. We talk about Facebook as a company versus Facebook as a system, and why they are crumbling. Was the company ignoring user concerns or just waiting until it impacted their profit? Rich2:00: People deciding that the governors of the Facebook world werent taking care of it well enough such that theyre emigrating out of it is a v...
Sep 18, 2018•33 min•Ep 135•Transcript available on Metacast <p>Trusting Your Gut: This week, <a href="https://medium.com/u/168dab556633" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Ford</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/u/829d19bc636a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rich Ziade</a> are joined by <a href="http://www.marketfield.com/index.html" target="_blank">Michael Shaoul</a>, the philosopher-manager of <a href="http://www.marketfie...
Sep 11, 2018•28 min•Ep 134•Transcript available on Metacast Pull to Refresh? How about Smile to Fave: This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade discuss the building blocks of software development. Why do apps so often look and behave the same? We break down the tension between working within beautifully designed parameters and the need to innovate. What principles do fast food and software share, and does this have anything to do with why Paul had so much trouble ordering his salad? iTunes / SoundCloud / Overcast / Stitcher / MP3 / RSS Paul2:55: This is the th...
Sep 04, 2018•25 min•Ep 133•Transcript available on Metacast Product is Humbling: This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade talk about John Carreyrous Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies In a Silicon Valley Startup, a book about what can go wrong when you believe stuff. Drawing comparisons to Wild Wild Countrys Baghwan and the late Steve Jobs, this episode discusses the founder of Theranos charisma within the culture of Silicon Valley. Was the failure of Theranos to deliver its product a case of collective megalomania, mass hysteria, or simply a refusal to say I dont k...
Aug 28, 2018•28 min•Ep 132•Transcript available on Metacast Dont Quit Your Day Job: This week, <a href="https://medium.com/u/168dab556633" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Paul Ford</a> and <a href="https://medium.com/u/e7173b64fd0d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gina Trapani</a> sit down with <a href="https://medium.com/u/3f5dbabb6556" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rick Webb</a>, COO of <a href="https://www.timehop.com&qu...
Aug 21, 2018•31 min•Ep 131•Transcript available on Metacast The Only Success that Matters: This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade discuss the figurative moats that protect companies like Facebook, Amazon, and Google from competition. Has anybody really figured out how to disrupt their markets? Why isnt Postlight jumping on machine learning and blockchain ? This episode is about companies zeroing in on their own strengths and focusing on their right-sized ideas. Paul3:10:How do you function and thrive in a world where you know youre never going to be the big...
Aug 14, 2018•29 min•Ep 130•Transcript available on Metacast Learning from Failure: On this weeks episode Paul Ford and Will Denton sit down with Victor Lombardi to talk about how great experience design often fails. We talk about taking a humanist approach to UX design within a corporate role, look at design that has failed, and find ways to detect early signs of failure. We also make fun of Google Plus. iTunes / SoundCloud / Overcast / Stitcher / MP3 / RSS Victor4:47: When your product is money, its hard not to get greedy. Victor6:58: That blew me away:...
Aug 07, 2018•32 min•Ep 129•Transcript available on Metacast Great Experience Design Leads To Anti-Competitive Practices:In the wake of the EUs decision to issue Google a $5 billion fine, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade talk about how great experience design obliterates competition while antitrust laws cramp designers style. In between conversations about the ethics of being able to choose, we learn that Rich would die without being able to choose between Vietnamese and Italian coffee, and whispers that Postlight could be shipping an app to finally unite people ...
Jul 31, 2018•28 min•Ep 128•Transcript available on Metacast Two Jabrons Shooting the Shit: Source management, change management, version controlis there a better, more modern way to track changes in software? This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade hash it out. For decades, change management has been a huge part of computing, but how has it developed over time? What works, what hasnt, and where are we heading? iTunes / SoundCloud / Overcast / Stitcher / MP3 / RSS Paul3:00: Really what its about is that life is not linear, work is not linear. Two people need ...
