This is the third in a series of posts showing how we use Campfire as our virtual office. All screenshots shown are from real usage and were taken during one week in September.

This time we’ll take a look at how Campfire is an integral part of our sysadmin and development efforts.

Discover and fix a code failure
Whenever someone checks in a piece of code, CIA (Continous Integration Agent) automatically runs our test suites and reports on any failed tests.

Analyze a server problem
David and Mark discuss a server issue.

Subversion shows changes to the code
Subversion tracks changes Ryan recently uploaded. Jason offers kudos on the copy edit made.

Tell everyone about a server change
Sam deploys changes to Backpack and details what was changed.

Nice design on this three-fold antiobiotic card: big statement on top w/ three key points, side effects listed in the middle, and the pills with clear labeling on the bottom.

[via RS]

Related: The perfect prescription bottle [SvN]

In case you haven’t visited the Job Board lately, there’s a handy live search tool there that makes it easy to filter the listings instantly. It’s a great way to narrow your search down to jobs in your area (or area of expertise).

This is the second in a series of posts showing how we use Campfire as our virtual office. All screenshots shown are from real usage and were taken during one week in September.

In the first “Behind the scenes” post, we showed how we use Campfire for design. Now let’s take a look at how it helps us code. To the examples…

Offer code advice
Ryan sees a couple different ways to code an element and asks Sam for advice. A few things to note here: 1) They enter the “Small Talk” room that we use for sidebar discussions. Chatting in a separate room eliminates distractions and keeps the main room clear for the rest of the team. 2) Sharing images inline makes it easy to see what’s being discussed. This is superhandy for both design and programming issues. 3) The “View paste” feature makes it easy to share snippets of code (and clearly differentiates code from regular entries).

Keep code clean and clear
We always strive to keep code clean. Here, Ryan writes a method and shares it with the wizards who guide him toward a simpler solution.

“Millennials” is the nickname for people born between 1980 and 1995. Last week, 60 minutes ran a story about this generation in the workplace. Here’s what viewers learned about this group from the story:

1. Many Milennials think anyone over 30 can’t be trusted and can’t be counted upon to be coherent.

2. Milennials want to “roll into work with their iPods and flip flops around noon, but still be CEO by Friday.”

3. Milennials need someone to teach them that they should cover up tattoos in the office, “especially if you are going to be meeting clients.” They also need to be taught how to eat with a knife and fork and how to work.

4. Milennials think living with your parents while in your mid 20s is “a very smart, wise, economic decision.”

5. Milennials’ parents sometimes phone HR and say, “But my little Susie or little Johnny didn’t get the performance evaluation that I think they deserve.”

6. The best way to keep Milennials as employees is to offer goofy parades, snoozing in the nap room, and plenty of happy hours. Also, managers should shave their head when a goal is reached. Or be in the dunk tank at the summer picnic. “When a senior manager’s willing to do that is, it says we’re all in it together.”

7. Milennials want employers to send a letter to their parents saying, “You know, Ryan did a great job. Yeah, I just wanted to let you know you raised a fantastic son.”

What a crock of shit.

Are you really telling me that 20 somethings don’t know how to use a knife and fork? (Are they potty trained yet?) And they really want managers to write gold star notes to their parents? And they really want to see their managers in the dunk tank at the summer picnic? Dunk tank at the summer picnic?! Yeah, that’s totally what kids are into these days. What on earth is this story talking about?

The unfortunate part: 60 Minutes is like catnip to old people and many of them probably bought into the whole piece. More fuel for the “these darn kids today” fire that older generations seem to love so much.

I guess it’s a constant cycle. “The greatest generation” is always the one that’s about to die. (Really, who can debate them? There’s no one around to argue that the greatest generation was actually those born between, say, 1620-1650.)

And this older group always thinks the latest generation is made up of lazy do-nothings who don’t understand hard work or discipline. It’s like that old Bill Cosby line: “We had to walk to school, ten miles, in the snow, uphill. Both ways!”

Too bad a respected media source like 60 Minutes is pushing this hokum though. I guess they have to sandwich all those Cialis ads with something that demographic will enjoy.

Typography.com
Typography.com has a smart way of showing off fonts. They show them in context with multiple layouts instead of just the standard ABCDEF or “quick brown fox” treatment. Knockout is one example.

The “H&FJ Suggests…” feature at the bottom of the screen is a nice way to suggest font pairings too. Kinda like a sommelier but for fonts (typolier?).

Catalog Choice

Under assault from Pottery Barn catalogs? Then check out the clear copy and design at Catalog Choice, a free service that lets you opt-out of unwanted catalogs.

“The Piracy Paradox: Innovation and Intellectual Property in Fashion Design” is sparking an interesting conversation about copycattiness in creative professions.

The paper argues that copying in the fashion industry does not deter innovation (and may actually promote it). James Surowiecki summarized the essay in The New Yorker and argued that fashion piracy results in “more innovation, more competition, and probably more sales than there otherwise would be.”

