Dont go chasing easy answers: This week Paul and Rich are joined by Microsoft veteran Adam Barr to speak about his new book, The Problem with Software . Barr worked as a programmer for Microsoft for over 20 years and during this time he saw a number of troubling patterns in software development. We chat with Adam about whats changed in the industry over the years and about the need for better education for programmers. Adam also gives us an inside scoop on what it was like working for Microsoft ...
May 14, 2019•29 min•Ep 168•Transcript available on Metacast Prioritize growth and allow for risk: This week Paul and Rich come back from holiday to discuss the best ways to encourage creative thinking. We uncover the relationship between reducing clutter and problem solving. We discuss the importance of deadlines and prioritization as tools to better organize your thoughts and make time for the things that matter. We also discuss the paradoxical trick for better growth and productivity: stepping away from our computer screens rather than towards them....
May 07, 2019•20 min•Ep 166•Transcript available on Metacast Email sucks: On this weeks episode of Track Changes, Paul Ford and Gina Trapani reflect on how Gmail has revolutionized email over the past fifteen years. We recall the many iterations the platform has gone throughgoing all the way back to the days when it was invite only and discuss the many flaws that still remain. Is there ever going to be a productive solution to deal with that ever growing pile of emails? Links: Superhuman: The Fastest Email Experience Ever Made Lifehacker: The Guide to Wor...
Apr 30, 2019•33 min•Ep 165•Transcript available on Metacast This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich sit down with a live studio audience to discuss funnels. Lately, Salesforce and Mailchimp seem to be everywhere, from the buildings around us to the platforms were creating for clients. How can we integrate sales funnels without destroying user trust? Can we understand the immense economy underneath each online click? What does this mean for the future of the platforms we create? Spoiler: Paul created an acronym to help us out! LINKS Salesforce Mulesoft ...
Apr 23, 2019•34 min•Ep 164•Transcript available on Metacast Beyond metaphors and into the digital future : In 1973, Xerox PARC introduced the Xerox Alto. It was the first computer to support an operating system based on a graphical user interface. This began the desktop metaphor; the computer monitor as if it were the top of the user's desk. Forty-six years later, the metaphor lives on. We talk about files and documents even when theres nothing to print. Why are we still hung up on the desktop? Can we imagine a digital future free of off-screen compariso...
Apr 16, 2019•23 min•Ep 163•Transcript available on Metacast The battle over the App Store is far from over: In March Spotify launched Time to Play Fair , a website outlining how Apple mistreats companies like Spotify by charging excessive fees, blocking upgrades and promoting its own services in its App Store. Shortly after, Apple fired back in a press release, making the case that Spotifys claims are misleading This week, Paul and Rich weigh in on the squabble. Is Apple really muscling in on Spotify? How symbiotic is their relationship? Why is Spotify m...
Apr 09, 2019•20 min•Ep 162•Transcript available on Metacast Why Go In?: On todays episode of Track Changes, Rich and Paul sit down with Andrew Smith, a journalist and writer who recently learned to code. We talk about following curiosity, and learning to program in a world where almost everything we interact with is mediated by code. We discuss Andrews pivot from writing about music and culture, to technology and high-finance, and dissect what that says about our lives today. We also get some insight into Andrews most recent research into the kids who ra...
Apr 02, 2019•33 min•Ep 161•Transcript available on Metacast It is always a negotiation: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich discuss how to be a good manager and leader of people. We compare past experiences weve had as managers at our worst and best selves, and what weve learned from them (Tip: do not passive aggressively go in!). We discuss the importance of building a culture of speed and execution from the beginning, and how to foster conversation around timelines and scope. Paul and Rich also give tips on how to push back on a managers demands,...
Mar 26, 2019•24 min•Ep 160•Transcript available on Metacast Turning the universal mouse button on its head: this week, Paul and Rich discuss the importance of getting into new skills and unlearning old habits. We look at Richs new interest in Blender, how its led to him making a beautiful hotdog, and the time it takes to learn how to use a 6 button mouse (spoiler: it doesnt take long!). We talk about how the phone is the new computer and what that means for the future of the desktop. We also invite you all to attend our live podcast taping on April 11th ...
Mar 19, 2019•33 min•Ep 159•Transcript available on Metacast Good design doesnt have to be complex: Like many, Rich feels like a bit of an outsider when it comes to design. To non-designers, the field can seem confusing, at times even intimidating. But it doesn't have to be like this way. At Postlight, design drives the process, and in this episode we break down that process. Paul and Rich are joined by Postlights directors of product design, Skyler Balbus and Matt Quintanilla, who lead Relay, the Postlight design sprint. What is a design sprint? What mak...