Jul 24, 2018•26 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast How does systems thinking influence design thinking? How much of shipping new design is about coping with anxiety? What do designers and basketball players have in common? From Abstract Theory to Capitalist Practice: This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade meet with designer Robyn Kanner to discuss her journey from a tiny art school to a UX designer at Amazon to the founder of MyTransHealth. We talk about the conversations designers should be having and the complex systems that inspire Robyns design...
Jul 17, 2018•29 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast The Game of Product Management: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade record a live podcast episode at our Ship It! meetup . We dive into the blockers that slow us down, the drivers that move us forward and we compete to see who can ship it . We also get a window into Pauls keynote skills! 4:00 Paul: [Product Management] is kind of the uber topic of our existence: How do we get these things shipped? We might know how to engineer, we might know how to design, but putting it all together and getting ...
Jul 10, 2018•25 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast How did TIVO lead to Netflix? How does good software lead to empowerment? In this episode, we deconstruct the everyday impact of great software. Its pretty cool having control of the screen: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade meet with their friend Timothy Meaney , VP Product & Quality at Insight Catastrophe , to talk about what makes software great. Between the earliest spreadsheet programs, the hidden databases upholding Manhattan, and the ChromeBook interface that makes Pauls kids cry, we lea...
Jul 03, 2018•28 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast Virtual vs. Physical Privacy: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade talk about privacy around your data and devices. We talk about search warrants, argue about the systemic problems of the prison system, and look into the ways that encrypted messaging is influencing our laws. We also get a preview into Richs life as a lawyer! [audio player] iTunes / SoundCloud / Overcast / Stitcher / MP3 / RSS 2:38 Paul: Anybody can sue you for anything, at any time. So you need to be buttoned up, but also plan for...
Jun 26, 2018•26 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast We sit down with the host of Zig Zag to talk about decentralization, feminism, and how the blockchain might fix journalism The creators of Zig Zag: Manoush Zomorodi and JenPoyant Capitalism, Journalism, and Women: This week Paul Ford and xarissa sit down with Manoush Zomorodi to talk about her new podcast, Zig Zag , and why she left a steady job at NYPR to create a media company on the blockchain. We chat about what it means to create a podcast on a technology no one really understands yet, the ...
Jun 19, 2018•31 min•Ep 122•Transcript available on Metacast How does the endless scroll of Netflix impact our desire for sneakers? How does the manufactured scarcity of shoes influence a billion-dollar secondary market? What is a sneaker bot? The difference between iPhones and Sneakers: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade sit down with product designer Matthew Famularo to talk about sneaker appreciation, manufactured scarcity, and the second-hand marketplace built around sneakers. We get acquainted with sneaker bots and discuss the ways that teens unknowi...
Jun 12, 2018•34 min•Ep 121•Transcript available on Metacast Are you sick of productivity apps and social platforms that hijack your time? What happens when a platform encourages creativity rather than distracting us? How can you raise capital from users rather than ads? by ChrisSherron Less machine learning, less algorithms, less likes: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade meet with Charles Broskoski , founder of Are.na , to discuss how his platform moves away from the like-based models of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We talk about how pattern recogni...
Jun 05, 2018•26 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast How many cake decorating videos does it take to disrupt the platform economy? Would forcing constraint on platforms generate better content? How do we reconcile unlimited access to an infinite library when were being pummeled by bad content? Endless scrolling is the opium of the people: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade discuss how platforms like Spotify, Netflix, and Youtube have turned into an inescapable hellscape of unfocused content. We talk about being disappointed with the infinite media...
May 29, 2018•33 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast Paul and Gina meet up with Christian Madsbjerg to discuss the ideas behind his new book, Sensemaking: The Power of Humanities in the Age of the Algorithm What happens when you take a philosopher out of their element and plunk them into management? How can the business and tech worlds benefit from the humanities? Are we putting too much trust into algorithms and the promise of artificial intelligence? Courtesy of ReD Associates Just because Google does it, doesnt mean we should do it too: This we...
May 22, 2018•29 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast What conversations can we have in email? When do we need to transition them into meetings? How can we make meetings more productive, and less of a waste of time? Like Startups, Most Meetings Fail: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade chat about the inefficiency of frequent meetings. We discuss what makes a meeting fail within the first few minutes, and provide strategies that can be deployed to make them successful (like defining a leader). We also complain about the neverending email thread, and ...
