Maggie Appleton is a product designer at Ought, an AI research lab that’s working on ways to scale open-ended thinking with machine learning. She’s also an advocate of sharing personal knowledge online. She publishes one of the best digital gardens I’ve seen, located at maggieappleton.com. In this conversation, we discuss the what, why, and how of digital gardening.Show notesMaggie AppletonMaggie Appleton on TwitterOught[Metaphors We Live](https://amzn.to/43q0eEj) By by George Lakoff and Mark JohnsonThe Expanding Dark Forest and Generative AI by Maggie AppletonGoffman’s Theory of Performance of the SelfErving Goffman: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Adam D. BarnhartClifford Geertz - BritannicaSubstackWork with the garage door up by Andy MatuschakNiklas Luhmann - WikipediaChatGPTNicole van der Hoeven on Obsidian – The Informed LifeObsidianHacker NewsShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

In this episode, Bob Kasenchak, taxonomist and information architect at Factor, discusses strategies to make music more findable and the challenges of organizing classical music in streaming platforms. They also explore the distinction between music as information and information about music, the issue of differentiating albums with the same name, and the features of Grammarly.

Bob Kasenchak is a taxonomist and information architect at Factor. Bob’s background is in music, and this conversation delves into what information architects can learn from studying music. We recorded two conversations on the subject: this one focuses on the structure of music itself, and the second covers how we can make music more findable. Look for that one in an upcoming episode.Show notesBob Kasenchak - LinkedInBob Kasenchak (@taxobob) - TwitterFactorSynapticaAccess InnovationsIAC: Information Architecture conferenceDuane DeglerGilles Deleuze - WikipediaFélix Guattari - WikipediaNew England ConservatorySonic Design: The Nature of Sound and Music by Robert Cogan and Pozzi Escot1/1 by Brian Eno (YouTube)Rick Beato - YouTubeWhat Makes This Song Great? Ep.61 VAN HALEN (#2) - YouTubeLudomusicology - WikipediaAbby CovertN7JSTORApple Music Classical appShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Are Halland has worked in digital product development, strategy, design, and communication for over a quarter of a century. During that time, he created the core model, a tool for designing websites and products that align business goals and user needs. He has now written a book about the core model, which is due to be published later this year. In this conversation, he explains what the core model is and how it can help us create more effective digital products.Show notesAre Halland - TwitterAre Halland - LinkedInThe Core ModelGerry McGovernPareto principle - Wikipedia Conceptual Models: Begin by Designing What to Design by Jeff Johnson and Austin HendersonDesigning Connected Content: Plan and Model Digital Products for Today and Tomorrow by Carrie Hane and Mike AthertonTelenor GroupEsperanto - WikipediaShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Dan Russell spent 17 years working at Google, with a significant part of that tenure as a Search Anthropologist: “someone who tries to understand how people search, what kinds of things they seek, and how their tools influence their search process.” Dan is the author of The Joy of Search, which is the focus of our conversation today.Show notesDan RussellThe Joy of Search: A Google Insider’s Guide to Going Beyond the Basics by Dan RussellThe Library of CongressFelis silvestris catus - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre (Spanish)Sagrada Família - Wikipedia (Catalan)Howard Rheingold on Tools for Thought – The Informed LifeChatGPTGoogle BardBingscite: see how research has been citedShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Sheryl Cababa is the Chief Strategy Officer of Substantial, an experience design consultancy based in Seattle. She’s the author of Closing the Loop, a new book about systems thinking in design. The book emphasizes the role designers can play as catalysts for social change, and that is the focus of our conversation.Show notesSheryl Cababa - LinkedInSheryl Cababa (@SherylCababa)SubstantialUniversity of Washington - Human Centered Design & EngineeringClosing the Loop: Systems Thinking for Designers by Sheryl CababaThinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella MeadowsThe Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter SengePeter ChecklandSystems Thinking for Social Change: A Practical Guide to Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, and Achieving Lasting Results, by David Peter StrohIceberg Model - Ecochallenge.orgWhat is the STEEP analysis? - FourWeekMBARevolution 1 by The BeatlesUXLx - User Experience LisbonEnterprise UX 2023Rosenfeld Media provided a review copy of Sheryl’s book.Show notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Jerry Michalski helps organizations become more trustworthy by exploring their language, processes, and intentions. That’s fascinating in itself — but I wanted to talk with him primarily because he curates an online resource called Jerry’s Brain, a deep repository of interconnected thoughts. He’s worked on Jerry’s Brain for a quarter of a century, longer than any other such experiment I’m aware of. So, I wanted to find out why and how he does this.Show notesJerry MichalskiJerry’s BrainTheBrainREX: The Relationship Economy ExpeditionOpen Global MindThe Big FungusRoam ResearchGraphvizKumuMarkdown - WikipediaThinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel KahnemanDEVONthinkTinderboxLinking Your Thinking by Nick MiloMemObsidianGitHubObsidian Git pluginGoogle DocsYou need a wikiJSON - WikipediaPreziShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Andy Fitzgerald is an information architecture and content strategy consultant. He works with mission-driven organizations to produce systems that communicate clearly, align business and user goals, and scale effectively. Our conversation today focuses on moving beyond the page as a metaphor for how information is delivered toward more flexible content structures.Show notesAndy Fitzgerald ConsultingAndy Fitzgerald, PhD - LinkedInLanguage + Meaning + User Experience ArchitectureDan KlynRichard Saul Wurman - WikipediaHeadless content management system - WikipediaTaxonomy Boot CampThe Intellectual Foundation of Information Organization by Elaine SvenoniusMozilla Developer Network Web DocsSchema.orgSKOS Simple Knowledge Organization SystemGroucho MarxEnd of Web Design by Jakob Nielsen (Jakob’s Law)Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products by Nir EyalShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Nicole van der Hoeven is a Developer Advocate at Grafana Labs. She is also a communicator, sharing what she learns through her writing, conference presentations, and YouTube videos. The latter are what brought Nicole’s work to my attention: she runs a YouTube channel focused on one of my favorite tools for thought, Obsidian. In this conversation, we focus on how Nicole uses Obsidian to “learn in public.”Show notesNicole van der HoevenNicole on MastodonNicole on YouTubepkm.socialGrafana labsObsidianPersonal knowledge management - WikipediaWork with the garage door upContinuous integration - WikipediaContinuous delivery - WikipediaScrintalRoam ResearchMarkdownGitHubTabletop role-playing game - WikipediaAndy PolaineAndy Polaine on Service Design – The Informed LifeWarbreaker by Brandon SandersonThe Martian by Andy WeirProject Hail Mary by Andy WeirShow notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.If you're enjoying the show, please rate or review us in Apple's podcast directory:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-life/id1450117117?itsct=podcast_box&itscg=30200