Designers’ frustration at seeing their ideas mimicked is understandable. But this is a classic case where the cure may be worse than the disease. There’s little evidence that knockoffs are damaging the business. Fashion sales have remained more than healthy—estimates value the global luxury-fashion sector at a hundred and thirty billion dollars— and the high-end firms that so often see their designs copied have become stronger. More striking, a recent paper by the law professors Kal Raustiala and Christopher Sprigman suggests that weak intellectual-property rules, far from hurting the fashion industry, have instead been integral to its success. The professors call this effect “the piracy paradox.”

The paradox stems from the basic dilemma that underpins the economics of fashion: for the industry to keep growing, customers must like this year’s designs, but they must also become dissatisfied with them, so that they’ll buy next year’s. Many other consumer businesses face a similar problem, but fashion—unlike, say, the technology industry—can’t rely on improvements in power and performance to make old products obsolete. Raustiala and Sprigman argue persuasively that, in fashion, it’s copying that serves this function, bringing about what they call “induced obsolescence.” Copying enables designs and styles to move quickly from early adopters to the masses. And since no one cool wants to keep wearing something after everybody else is wearing it, the copying of designs helps fuel the incessant demand for something new.

Law school professor Susan Scafidi calls this “a tired, old argument” and says it’s based on an outdated, pre-internet portrait of the industry.

The designers who suffer from copying are the little guys – those whose designs are copied, while their trademarks are not. Consider the accessories designer who received an order for a belt from a large department store – only to have the store place its larger reorder with a cheaper manufacturer. Or how about the jeweler whose work was admired by a buyer at a trade show and hoped for a sale, only to open the large company’s catalog months later and see an exact copy of her design? Maybe the dress designer who saw her dress praised in an online forum, only to have the next post recommend buying an exact knockoff elsewhere – followed by thanks for the “tip”? Perhaps you’d be convinced by the handbag designer who actually received a wholesale order, only to have it canceled a few days later because the buyer found an exact copy of her original design elsewhere at a lower price? The stories are common ones, but these are not hypothetical examples. These are real people, some of whom prefer not to be named. They have invested time, money, and talent – R&D to any other industry – in realizing their visions, only to have their work stolen, often by huge companies. You would recognize many of the names of the corporate copyists; I doubt that most readers would ever have heard of the startup designers.

Handbags at dawn offers some more pushback to the Piracy Paradox.

This is the first in a series of posts showing how we use Campfire as our virtual office. All screenshots shown are real and were taken during one week in September.

We’ve posted photos of our Chicago office before. But this series of posts is about taking you behind the scenes at our real office: Campfire.

Campfire is where our team — local and remote — gathers everyday. We use it to chat, show each other screenshots, get feedback, upload files, collaborate on copy, share code, get alerts when sites are modified, search previous conversations, and much more.

It does so many disparate things that it’s sometimes tough for us to explain its power. People get it but they don’t always really get it. The screenshots and video tour at the Campfire site are a good start. But there’s so much more.

One week in Campfire: How we use it for design
These “Behind the scenes” posts aim to show you 1) how we work and 2) all the little things that we get done in Campfire every day. We picked one week in September and took screenshots of some of our key interactions. This first batch focuses on design.

If you’re a designer (or work with one), the great thing about using Campfire is that you can upload images and view them inline while chatting about them. If you use Pyro, you can even drag and drop the images right into Campfire. Once you share and discuss images so seemlessly, you’ll never want to go back to the old way again. On to the examples…

Tweak a screen’s interface on the fly
Ryan uploads a couple of screens and explains why he prefers one over the other. Jason suggests adding some explanatory text. When it was eventually implemented, it looked like this.

Upload a screen showing what changed on the server
Ryan commits a change. Then he uploads a revised screen and explains what’s different.

Show a programmer a UI and get a time estimate for implementation
Ryan posts a proposed screen change and queries Jeremy to see how much work it will take.

Mike Rohde’s SEED Conference 2007 sketchbook notes = coolest conference notes ever!

In this lecture at MIT’s Sloan Business school, Ricardo Semler, the pioneeering CEO of Semco, says the military-inspired structure of most workplaces is anachronistic. He advises the students to rethink some of the fundamental assumptions they have about organizations, leadership, and life in general.

If you’ve only read about his ideas, it’s cool to hear him speak aloud about these topics. You can really sense the guy’s passion. A few standout points excerpted below.

Most business plans are wishful thinking…

A 5 year plan is just an extrapolation added to wishful thinking. Have you ever seen a business plan that says, “I’m going to go up 5% and then down -14% and then -22% and then I’m going to recuperate a little bit and then it’s going to go to hell?”

‘Cuz that’s what happens. That’s how it looks in practice, but that’s not the way we design it. We’re willing to trick ourselves into thinking we have control as long as we do it with wishful thinking.

Growth is overrated for companies…

The assumption that growth is good for companies is a very difficult one to sustain. There is no evidence whatsoever that companies that grow a lot do better than companies that don’t grow a lot.

Admit what you don’t know…

We don’t know where we’re going, but we’d rather not pretend that we do. Because we think pretending is a lot more dangerous than admitting that we don’t…Talking about specific numbers more than six months out is improbable. Think about the future but don’t write it down. If you write it down, you have to follow it.