Dave

Dave

@thisisdavekim.com

I (still) believe that we can create a more just and joyful world through design, technology, and community. And a fair bit of luck. Currently working on Applied AI stuff. Previously at IDEO, Gates Foundation, and ?What If! Innovation.

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I built Infinite Image as a way to explore art in new ways. It connects different pieces together based on color. Previously, I was using data from the Art Institute of Chicago and stumbled upon this incredible work by Alma Thomas.

If you ever find yourself stuck, paralyzed by a blank page or intimidated by a blinking cursor, try this. At the top of the page, address the note to someone you love. I write mine to my two kiddos.

You'll be surprised at how this little act loosens the pen. You're no longer writing into the void, you're writing a letter. And as you do that, you may even find that the tone of the note subtly becomes kinder and more human. Once the note is finished, delete the "Dear..." and send it out there.

Inevitable. What a sneaky, dangerous word. It closes off the possibility space and points to a specific (person’s, group’s, ideology’s) version of the future as the only one possible.

The best people I've met aren't strategy people or execution people. They're both. So when the cost of building something approaches 0, they go faster, but they're also more generative (and strategic and playful). They aren't just building derivatives of the same thing.

Every so often, I wonder what David Graeber would think of this moment. From bullshit jobs to anarchy to play to human ingenuity and more

If you ever doubted that branding matters, just look at how people are reacting to digital gardens vs personal operating systems.

After all of the AI-enhanced digital gardens have been set up, will you be wiser? Will you be more kind? Will you have more grace? Will you be more brave? Or is this just another example of dialing in your workshop and never actually making something.

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We're about to start the fourth season of our giving circle. If you'd like to donate alongside us for this season, give me a shout! We'd love to amplify our impact - and perhaps inspire you to start or join one yourself!

We're developing technology that has so much potential, and we're spending most of our time reinventing B2B SaaS. What is even going on? Is this because some of the finest* minds of our generation spent a decade optimizing the color of a blue button? * Caveat, caveat, caveat

While reading a friend's essay, I added this comment: Can pixels age? Do pixels have a patina? Can pixels show where the cursor has rubbed against it the most?

I've been thinking a lot about personal stories recently and stumbled on something Yancey Strickler wrote last year. "First we live, then we learn, and last we narrate." The path is rarely clear when you're on it. It's only when we look back at where we've been that we see the common thread.

I'm in the middle of researching social networks and what it might take for us to go "beyond the feed." It's such a treat to get together with other people and organizations who care deeply about how these social networks can be better and promote healthier and better experiences.

A beautiful exploration of what multisensorial computing could look and feel like by @wattenberger.com. She writes: The future of computing is being designed right now. Can we build something richer—something that moves with us, speaks our language, and molds to our bodies?

Amelia Wattenberger@wattenberger.com

wrote up some thoughts on how our interfaces are getting flatter, and how we might design with 💃 our bodies 🤸 in mind. 🧶 went ham on little yarn worlds wattenberger.com/thoughts/our...

Just a monthly reminder that there is a huge opportunity to reimagine how social networks operate. Still early innings (despite the incredible time warp that happens on the internet) bsky.app/profile/this...

Dave@thisisdavekim.com

A few things on my mind these days: Is it reasonable to expect a global advertising network to serve as a digital deliberation platform? Is it reasonable to expect a direct-to-outrage distribution channel to serve as a global town square?

"Weave the world you refuse to allow to be taken away from you." Just the note that I needed to read on this rainy day. Thanks, @benjaminlowe.bsky.social

Benjamin Lowe@benjaminlowe.bsky.social

A dear friend of mine asked me: "Ben ... serious question: What the fuck do we do? We ordinary citizens without access to any real levers of power." I wrote him a lengthy reply which he said he found helpful, so I thought I'd share it here. 🧵 1/

Still thinking about this bsky.app/profile/this...

Dave@thisisdavekim.com

A few things on my mind these days: Is it reasonable to expect a global advertising network to serve as a digital deliberation platform? Is it reasonable to expect a direct-to-outrage distribution channel to serve as a global town square?

A few things on my mind these days: Is it reasonable to expect a global advertising network to serve as a digital deliberation platform? Is it reasonable to expect a direct-to-outrage distribution channel to serve as a global town square?

Isn't it pretty strange that we don't have a clear definition or understanding of intelligence or attention? It feels like we are sensing different parts of the elephant, but no one has the full picture.

New weekly note! This week, I talk about: - Google Docs as crisis response tools (@eli.bsky.social, @elan.place, Robin Sloan, @genmon.bsky.social) - Community gardens as coral reefs for addressing climate change (Kate Brown) - Embracing a hybrid career path (John Maeda, @melaniekahl.bsky.social)

buff.lyWeeknotes - Week of 2024-11-111/ Eli Pariser from New Public published an open, collaborative bibliography as a Google Doc to collect what people are reading to understand the 2024 election. I love this pattern (although I hate…