4 slash Future ethics and a speedy email client Society is not some grand abstraction, my friends. It s just us. It’s the words we use, which are the thoughts we have, which determine the actions we take. – Umair Haque graphic ❏ Artwork by link Patrick Seymour link graphic Dense Discovery table with 45 rows and 1 columns row 1 column 1 link graphic Dense Discovery row 2 row 3 If you spent a bit of time on social media last week, you could not have missed the Kavanaugh spectacle. The day of the hearing – streamed live, of course, like a grand finale – more than usual, Twitter turned into a solid wall of all caps outrage. It became a contest of who could shock their followers most with yet another opinionated insult hurled against the other side. It was the perfect example of social media giving shock and fury wings while drowning out anything more nuanced and restrained. After ten minutes of just observing I felt mentally fatigued and emotionally drained, and avoided social media for the rest of the day. Here's a friendly reminder: if you feel disheartened by the state of the world, pretty much anything is more effective than sitting in front of your computer and pouring fuel on the dumpster fire that is social media politics. Go volunteer for a cause you believe in, donate money, write a letter to people in charge to express your disapproval, have a (real life) conversation with friends or family who disagree with your opinion, heck, even reading a book on issues you feel strongly about – all of those things are more productive than revving up the rage by helping your side shout louder into the digital void. – Kai row 4 row 5 heading level 1 Upgrade Your Skills heading level 1 link SPONSOR row 6 graphic ❏ heading level 2 link Super Hi right arrow heading level 3 Learn to make beautiful websites, coded by you. We made our new short courses – Javascript for Designers, Intro to UX Design and Experimental Javascript – to help you create well designed digital projects that you have full control over. No templates or dull lessons, and all online. link Why learn online? row 7 row 8 heading level 1 Apps and Sites row 9 heading level 2 link Superhuman right arrow heading level 3 Speedy email client With a peculiar name, Superhuman promises to make dealing with emails faster and more zen. The email client is still in invite only beta, so I'm not sure what platforms will be supported. row 10 heading level 2 link Kiwake right arrow heading level 3 The anti snooze i Phone alarm If you are a repetitive snoozer and struggle to get out of bed, perhaps Kiwake can help: you can set up little challenges that you need to complete in order to turn off the alarm, such as a simple puzzle or taking a photo of an item that's not in your bedroom. row 11 heading level 2 link Brandy right arrow heading level 3 Brand assets in your Mac menu bar What a neat idea: if you're constantly needing to access your brand assets (such as logo, colours, fonts, etc.) Brandy allows you to put them in a dedicated little space in your menu bar and keep them in sync with your whole team. row 12 heading level 2 link Quip right arrow heading level 3 Project and file management There are a lot of tools designed to help us collaborate on projects and content. Quip looks like a well rounded, simpler, more collaborative alternative to the classic office suite. row 13 row 14 heading level 1 Rules for Online Sanity row 15 graphic ❏ In the link latest issue of The Discourse (the newsletter I recommended in link DD Issue 2 ) Sean outlines his personal rules for engaging with others online. I think we could all use a reminder of how to have better conversations online, so I turned his rules into a printable version: right arrow link Rules for Online Sanity (PDF) row 16 row 17 heading level 1 Goods and Accessories row 18 graphic ❏ heading level 2 link Steel HR Sport right arrow heading level 3 Hybrid smart slash sport watch I always liked the designs by French smartwatch maker Withings (briefly owned by Nokia), but what I like even more than the design is the battery life: this watch is supposed to last 25 days without recharging. The Steel HR Sport comes with additional features specifically targeted to people who work out a lot. I'm still not sold on the value of smartwatches overall, but this one is starting to sound convincing. row 19 graphic ❏ heading level 2 link Future Ethics right arrow heading level 3 A practical tech ethics guide Future Ethics transforms modern ethical theory into practical advice for designers, product managers, and software engineers alike. Cennydd Bowles uses three lenses of modern ethics to focus on some of tech’s biggest challenges: unintended consequences and