Hugh Dubberly is the founder of Dubberly Design Office, an interaction design studio based in San Francisco. Hugh has a long trajectory in the design world. Before opening his studio, he did pioneering work at leading tech companies like Apple and Netscape. He is also a thinker and teacher of uncommon depth and breadth. He’s my colleague at the California College of the Arts, and I’m also lucky to call him a friend and mentor. I met with Hugh in his office to discuss his recent paper arguing against framing design as problem-solving, and that is the focus of this conversation.Show notesHugh Dubberly - AIGADubberly Design OfficeConceptual Models: Core to Good Design by Jeff Johnson and Austin HendersonBill Verplank - Interaction Design (YouTube)How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition by Michael PorterThe product service ecology: Using a systems approach in design by Jodi Forlizzi (PDF)MDes in Interaction Design - CCAAfter the Bauhaus, Before the Internet: A History of Graphic Design Pedagogy edited by Geoff KaplanWhy we should stop describing design as “problem solving” by Hugh DubberlyPatrick Whitney - Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthDouble Diamond (design process model) - WikipediaHorst Rittel - WikipediaC. West Churchman - WikipediaWicked problem - WikipediaDesign Thinking by Peter G. RoweRussell L. Ackoff - WikipediaHerbert A. Simon - WikipediaThe Sciences of the Artificial - WikipediaAxis Thinking by Brian EnoThe MAYA Principle: Design for the Future, but Balance it with Your Users’ Present - IxDFOverton window - WikipediaEnvironmental Design - University of Colorado BoulderUlm School of Design - WikipediaThe Infinite Conversation (AI-generated dialog between simulations of Werner Herzog and Slavoj Žižek)Show notes include Amazon affiliate links. We get a small commission for purchases made through these links.