May 15, 2018•30 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast How can true information be used to rile communities? What is the difference between misinformation, disinformation and malinformation? How is deception tracked and quantified? Is the next generation more media literate? Hagen-Dazs is from the Bronx; Umami is from LA: This week, Paul Ford sits down with Encyclopedia of Misinformation author Rex Sorgatz . We discuss his new book, the ways marketers, newsrooms, and scientists use deception to their advantage, and the diffusion of misinformation. W...
May 08, 2018•30 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast How have sales funnels changed in the past 20 years? What actually is a CRM or CMS? Are they merging together into a larger client management platform? This week, Paul and Rich sit down to discuss the new way of onboarding customers. Systems Collide Into Each Other: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade sit down to talk about bringing the right clients into your company. We explain the three pillars that are working behind sucessful customer relationships: sales, customer service, and marketing. We...
May 01, 2018•30 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast How can you build software on small budgets and short timelines, without making everyones life worse? How can clients get a bunch of vendors on the same page? Is it even worth trying? A Bad Way to Build Software?: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade chat about the problems youre going to face when you hire multiple companies to build a single piece of software. We discuss the communication, latency and separate agendas that hinder the process of software creation and give advice on how to make it...
Apr 24, 2018•31 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast How did cyberpunks and activists affect the tech industry? Do we understand the history of the internet? How much of what we know comes only from a mans perspective? This week, Claire L. Evans tells us about her new book, Broad Band, and the women who created the internet. Photo by Jaclyn Campanaro There Were Women In The Room: This week Paul Ford and Gina Trapani sit down with Claire L. Evans to chat about her new book, Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made the Internet . We discus...
Apr 17, 2018•27 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast What information is Facebook gathering? Do we really understand how our data is being used? Is it time for Silicon Valley to step up and address our concerns around privary? This week, Paul and Rich sit down to discuss the problems with Facebook (beyond its ugly interface) and the lack of governing body around our data security. Mark Zuckerberg holding a cat (that is very muchalive) They Have One Product: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade sit down to chat about the hellscape that is Facebook. W...
Apr 10, 2018•28 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast How do you grow a company successfully? How do you build a company that values its culture over its profit margins? Can you successfully grow a company that started in NYC, in Lebanon? This week, Paul and Rich sit down to talk about the growth of Postlight and the amazing new team in Beirut! The Postlight office in Beirut,Lebanon! Growing in Two Places: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade sit down to talk about the growth of Postlight. We chat about how Richs Lebanese background informs the cultu...
Apr 03, 2018•26 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast Is the blockchain more than bitcoin? Can the publishing space be taken out of the hands of banks and billionaires? Can local journalists band together to make the change? This week, Paul and Rich sit down with Maria Bustillos to discuss the future of the news on her new blockchain-powered publication, Popula. Blockchain Fever: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade sit down with Maria Bustillos to talk to about Popula a blockchain based publication on news and culture. We chat about what it means to...
Mar 27, 2018•29 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast Can electrical engineers create tangible objects? Do we really need to be writing lines of code in a text-editor to be programming? Is it time for society to redefine what it means to compute? This week, Paul and Rich sit down with Bret Victor to discuss his journey from Electrical Engineer at Caltech, to UI Designer at Apple, to Creator of his ultimate vision, Dynamicland. The building is a computer; the computer is a building: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade sit down with Bret Victor to tal...
Mar 20, 2018•37 min•Ep 109•Transcript available on Metacast Has the entry-level to the internet become too high? Has the purpose of the web shifted from a software platform to an information delivery tool? Have we lost site of what the internet really is? This week, Paul and Rich sit down to discuss the levels of abstraction weve created to make the web easier, and the problems it has created. The website as we know it is gone: This week Paul Ford and Rich Ziade sit down to talk to about the expansion and simultaneous shrinking of the web. We talk about ...
Mar 13, 2018•29 min•Ep 107•Transcript available on Metacast 