algorithmic bias, the troubling power of persuasive technology, and the dystopias of surveillance, autonomous war, and a post work future. row 20 row 21 heading level 1 Overheard on Twitter row 22 I always chuckle when UX designers talk about journeys’. People are paying their phone bill, not trying to get to fucking Mordor. Take it down a notch. heading level 2 – link at Thomas Wendt row 23 row 24 heading level 1 Food For Thought row 25 heading level 2 link Whats App Cofounder Brian Acton Gives The Inside Story On number Delete Facebook right arrow heading level 3 Read This interview has been making the rounds on Twitter last week. A lot of people focused on how he's walked away from an additional $850m in cash to make his point. Good on him! But here is yet another idolised billionaire that has happily taken the money first and worried about doing good later. link Sound familiar? row 26 heading level 2 link The Powerhouses of the Internet Are Turning Hostile to Websites right arrow heading level 3 Read Have you noticed? In the last five years, there has not been a single major website or dominant web property that has embraced, rewarded, or significantly grown their outlinking. We’ve reached an era of a less connected web, a web focused on retaining users rather than sharing content. row 27 heading level 2 link How to take a sabbatical (and not go insane) right arrow heading level 3 Read I know what you're thinking: another how to live a privileged life' article, but this advice piece by Sean Blanda is a thoughtful yet light hearted read on how to make the most of taking some time off. row 28 heading level 2 link News Site to Investigate Big Tech, Helped by Craigslist Founder right arrow heading level 3 Read I'm excited about this one: link The Markup will be a new publication powered by investigative journalism and data analysis illuminating the societal harms
 of emerging technologies’. And a great name to boot! row 29 row 30 heading level 1 Aesthetically Pleasing row 31 graphic ❏ I'm a big fan of flexible branding systems where the logo and other CI elements aren't static but keep evolving all the time. The link Sprengel Museum Hannover does it well. row 32 graphic ❏ Speaking of versatile identity systems, this award winning branding project for the link Sydney Dogs and link Cats Home by Australian agency For The People is ingenious and adorable. row 33 graphic ❏ The first two retail fonts by new indie type foundry link Kilotype are worth a closer look. row 34 graphic ❏ link Unequal Scenes is an unsettling photo series portraying scenes of urban inequality. row 35 row 36 heading level 1 Classifieds row 37 Brush Ninja is a fun, free, easy to use animated gif creator. link Draw animations in your browser , on your desktop or phone, and share them freely online. No ads slash signup required! link The Daily Talk Show is a podcast started by two Australian freelance filmmakers – now business partners – who chat about life. Josh and Tommy keep you company every weekday. Get technology news, without the noise. Delivered to your inbox every morning, link Charged saves you time, and helps you understand what matters in today's technology landscape. Get an additional $10 off the link Offscreen Magazine Starter Pack (includes all five currently available issues) by using the discount code DD 10OFF during checkout. (Valid till Oct 10) Classifieds are paid ads that support DD. Use them to promote your project, advertise a job opening, find beta testers, etc. link Book yours right arrow row 38 row 39 heading level 1 The Week in a GIF row 40 graphic ❏ Email us the URL to your favourite GIF and we might feature it here in a future issue. link email protected row 41 row 42 row 43 heart suit ︎ Thanks to link Super Hi for sponsoring this issue! heart suit ︎ row 44 row 45 out of table link View in browser link Unsubscribe link Sponsor on issue link Book a classified ad Author slash Editor: link Kai Brach Published by: Offscreen Media 149a Brunswick St Fitzroy VIC 3065 Australia Dense Discovery aims to promote an inclusive, diverse tech community guided by ethical principles. If you believe anything in this newsletter contradicts these efforts, please reply with your concerns. We read every email but only reply to those requiring a response. Our office is located in Fitzroy, Melbourne, the traditional lands of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin nation. We acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and pay our respects to elders past, present, and emerging. Send us your suggestions for GI Fs, apps, accessories, visual inspiration, etc. to link email protected Enjoying link Dense Discovery Please share it with your friends!