Mar 12, 2019•33 min•Ep 157•Transcript available on Metacast Can a reclusive coder become a criminal mastermind?: Journalist and author Evan Ratliff spent four years piecing together the story of Paul Le Roux, a programmer who began by selling hundreds of millions of dollars worth of painkillers through an online prescription drug network but he didn't settle. The rest of Le Rouxs story spirals into a grim parody of startup culture not even a novelist couldve dreamed up. In this episode Paul and Rich sit down with Ratliff to discuss his new book, The Mast...
Mar 05, 2019•30 min•Ep 157•Transcript available on Metacast The web is a mess, and its getting messier: This is something you know if you read articles online. Close the pop-up, scroll past the ads, and click next page to finish the piece. Youre right, it shouldnt have to be this hard. In 2009, Rich hacked together simple bookmarklet called Readability, which would turn a cluttered article page into the essentials a headline, headers, images, and the article. The projects impact is undeniable. After more than five years of operation, Readability was shut...
Feb 26, 2019•28 min•Ep 156•Transcript available on Metacast A Creative Path to Find What's Next : Harper Reed could have listed his many accomplishments on the historical monument he installed in his parents front yard. It could have said that he founded Modest, a mobile retail startup eventually acquired by Paypal, or that he was CTO of Threadless and the 2012 reelection campaign of Barack Obama. Instead, he and his brother Dylan chose to commemorate their exploration of Uranus. Its no wonder Rich often hears Paul say I wonder what Harper Reed would thi...
Feb 19, 2019•34 min•Ep 155•Transcript available on Metacast Less is more: Theres nothing cool or sexy about a pitch deck. Business folk love them. Theyre meant to convince the viewer of something. Some people have a talent for producing them, but most need a bit of guidance. Like them or not, pitch decks run the world and making a good one may not be as straightforward as you think. How do you make a purposeful, beautiful, even entertaining deck? Years of appealing to large clients has taught Paul and Rich a thing or two about creating a cogent presentat...
Feb 12, 2019•27 min•Ep 154•Transcript available on Metacast It isnt Glamorous, But its Critical. In this episode, Paul and Rich explore a time-consuming component of product development: Authentication. You know the drill. You save time and having to memorize another pesky password by using Google or Facebook to log on to a website. But is the proliferation of external authentication providers on the web a good thing or not? Which companies should invest in setting up their own authentication system, and which ones should save their web developers and on...
Feb 05, 2019•24 min•Ep 153•Transcript available on Metacast Behind Every Great Media Outlet Is Clever Analytics Software:This week Rich and Paul speak to Josh Schwartz, chief of product at Chartbeat, the content analytic ssoftware used by media heavy weights across the globe, including The New York Times, CNN and The Washington Post. Which stories work and which ones tank? Do media organizations really need to pivot to video? Is the online quiz dead? Do numbers in a headline matter? Should analytics drive content? Josh talks to Rich and Paul about how Ch...
Jan 29, 2019•28 min•Ep 151•Transcript available on Metacast Fear, Flattery and Word Salad: In this weeks episode, Paul and Rich spill (not-so-secret) insider secrets and discuss what businesses should be wary of when hiring a digital agency. Analytics change, as does the in-house vision for a product. How can you ensure that your agency will accommodate the dynamic development process while staying within your budget? Why is it important to remain on equal ground with your agencyand what has that got to do with acronyms? At what point is it important to ...
Jan 22, 2019•21 min•Ep 151•Transcript available on Metacast Conversations are Terrible. Podcasts are Good: 2018 was a rough year for technology in the popular mind. We look at what went wrong to see how it can inform the future tech of 2019. We could say that 2019 is about accepting the fact that were all doomed. Or, in keeping with our theme of optimism, we could look forward to things like 5G networks, better machine learning, and the continued success of Pinterest and Etsy. What does Etsy have that Facebook doesnt? How can we all accept that community...
Jan 15, 2019•26 min•Ep 150•Transcript available on Metacast Tradition and the Digital Age:On this episode of Track Changes, we sit down with Perry Hewitt, the former Chief Digital Officer of Harvard University (ever heard of it?) to break down the duties of her job. Perry talks about what its like stepping into that role in an institution that emphasizes history and tradition. When Harvard adapts to digital, what kind of problems need to be solved? How do you measure the health of their digital properties? How do you make Harvard look good? We discuss th...
Jan 08, 2019•33 min•Ep 149•Transcript available on Metacast Cultural Dialogue is The Person Of The Year: People, corporations, and governments expressed their hesitation and suspicion towards tech in 2018. Is Facebook demolishing the pillars of society? Is your child doing Fortnite dances? Where has blockchain landed among ordinary people? On this week's episode we talk about the tech that stood out in 2018 and look at what changed for us internally. We had Postlight's third year anniversary and have continued growing. We have a little more process and a...
Dec 18, 2018•31 min•Ep 148•Transcript available on Metacast Why Do People Want To See Others Fail? This week on Track Changes, we take a look at the power dynamics that play out when we go into big companies to solve problems and ship software. What happens when organizations show that they dont want our help after theyve brought us on? Why are people resistant to scaling? Is it because were taking all the cool jobs? There are three ways to overcome that: Firstly, use your advocate. Let them lead. Somebody brought you here. Your failure is their failure;...
Dec 11, 2018•23 min•Ep 147•Transcript available on Metacast Theres a Difference Between School and Real Life: This week on Track Changes, Paul and Rich sit down with Allan Chochinov, chair of the MFA in Products of Design program at the School of Visual Arts and founder of design network Core77. We talk about who is really teachable, building good design from huge problems, the vast applications of "design thinking", and how much time is wasted on meetings. Allan shares two incredible medical UX-design moments that he's witnessed building an at home diag...
Dec 04, 2018•43 min•Ep 146•Transcript available on Metacast Photo by Joe Lewandowski on Unsplash Its Black Friday Forever in America: This week on Track Changes we ask the question on everyones minds: Are we happy that Amazon has come to Queens?On one hand, our own consumer choices have brought this upon us. Amazon is great at eliminating steps (hey there Same-Day Delivery and 1-Click Ordering). But on the other hand, we're now reliant, and can't live without them.Is Amazon is obsessed with scale and expansion?Will New York tolerate not owning an entire ...
Nov 27, 2018•32 min•Ep 145•Transcript available on Metacast Everything You Like Is Garbage:You know the creepy feeling of walking into a dark room and finding your kid hunched over the iPad with their eyes glazed over? So do we. On this weeks episode, Paul and Rich talk about addiction and obsession words that are used interchangeably but that speak to different experiences. What kind of parenting decisions need to be made when kids are addicted to screens? What are Silicon Valley parents doing for their kids in response to the tech they push into the wo...
Nov 20, 2018•30 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast How Do We Move The Rectangle: Its no secret that we think design is integral to engineering great products . This week Gina Trapani and Skyler Balbus are joined by Dylan Field, CEO of Figma, to talk about how Figmas collaborative interface design tool came to be. We talk about how diverse creative backgrounds are essential to building design teams, how browser-based tools leave designers at the mercy of the browser, and the ways in which constraint inspires creativity and partnerships. Dylan als...
Nov 13, 2018•25 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast <p>The Web is a Complex Place: Have you noticed that Track Changes has migrated off of Medium? That got us thinking about WordPress as a platform thats changed enormously in the past few years. Front-end development has<em>exploded</em>. The way we use the web changed. No longer are we simply delivering pages and searching for things, were using the web to explore an infinite space! So how has WordPress responded to the levels of abstraction weve piled on to web development? Is...
Nov 06, 2018•22 min•Ep 143•Transcript available on Metacast Dont Add Bullshit To The World: In recent episodes youve heard from Paul, Rich, and various guests talk about scaling , ethics , design , and engineering now its time to hear from Postlights other leaders. We discuss the diverse backgrounds of our leadership team, how have their roles have changed over time, and how we come together to make good software while shipping great products. This episode is also the debut of Pauls new, deeper voice, which Gina Trapani calls a massage for your ears....
Oct 30, 2018•39 min•Ep 141•Transcript available on Metacast Tech is Giant, Monolithic, and Scary: This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade meet with Louise Matsakis to discuss how tech reporting has evolved alongside the hyper-growth of tech companies. How has the role of journalists changed? Which companies are difficult to talk to, and which are the easiest? More often than before, Louise says that journalists are playing the role of content moderators, forcing platforms to do more introspection and make broader changes. We touch on whats topical in tech re...
Oct 23, 2018•29 min•Ep 140•Transcript available on Metacast Creating a Language We Can Carry Forward: People get really good at bad habits. When we talk about digital transformation , were talking about more than software and systemswere dealing with how people work with software and with each other. This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade discuss Upgrade , our report on digital transformation. Why did we call it Upgrade? Because thats what were almost always striving for. We talk about how real digital transformation happens, from idea through execution. Wh...
Oct 16, 2018•21 min•Ep 139•Transcript available on Metacast Never Going Away:Its hard to conceive how tech giants will be destroyed. Might it be Government regulation? Another Great Depression? Genius disruption from Topeka, Kansas ? This week, Paul Ford and Rich Ziade discuss the changeable future of tech by looking to the past. How does a company go from owning the market in a red-hot moment to a shadow of its former self? We talk about where companies like Microsoft and Xerox went wrongand what they did rightwhile trying to predict what will finally u...
Oct 09, 2018•32 min•Ep 138•Transcript available on Metacast 
